[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1424]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING GARY FAULKNER, JR. FOR WINNING THE 2015 
      ROLLTECH PROFESSIONAL BOWLERS ASSOCIATION WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 4, 2016

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Gary Faulkner, Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee for winning the 2015 Rolltech 
Professional Bowlers Association World Championship at the National 
Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. In his first professional television 
appearance, Gary Faulkner beat top qualifier EJ Tackett to become the 
second African American ever to win a PBA Tour title in the PBA's 57-
year history after George Branham III won the Brunswick Memorial World 
Open in 1986.
  Gary learned the game of bowling at the early age of two when he 
bowled with his father, Pastor Gary Faulkner, Sr. of Cummings Street 
Baptist Church. As a sophomore at Germantown High School, Gary won the 
Division I Bowling Championship title in the Tennessee Secondary School 
Athletic Association individual bowling tournament. At that time, his 
best series bowling score was 833. While enrolled at Webber 
International University, Gary helped lead his team to the 2012 
Intercollegiate Team Championship.
  Gary Faulkner maintained his focus and determination to win the 
Rolltech Championship. On his way to victory, Gary threw 10 strikes on 
his first 11 shots to ultimately defeat Scott Norton of Mission Viejo, 
California 262-218. He also defeated Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, New 
York, 247-237, who was seeking to win his third title, back-to-back, to 
become the first player to win three consecutive PBA titles on American 
soil since 1971. Gary opened this match with a spare and four strikes. 
In his final three-game match, Gary impressively rolled six strikes on 
his first eight attempts and threw only two bad shots. Gary's opponent, 
EJ Tackett of Huntington, Indiana, on the other hand, left three splits 
in his first five frames, setting up a 49 pin deficit from which he 
could not rebound against Faulkner. Gary Faulkner won the title 216-
178.
  After winning, Gary said, ``The first shot I was nervous, but after 
that I didn't think about anything. My mind was free. I didn't watch 
the other guys. I don't show a lot of emotions. My goal is always to 
win; I didn't come here to lose.'' With a goal set in mind to win, Gary 
Faulkner has represented his family and the city of Memphis well, and I 
look forward to reading about his future accomplishments. Mr. Speaker, 
I ask all of my colleagues to join me in congratulating Gary Faulkner, 
Jr. on winning the 2015 Rolltech Professional Bowlers Association World 
Championship.

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