Doubles leaders emerge in all three divisions at USBC Open Championships
There was an exciting race for the Regular Doubles lead March 12 at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas as two sets of teammates battled for the top spot at the 2017 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
Both pairs got off to a hot start and lost some momentum down the stretch, but reigning Professional Bowlers Association Southwest Region Bowler of the Year Chris Hibbitts II of Keller, Texas, used an 10-strike final game to cruise into the lead with Clint Dacy, also from Keller.
Hibbitts, a 45-year-old right-hander, opened the final game with five consecutive strikes and closed with five more to cap off a 252 game and 695 series. Dacy failed to double in the finale but contributed a 625 set to the leading 1,320 effort. Lennie Boresch Jr. and his son, Jacob, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, previously held the lead with 1,289.
“We’ve never made it to the lead before, and it’s one of those things you always think would be pretty cool,” said Dacy, a 42-year-old right-hander who made his 18th USBC Open Championships appearance. “We usually bowl in June, and making the web page (BOWL.com) at that point usually means a really good score with a chance to win. In March, it may not last through the weekend, but it was a lot of fun.”
The other Regular Doubles contenders were USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, also from Keller, and former Team USA member Steve Smith of San Diego.
Dorin-Ballard started the day with a 290 game and finished with a 704 set, while Smith added 569 for a 1,273 total and fourth place overall.
On the next squad, Duane Kruger and Jeff Kusnerick of Streator, Illinois, took command of Standard Doubles with a 1,174 total.
Kusnerick set the pace with a 596 series, and Kruger added 578, as the two passed brothers Stephen and John Schipper of Botkins, Ohio, who previously held the lead with 1,131.
The Classified Doubles lead went to the Montana father-son duo of John and Charles Lindeman, who haven’t competed in the Open Championships in more than a decade and had a memorable return to the lanes in 2017.
They posted a 1,058 total March 14 to slip past Mike Ignacio of Seaside, California, and Anthony Souza of Watsonville, California, who previously held the lead with 1,034. John Lindeman contributed a 552 series to the performance, and Charles Lindeman added 506.
Illinois bowler celebrates 50 years of Open Championships participation
Ron Ramza of Streator, Illinois, became the first bowler to hit a participation milestone at the 2017 USBC Open Championships as he made his 50th consecutive appearance at the event.
The 71-year-old right-hander began his tournament career at the 1968 tournament in Cincinnati, and he was welcomed into the 50-Year Club on March 11 with family and friends cheering him on at the South Point Bowling Plaza. He received a plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin to commemorate the achievement.
In his 50th appearance, Ramza rolled sets of 471 in team, 459 in doubles and 401 in singles for a 1,331 all-events total. In his career, he’s knocked over 80,950 pins for a lifetime average of 182.3.
In total, 23 bowlers are scheduled to celebrate their 50th tournament appearances in 2017.
A look ahead
USBC Hall of Famer and six-time USBC Open Championships titlist Les Zikes of Palatine, Illinois, will become the 11th bowler in tournament history to reach 65 years of participation when he hits the lanes at the South Point Bowling Plaza on March 20.
The 82-year-old enters the 2017 event seventh on the career pinfall list with 110,886.
USBC Hall of Famers Bill Doehrman and Joe Norris, along with Sylvester Thiel, share the participation record at the Open Championships with 71 years logged. Fellow hall of famer Bill Lillard Sr. tops the all-time pinfall list with 124,087.
For more information on the Open Championships, visit BOWL.com/OpenChamp.
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United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women’s Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.
Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,500 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.
2017 USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas
(Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfall)
REGULAR DIVISION
Team
(Combined averages of 1,046 and above)
1, Classic Lanes Raisins (Gus Yannaras, Gary Daroszewski, Ryan Lever, Lennie Boresch Jr., Dale Traber), Milwaukee, 3,158. 2, Ballard’s Bowling Academy 2, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,059. 3, Vick Vick Boom 1, Mount Joy, S.C., 3,042. 4, Classic Lanes Kids, Milwaukee, 3,037. 5, Ballard’s Bowling Academy 1, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,036. 6, Bowlifi Perfect Angle Pro Shop, Pekin, Ill., 2,968. 7, Apparel EFX, Red Rock, Ariz., 2,950. 8, Terry Henrick’s Chrysler, Archbold, Ohio, 2,935. 9, TR2, South San Francisco, Calif., 2,920. 10, DPB Inc., Plano, Texas, 2,920.
Doubles
(Combined averages of 419 and above)
1, Clint Dacy, Fort Worth, Texas/Chris Hibbitts II, Keller, Texas, 1,320. 2, Jacob Boresch/Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,289. 3, David Gerhart, Mount Joy, S.C./Daniel Vick, Pittsford, N.Y., 1,286. 4, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas/Steve Smith, San Diego, 1,273. 5, William Barnes, Leander, Texas/Geoffrey Young, Keller, Texas, 1,267. 6, Kyle Anderson, Lockport, Ill./Bryan Thompson, Chicago, 1,264. 7, Phillip Hudak, Lexington, S.C./Jerry Watts Jr., Effingham, S.C., 1,263. 8, Brian Korcak, Clearwater, Fla./Robert Smolka, Pinellas Park, Fla., 1,249. 9, Jason Morgan, Freedom, Pa./Jonathan Vavro, Andreas, Pa., 1,248. 10, Randy Coté/Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Arizona, 1,242.
Singles
(Averages of 210 and above)
1, Gary Daroszewski, Milwaukee, 736. 2, Geoffrey Young, Keller, Texas, 726. 3(tie), William Uthoff, St. Charles, Mo., and Randy Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 715. 5, Jacob Boresch, Kenosha, Wis., 705. 6, Ryan Lever, Muskego, Wis., 700. 7, Kyle Anderson, Lockport, Ill., 694. 8, Jonathan Merriman, Fort Worth, Texas, 693. 9, John Tragert, Gaithersburg, Md., 677. 10(tie), Nick Ferguson, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Steve Smith, San Diego, 676.
All-Events
(Averages of 210 and above)
1, Jacob Boresch, Kenosha, Wis., 2,122. 2, Geoffrey Young, Keller, Texas, 2,028. 3, Daniel Vick, Pittsford, N.Y., 2,012. 4, Gary Daroszewski, Milwaukee, 1,992. 5, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,979. 6, Chris Hibbitts II, Keller, Texas, 1,960. 7, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 1,953. 8, Bryan Thompson, Chicago, 1,939. 9(tie), John May, Effingham, S.C., and Paul Campbell, Zephyrhills, Fla., 1,937.
STANDARD DIVISION
Team
(Combined averages of 901-1,045)
1, Wildcat Lanes 1(Jessi Jensen, Brad Jones, Darin Jensen, Randy Bargholz, Jayme Bargholz), Wayne, Neb., 2,688. 2, New Berlin Ale, New Berlin, Wis., 2,666. 3, Eldora Bowl, Eldora, Iowa, 2,632. 4, Blue Dog Blazers, Webster, S.D., 2,625. 5, Fabfive, Casey, Ill., 2,615. 6, Garden Center Lanes 4, Alexandria, Minn., 2,611. 7, Melody Lanes 3, Montevideo, Minn., 2,585. 8, A&J Salvage Two, Higginsville, Mo., 2,571. 9, Garden Center Lanes 3, Alexandria, Minn., 2,560. 10, Wildcat Vets, Wayne, Neb., 2,559.
Doubles
(Combined averages of 361-418)
1, Jeff Kusnerick/Duane Kruger, Streator, Ill., 1,174. 2, Jordan Longnecker/Jon Zaruba, Streator, Ill., 1,161. 3, Paul Christensen, Osakis, Minn./Chad Meyer, Alexandria, Minn., 1,135. 4, John Schipper/Stephen Schipper, Botkins, Ohio, 1,131. 5, David Moore, Hampstead, Md./Ronda Nichols, Waynesboro, Pa., 1,128. 6, David Pluta, South Bend, Ind./Angela Pluta, Mishawaka, Ind., 1,124. 7, Mark Junio/August List, Sun Prairie, Wis., 1,123. 8, Tonya Hausser/William Tully, Loveland, Colo., 1,118. 9, Daniel Butcher/Russell Neal, Akron, Ohio, 1,116. 10, Ruben Flores/Alex Dy, Salinas, Calif., 1,115.
Singles
(Averages of 181-209)
1, Larry Riggs, Sidney, Mont., 648. 2, George Sampior, South San Francisco, Calif., 645. 3, Bradley Coffey, Waukesha, Wis., 628. 4, Ture Peterson, St. Petersburg, Fla., 618. 5, Monica Caldwell, Tucson, Ariz., 622. 6, Tommy Purvy, San Diego, 618. 7, Cody Dyer, Granby, Mo., 615. 8, Tanya Nelson, San Jose, Calif., 612. 9(tie), Denise Kloeckner, Henderson, Nev., Michael Waite, Shenandoah, Iowa, and Ruben Flores, Salinas, Calif., 610.
All-Events
(Averages of 181-209)
1, Tommy Purvy, San Diego, 1,769. 2, Ruben Flores, Salinas, Calif., 1,754. 3, Cody Dyer, Carl Junction, Mo., 1,737. 4, Curt Brown, Sidney, Mont., 1,731. 5(tie), Monica Caldwell, Tucson, Ariz., and William Wenecki, 1,730. 7, Jacob Buenaventura, Lompoc, Calif., 1,727. 8, Jordan Longnecker, Streator, Ill., 1,726. 9, Brad Brueggemeier, Watertown, Minn., 1,711. 10, Craig Anderson, Donovan, Ill., 1,710.
CLASSIFIED DIVISION
Team
(Combined averages of 900 and below)
1, Decorah Auto Center (Janis Miller, Colette Tieskotter, Karman McGill, Randy Schmitt, Dean Wiedeman), Calmar, Iowa, 2,437. 2, Crooked Creek 1 Bar & Grill, Bowman, N.D., 2,413. 3, Screaming Nuts, Pearland, Texas, 2,323. 4, Fore Bowlers, Mesquite, Nev., 2,309. 5, Aerointeriors, Billings, Mont., 2,291. 6, Bowl Dawgs, Starkville, Miss., 2,285. 7, Wagner’s Heating, Hardin, Mont., 2,284. 8, Custom Timpani, Ellendale, N.D., 2,283. 9, New Cooperative, Fort Dodge, Iowa, 2,278. 10, AZ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Phoenix, 2,276.
Doubles
(Combined averages of 360 and below)
1, Charles Lindeman, Belt, Mont./John Lindeman, Fort Benton, Mont., 1,058. 2, Mike Ignacio, Seaside, Calif./Anthony Souza, Watsonville, Calif., 1,034. 3, Stanley Keeney, Casey, Ill./Denise Elsberry, Paris, Ill., 1,032. 4, Robert Todino/Kelly Lundgren, Green River, Wyo., 1,031. 5, Marlin Rude, Zumbrota, Minn./Tiffany Kiffmeyer, Kenyon, Minn., 1,027. 6, Timothy Jones, Fernley, Nev./Michael Nadon, Sparks, Nev., 1,015. 7, Ryan Schumacher, Scranton, N.D./Jeff Boynton, Bowman, N.D., 1,014. 8, Willis Peterson, Hannaford, N.D./Mark Urness, Coopertown, N.D., 1,012. 9, Ryan McFarland/Brownie McFarland, Payette, Idaho, 1,008. 10, Suzan Bailey/Diane Baldwin, State College, Pa., 1,006.
Singles
(Averages of 180 and below)
1, James Lee, North Platte, Neb., 589. 2, Gregory Lancaster, Port Orchard, Wash., 587. 3, John Jungeblut, Higginsville, Mo., 574. 4, Clay Books, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., 568. 5, Mark Urness, Hannaford, N.D., 567. 6, Eris Simons, Peru, Ill., 562. 7, Thomas Derr, Brunswick, Md., 559. 8, George Brooks, Mendon, Mich., 555. 9, Susan Waltz, Casey, Ill., 554. 10, Kristopher Del Campo, Roodhouse, Ill., 552.
All-Events
(Averages of 180 and below)
1, Bim Marston, Hardin, Mont., 1,623. 2, Daniel Hybner, Rudyard, Mont., 1,586. 3, Robert Maroon, Carrollton, Ill., 1,556. 4, Kyle Glynn, Ellendale, N.D., 1,555. 5, Darrin Eighner, Ranbin, Ill., 1,546. 6, James Lee, North Platte, Neb., 1,543. 7(tie), Barry Crowder, Havre, Mont., and Karman McGill, Racine, Minn., 1,534. 9, Roger Hawkins, Curryville, Mo., 1,531. 10, Ryan Schumacher, Scranton, N.D., 1,517.
