Biondo Wins 3rd Straight Team USA Berth : Bowling: Business student earns top position in today’s National Amateur finals.

CHULA VISTA — For Vince Biondo, firing near-perfect games in the U.S. National Amateur Bowling Championships is becoming habit.

He put up some big numbers last year, finishing second. He rolled a 280 and 279 Friday to earn the No. 1 seeding in today’s stepladder finals at 1 p.m. at Brunswick Premier Lanes. The 279 came in his 48th and final match-play game. He rolled 11 strikes, picked up one spare and practically yawned his way through it.

And after becoming the first three-time men’s member of Team USA, a six-player all-star squad, he seemed more excited about the other qualifiers than about his three-peat and today’s bid to become a national champion.

“I told all the new guys, ‘Your life just changed. Don’t let anything pass you by. Let it all soak in,’ ” said Biondo, of Hoffman Estates, Ill.

He couldn’t wait to tell his new teammates about the international tournaments, the travel, the new friendships, the new uniforms and equipment. All free.

“These last two years with Team USA have changed my life completely,” he said. “I had no idea of the magnitude of this when I first made the team.”

Biondo, 22, came here with one goal: make the team again.

So when he stepped to the line to start his final game against Sam Lantto--leading Lantto by 155 pins--he let it all hang out. If not for a spare on the eighth frame, the 5-foot-8 Western Illinois University business student would have had his second 300 game in two weeks.

“I left the same pin in both games, the 279 and the 280--a solid nine,” Biondo said. “I was so loose . . . I’d made the team.”

Bowling on lane conditions that changed with each block, Biondo rallied from 44th position to sixth at the end of qualifying. He started 12th in match play Thursday morning, but rocketed to No. 1 Friday morning. His average after 48 match-play games: 210.5.

But now there is unfinished business for Biondo--today’s four-player, stepladder final, which will be televised on Sports Channel in October. As the second-seeded player, he got beat last year under the bright lights.

“Paul Fleming beat me by a stick,” he said. “I shot 225, so I can’t complain. I was a little tight. This time I just want to have fun.”

Anthony Chapman of Landover, Md., will face Lantto, of Maple Grove, Minn., in the opening stepladder game. David Garber of Bedford, Tex., will play the winner. Biondo will face the winner of that match.

In what Tammy Turner of West Palm Beach, Fla., hoped was the preview of today’s women’s final, Turner beat Joey Simpson of Lexington, Ky., 237-217, in her match-play finale.

Simpson will have the top spot today, but Turner cut Simpson’s 165-pin lead to 35 with a strong final 12 games Friday.

“It’s a different kind of pressure now,” Turner said. “And I want to win.”

Tournament Notes

Team USA Coach Fred Borden made sure his 1993 squad would face the toughest of lane variations. They were greased up good. Oil was applied randomly at lengths of 30, 34, 38 and 42 feet with varying densities outside and in the middle.

“You couldn’t see it with your eyes until you saw your ball react,” Borden said, “then you had to make the adjustment quickly or you’d find yourself shooting 140. I worked with PBA players for eight years. There are a lot of lane conditions out there that are easier than this.”

Borden was bowled over by the results.

“We have 12 players; we don’t have any weak links,” he said. “I was amazed at the maturity, the attitudes. Some of these kids are 17 years old and they’re playing like the best in the world. To average 200 here, that’s more than good enough for the PBA Tour.”

The men’s averages, after 48 games: Biondo (210), Garber (207), Lantto (205), Chapman (205), Dan Nadeau of Las Vegas (204) and Dave Berman of Pittsburgh (204).

The women’s averages: Simpson (201), Turner (201), Diana Williams of Raymond, Wash. (197), Stacy Robards of Carmichael (194), Ann Johnson of Hinesville, Ga. (194) and Nancy Ennis of Clyde (194).

Along with Biondo, Nadeau and Ennis repeated as team members. Garber was an alternate this year.