Janawicz will get to trade in his Kegel staff shirt for the red, white and blue uniform of Team USA for the first time when the Men’s American Zone Championships kick off May 28 at Metro Bowl in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

“I actually was at Metro Bowl three years ago, oiling the lanes for the American Zone Youth Championships,” said Janawicz, who will be one of three players making their Team USA debut at the event. “It will be different to be going back as a bowler. I know generally how patterns and the lanes play at the center. That will help me make better decisions, but you still have to go off ball reaction more than anything else.”

The Men’s American Zone Championships, which will conclude June 1, is expected to feature 15 countries and will consist of six disciplines (singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters). The event is returning to Guatemala for the first time since 1966.

Also making their first appearances internationally with Team USA are reigning U.S. Amateur champion David O’Sullivan of Orlando, Fla., and Derek Eoff of Greenfield, Wis. O’Sullivan won two medals with Junior Team USA at the 2004 World Youth Championships in Guam.

They will be led into the Men’s American Zone Championships by a trio of Team USA veterans – Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, David Haynes of Las Vegas and Rhino Page of Fresno, Calif. – who helped the United States bring home the team gold medal at the 2006 Men’s World Championships for the first time since 1971.

“The newcomers will probably look to the veterans for experience and any sage advice they can offer about international competition,” said Eoff, who was a member of the first Junior Team USA in 1999. “It has been a goal of mine to bowl internationally for Team USA, so I am looking forward to traveling and hopefully winning some medals.”

If this American Zone Championships is anything like the previous editions, Eoff and his teammates will likely be heading home with some hardware. Since the American Zone Championships were first held in 1961, the United States has won 160 medals between the men and women. The next best showing is from Mexico, which has 88 medals in that time.

Beginning in 2007, the American Zone Championships moved from a quadrennial event featuring both men and women to a biennial event, with separate Women’s American Zone Championships and Men’s American Zone Championships alternating each year. The first Women’s American Zone Championships is scheduled to be held in Chile in 2008.

Haynes and Page are the only returning players from the gold medal team at the 2005 American Zone Championships in Costa Rica. Team USA will look to avenge its trios performance from 2005 – it was the first time the men did not medal in an event since doubles in 1993.

Visit bowl.com for complete coverage of the Men’s American Zone Championships, including stories, photos, player Web logs and results.

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