ASAGville11

The First day of real competition at the 2011 ASA Newberry, Florida Pro/Am shoot is in the books.
Rain was the fear before the shooting started today but other than the groups that went out early the rain was only a spattering and didn't last long. The sun came out and it got nice for those shooting at noon.
According to reports in the tournament village Darrin Christenberry is leading Men's Open Pro with a 218. Levi Morgan is right behind him at 216. Derry Null is leading in Senior Pro. I could never get a good report from the Women's Pro range but Samantha Morgan has reported on Facebook that she shot 206. I also heard that rookie pro Kailey Johnston shot a 202 in her first professional round. Hopefully ASA will have the scores up in a few hours.
In Semi Pro Nathan Winters shot clean with 11 twelve's for a 222 and Chris Shelton shot a 216 with only one 8.
I don't know who is leading in Known 50 but I do know that Dave Cousins shot a 232.
Shooting begins at 8 in the morning.
Archery News Now is trying to get set up to give up to the minute Pro Pressure Point Shootdown results on our Facebook page. Check out the link below and "Like" the page to get the up dates. Mike Webb will be trying to update the Archery News Now Facebook page while I try to take photos in the shootdown.

As for future plans he will obviously be in Vegas for the NFAA World Archery Festival next weekend and will follow that up with some international events.
"I'm shooting a tournament called the EuroPro Series, www.Europroarchery.com is the web site," Dave said. "They have three tournaments. Probably some of you have seen the footage on like YouTube and stuff like that. They stream it from their web site during the event. It is all field shooting usually pretty extreme terrain and stuff. I've committed and made an agreement to shoot all three of those."
Later I ran into Dave in a group and was poking fun, wondering how someone from Maine could get chilly in 50 degree weather in Florida. In Dave's defense it was pretty chilly with all the rain in the air.
But Dave did mention that he is not carrying around nearly as much insulation since he has gotten his body fat down to a miniscule number. He says it is his working out, supplements and his work with the guys from www.rcherylifestyle.com .
Here is the rest of the top 5 in Known 50.

1. Dave Cousins 448 21
2. Gary Bozeman 436 15
3. Mitchell Irvin 433 17
4. David Zimmerman 432 16
5. Bill Bourdeau 432 14

Dave Cousins of Portland, Maine is best known as a FITA style shooter but has proven in the past that he can shoot 3D animals as well. In 2010 he won twice on the 2010 ASA Pro/Am Tour in Known 50 at Newberry, Florida and in Columbus, GA.
Well Dave was back in Newberry for the 2011 Easton Florida Pro/Am at the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex on February 4 through the 6, 2011 and once again came out on top in Known 50.
Dave set a blistering pace on Saturday by shooting a 232 and followed that up with a 16 on Sunday. Dave says he wasn't driving on cruise control with his Sunday shooting due to his large lead
"Well that wasn't my plan," Dave said. "I go out there and I approach every course the same way. I'm going to shoot at 12s on every single target except the ones I can cherry pick a 14. Not just because they're close but because the target presentation looks right or the light on it is good or the range is a range that I feel comfortable with. I started this morning down here, I got a little cold, actually got a little chill. I didn't have my jacket on. It was in my stool. I just wasn't holding good, wasn't executing good. It took me about 15 targets or so to figure it out, put my jacket back on got my body temperature back up and then the bow started hitting good and started hitting 12s and 14s. As a testament to it, my last target was a 47 yarder and I 14d it."
It appears Dave will not be making any additional ASA shoots due to a busy schedule of shooting.
"I try to make them when I can," Dave said. "Right now with my schedule it looks like that is about it."

Samanta Morgan of Rosman, North Carolina wasn't the leader after the first round of shooting at the Easton Florida Pro/Am on Saturday as she trailed Alicia McHenry of Pennsylvania by four points. She wasn't the leader after the second round as she trailed Rookie Kailey Johnston of Georgia by one point.
But in the shootdown Morgan took a lead and held on to defeat Johnston by one point to open the season with a win.
In the shootdown Samantha started with an 8 but backed that up with a 12 on the second target to take her first lead. How does a shooter who has been chasing all weekend react when they now have the lead? What do they change?
"Nothing really," Samantha said. "It goes too quick out there to really change my mind set that much. I just wasn't expecting an 8 on the very first target and it's like in your face so I was kind of upset about that and then I 12d the next two pretty decent targets. My mind set was just coming in here and holding center 10 and see what she would do. It worked I guess."
Samantha shot the middle of shootdown course well but had 8s on the first and last shots, the easiest two shots.
"I have no idea what I did on the coyote," Samantha said. "I was just hard on the 12 and must not have made the best shot."
The rest of the top five is as follows:
1 Smantha Morgan 462 8
2 Kailey Johnston 461 7
3 Alicia McHenry 458 8
4 Cara Fernandez 454 6
5 Andrea Nicholson 439 6

After two days of shooting for the ladies, four shooters were tied for third with a 396 score. Alicia McHenry was third with the largest bonus ring count with seven. Andrea Nicholson was fourth with six and Cara Fernandez and Kathy Caudle had to have a shoot off for the final spot where Cara won with a closest to the center of the 12.
A lot of local Georgia shooters have grown to expect a lot of sixteen year old Kailey Johnston as she has been shooting incredible scores around the state in indoors and FITA style events for years. But, surely there would be nerves making her professional debut right?
"There was at first when I first started shooting but as the day went on I was hanging in there with them," Kailey admitted. "The second day I was peered up with the same people only one other person was different I just shot what I could and I was shooting right there with them. My goal coming in was just to make the top five and make the shootdown. That's all I wanted. I really did better than I thought I would do."

Kailey shot the following equipment:
Hoyt Contender 52 lobs, 26.5 draw
Axcel Sight
Classic Scope 3X lens
Spott Rest with Lizard Toungue
AEP Stabilizer
Easton Fat Boy 500 arrows.
TRU Ball Absolute Release

Samantha had one piece of equipment that may have brought her luck but didn't much help her beloved Steelers in the Super Bowl later in the day. Samantha was shooting with a "Terrible Towel" on her stool all weekend.
"I am a die hard Steelers fan," Samantha said about the towel. "That's all I have been thinking about today."
Even in the win Samantha says she is still working out some issues.
"I am shooting a 3 power lens and I have been struggling really bad," Samantha says. "I have a stigmatism in my eyes and they are just not the greatest. I'm seeing double pins really bad. The whole weekend I have been seeing double pins but it is so close together. I know this sounds bad saying this knowing that I just won but I am really struggling with my eyes right now. I've been working on it. I'm probably going to have to do Lazik Surgery eventually."

Samantha shot the following equipment:
Mathews Z7 Magnum, 60 pounds and 25.5" draw
B-Stinger stabilizers and back bar
Axcel sight
Classic Scope with 3X lens
AAE Rest
TRU Ball Baby HT release
Gold Tip 500 arrows with 100 grain points

Derry Null of Zanesville, Ohio appeared to be in great shape to win after shooting a big score on Saturday in the Senior Pro Class at the Easton Florida Pro/Am. But, after struggling on Sunday morning he was just happy to take the fifth and final spot in the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown.
"It was a roller coaster of a weekend. Saturday I probably had the best day I've ever had with a bow in my hand," Derry said. "Today I had a form issue and I needed to get 8 or 10 targets into it before I realized what I was doing. It wasn't a new form issue. I tend to cant and lean into the shoot. When I woke up I had dropped a bunch of points. I salvaged the weekend finishing strong to make it into the shootdown round."
Derry was not content to just make it into the shootdown round. Once he got there he put on a shooting display.
"Once I made the shootdown round I shot the best shootdown round of my life today," Derry continued. "I shot a 14, a 12, a 12, a 10 and a12."
After one arrow in the shootdown, Derry had gone from trailing Randall Jones by eight points to only trailing by four. The lead was cut in half after only one arrow. He then slowly climbed. After two arrows he trailed Carl Adkins by three points and stayed three points out until his 12 on the fifth target tied him for the lead with Randall.
After that fifth arrow Melvin Shrewsbury was further than ten points back and did not move onto the sixth arrow but the other four shooters were bunched up with only two points separating first from fourth place.
Allen Conner lead off with an 8 shooting for the 14. Carl, Randall and Derry shot 10s which gave Carl third place and pushed Randall and Derry to one more arrow.
On the seventh arrow Randall led off with an 8 meaning all Derry needed was a 10 for the win. Derry nailed a 12 to complete the comeback.
The final order of finishing was:
1. Derry Null 486 15
2. Randall Jones 482 12
3. Carl Adkins 473 15
4. Allen Conner 470 19
5. Melvin Shrewsbury 453 13

Derry made an offseason bow change from the Mathews he has shot for years to a Hoyt.
"It lends itself so well to my style of shooting," Derry said of his new Hoyt Contender Elite. "The cam is just a little softer in the back end which allows me to pull through a strong shot without pulling myself off the target. It and I, I think are going to make a pretty good pair. I always name my bows. I named that one Saturday and it is now officially cuddles."

Derry Shot the following equipment:
Hoyt Contender Elite with cam ½ plus 31" 60 pounds
Sureloc sight
Specialty Archery scope 3X lens
LP light
B-Stinger stabilizer
Trophy Taker drop away rest
TRU Ball release
Gold Tip 22 arrows with 110 grain point weight
Blazer Vanes

It's no shock when people hear that Levi Morgan of Rosman, NC is leading in Men's Open Pro at an ASA Pro/Am. It's getting down right normal.
But coming off the range on day one in Newberry, Florida February 5, 2011 Levi was sitting in second place behind Darrin Christenberry of Indiana by two points.
When Darrin shot an 8 on the first target Sunday Levi was tied for the lead. After a couple 12s by Levi he took the lead and never looked back shooting his second straight score of 216 for a 432 and a ten point lead heading into the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown.
With a ten point lead Levi was able to play it safe and see if his fellow competitors could throw out some big scores. None were able to pressure Levi so he got aggressive at the mid way point of the shootdown finishing 12,12 and 14 putting everyone out of their misery.
"That was a lot of fun," Levi said of the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown. "Ten points is still catchable if they hit a couple 14s but you just gotta play it safe, shoot 10s on the long ones and if you can 12 the close ones do it. I had a 12 point lead going into the last one and hit a 14."
The biggest fight in the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown was for second and third. Danny Evans of Ind. came in sitting in second place trailing Levi by 10 but leading Michael Braden of Texas by only two points.
Michael started with two straight 8s to Danny's two 10s pushing the lead for second out to six points. Danny and Michael each finished 10/12/8 in their final three shots preventing any change in the leader board.
Evans has been shooting Men's Open Pro since 2005 and made his first appearance in the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown in 2010 in Augusta, Ga. where he also finished in second to Levi.
Evans has had six top tens since turning pro and several times finished only a few points from making the top five and a place in the shootdown. In 2010 alone he had three seventh place finishes.
"Once I made the shootdown I am able now to control the pressure," Evans said. "It was just kind of like a little pressure thing and I kind of was the first one out every time. It is kind of like I have broken over the edge so now we can just have some fun."
Evans said he is now able to spend more time shooting and also owns all of the targets.
"The only difference now from then is I am getting to practice a lot more," Evans said. "I am getting to look at every target. I own all the targets and the biggest difference is I am shooting about four or five hours a day compared to one or two hours a day. The yardage is what it is all about."

Evans uses the following equipment:
Hoyt Contender Elite Cam ½ plus 60 lbs, 29.5 "
Classic Scope
Axcel Sight
Trophy Taker Spring Steel rest
B-Stinger Stabilizers
TRU Ball ST 360 X
Carbon Express CXL 150 with 120 point weight
Alpen Binoculars
Other sponsors:
Muzzy

It appeared during the Pro Pressure Point Shootdown that the ASA crowd has gotten used to seeing Levi hit 12s and 14s. Levi would 12 a forty plus yard animal and �. Crickets. No applause, nothing.
Finally Levi made a remark about a free bow to the loudest fan and got a roar before ASA President and emcee Mike Tyrell claimed that he was the loudest since he had the microphone.
But the 14 on the final target woke everyone up. Danny could have actually had a two point lead on Levi if Danny hit the 14 and Levi missed the final shot. So did Levi second guess going for the 14 on the coyote?
"I had a 12 point lead and I was like you know what the crowd was kind of quiet let's see if we can fire 'em up," Levi said. "If not, no big deal. I had a little cushion to try it."

Levi shot the following equipment:
Mathews Apex 30.5" draw, 70 pounds
Axcel sight
Axcel scope no lens
B-Stinger stabilizer and back bar
Gold Tip 7595 arrows
AAE Freak Show rest
TRU Ball release

Other Men's Notes
All of the former Limited Pro shooters that I saw had moved to Men's Open Pro. I know that Larry and Brian Goza, Michael Nicholson, Chris Stachler and Jesse Lane all shot Open Pro.
In Semi Pro Nathan Winters parlayed his 222 score on Saturday into a win, but things got dicey since there was a three way tie for first at 424 after Sunday's round. Nathan, of Tenn. won with 17 bonus rings and Emilio Hernandez and Stephen Altizer of North Car. each had 15 bonus rings. After a one arrow shootoff Emilio took second.
The season opening event of the ASA Pro/Am tour is in the books and despite low attendance probably due to harsh weather all over the Northeast and Midwest the excitement is again ramping up.