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MINNESOTA BOWLER BREAKS ALL-EVENTS RECORD AT USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
RENO, Nev. - After a disappointing performance at the United States Bowling Congress Masters in February, Matt McNiel of Chanhassen, Minn., worked hard to make sure he was prepared for his return to the National Bowling Stadium for the 2010 USBC Open Championships.
The 24-year-old left-hander was determined and focused this weekend and blistered the tournament lanes for a 2,326 all-events effort Sunday, the highest nine-game total in 107 years of USBC Open Championships competition.
McNiel averaged more than eight strikes per game and recorded 88 clean frames on the way to 806 in singles, 780 in team and 740 in doubles to break the all-events record of 2,321 set by Ron Vokes of Racine, Wis., at the 2009 tournament in Las Vegas. John Bauerle Jr. of Indianapolis previously held the lead at this year's event with 2,225, which he shot Saturday afternoon.
"I bowled terrible at the Masters and worked immediately after with (USBC Silver coach) Mike Jasnau at Lane 81, who gave me a few small, core things to work on," said McNiel, who finished 132nd out of 268 competitors at the Masters. "For the last three months, I have been trying to undo 20 years of bowling how I was, and it's not all there yet, but it's coming along. I really haven't bowled well up until this point. I talked with Mike two minutes before the team event. He gave me another small pointer, and I went out and had 780. It just clicked. It all fell into place."
McNiel, who made his fourth USBC Open Championships appearance, also found success at the Stadium in his tournament debut in 2007 when he shot 782 and finished 10th in Regular Singles. He has averaged 259 for his last 12 Open Championships games in Reno, and this year's singles effort, which included the sixth 299 of the year, puts him second behind Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., who leads with 833.
"The biggest thing I was focusing on was not winning anything or placing, but coming out here and making good shots and being happy with myself," McNiel said. "I wanted to show myself that the work I was putting in was paying off. When I was packing up for the tournament, I said, 'the Masters was the Masters,' and that was the old Matt. We've been working long and hard almost every day for the last three months working on my arm swing and good fundamentals. All I came out here to do was to make good shots. I know I can score in this building. It's about being confident and knowing you can make a good shot."
Although he isn't the most experienced competitor at the Open Championships, McNiel performed like a seasoned veteran as he closed in on his place in tournament history. He entered his final game knowing he had a shot at the lead in singles and all-events, but was able to keep his mind clear and focus on one shot at a time.
"I fell into a good rhythm, and one good shot at a time is what I kept telling myself," said McNiel, whose previous-high all-events total was 1,891 at the Stadium in 2007. "Every time my mind started to wander, I told myself to stay in the now and make one good shot at a time."
McNiel worked hard to earn his spot on Linds Cedarvale 1 of Eagan, Minn., and has worked even harder over the last few months to get his game back in shape for the Open Championships and his debut with his new team.
His performance helped the group into sixth place in Regular Team with 3,289 and seventh place in Team All-Events with 9,732. Bowlers Edge Pro Shop of Neenah, Wis., leads the team event with 3,408, while Red Carpet Lanes of Greenfield, Wis., tops Team All-Events with 10,131.
Brent Prentice added 1,939 for Linds Cedarvale 1 and was followed by Jason Barnhouse (1,884), Matt Meyer (1,800) and Carl Fietek (1,783).
"The first two or three shots last night were nerve-racking because it was my first Nationals with those guys, but shooting 780 and being high on the team was great," McNiel said. "Everyone worked super hard, and I was really impressed how everyone dug in and really bowled. We've had kind of a weaker season, but we really came together here at Nationals, so it was a lot of fun."
McNiel was so focused on the lanes that he had no idea he broke the all-events record until he was mobbed by his teammates.
"All I can say is that I have never experienced such a Zen moment or whatever you want to call it, where I was just strictly focused on making pure shots, the best shot I could, one at a time," McNiel said. "I am the last guy who would think I would break a record in this building. I can't tell you how good this feels. This is unbelievable."
Just last week, Vokes was in Reno to put his all-events title on the line, and although he won't repeat, he did turn in a respectable 1,960 total, the second-highest of his 25-year tournament career. As Vokes knows, record-setting days with 30-consecutive strikes like he had last April in Las Vegas, likely are once-in-a-lifetime.
"That is some great shooting, and to put together nine games like that is unbelievable," Vokes said of McNiel's performance. "It just shows that if you get locked in and have the right equipment, amazing things can happen. My hat's off to him. It's an incredible feeling, and I hope he's on his way out to celebrate."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.
For more information on the USBC Open Championships, visit USBCopen.com.
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2010 USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
At National Bowling Stadium, Reno, Nev.
(Top 10 division leaders with hometowns and pinfalls)
REGULAR DIVISION
Team
1, Bowlers Edge Pro Shop (Brad Kuhr, Timothy Rice, Dan Paul, Kenny Kempf, Jason Wendt), Neenah, Wis., 3,408. 2, S & B Pro Shop, Clinton Township, Mich., 3,347. 3, Lakeview Lanes, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 3,313. 4, 900 Global, Indianapolis, 3,304. 5, Turbo 2-N-1 Grips 1, Madison, Wis., 3,298. 6, Linds Cedarvale 1, Eagan, Minn., 3,289. 7, Red Carpet Lanes, Greenfield, Wis., 3,250. 8, Ray Cyr's Pro Shop, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 3,248. 9, Up An Adam, Coral Springs, Fla., 3,247. 10, The Locker Guy 1, Mankato, Minn., 3,245.
Doubles
1, Jeffrey Mersch, Orlando, Fla./Erik Vermilyea, Mansfield, Texas, 1,507. 2, Tom Milton, St. Petersburg, Fla./David Taylor, Seminole, Fla., 1,498. 3, Jeff Nimke, Oshkosh, Wis./Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 1,480. 4, Kenneth Stephens, Frankfort, Ky./Randall Montoya, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,434. 5 (tie), Terry Hall, Rocklin, Calif./Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., and Scott Helm, Hartford, Wis./Dave Beres, Greenfield, Wis., 1,421. 7, Mandy Wilson, Dayton, Ohio/Douglas Stone, Troy, Ohio, 1,419. 8, Art Alexander III/Matt Chetney, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 1,416. 9, Phil Croak, Johnstown, Ohio/Jason Tom, Mechanicsburg, Ohio, 1,413. 10 (tie), Jason Hale, Des Moines, Iowa/Matt Smith, Altoona, Iowa, and Lana Schwab, Lake Villa, Ill./Davey Rosen, Northbrook, Ill., 1,411.
Singles
1, Terrence Syring, Bay City, Mich., 833. 2, Matt McNiel, Chanhassen, Minn., 806. 3, Jimmy Johnson, Pataskala, Ohio, 804. 4, Dan Gould, East Hampton, Mass., 783. 5, Dave Smalley, Louisville, Ky., 781. 6, Richard Brooks, Versailles, Conn., 767. 7, Barry Zimmerman, Grand Forks, N.D., 766. 8, Brian Omara, Webster, N.Y., 764. 9, Brian Huther, Madison, Ala., 762. 10, George Kontos, Joliet, Ill., 760.
All-Events
1, Matt McNiel, Chanhassen, Minn., 2,326. 2, John Bauerle Jr., Indianapolis, 2,225. 3, Terrence Syring, Bay City, Mich., 2,155. 4, Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 2,141. 5, Dave Smalley, Louisville, Ky., 2,124. 6, Dave Ewald, Macomb, Mich., 2,116. 7, Jeffrey Mersch, Orlando, Fla., 2,112. 8, Jimmy Johnson, Pataskala, Ohio, 2,108. 9, Erik Vermilyea, Mansfield, Texas, 2,104. 10, Mark Moore, Macomb Township, Mich., 2,097.
Team All-Events
1, Red Carpet Lanes (Jeff Nimke, Scott Helm, Steve Brinkman, Chad Maas, Dave Beres), Greenfield, Wis., 10,131. 2, S & B Pro Shop, Clinton Township, Mich., 9,920. 3, Junior Team USA Support, Orlando, Fla., 9,893. 4, Don Johnson Memorial, Shepherdsville, Ky., 9,813. 5, Victor's Caf, Reading, Penn., 9,808. 6, Coach's 5 Horsemen, Racine, Wis., 9,753. 7, Linds Cedarvale 1, Eagan, Minn., 9,732. 8, 900 Global, Indianapolis, 9,648. 9, Royal Scott 1, Lansing, Mich., 9,647. 10, Turbo 2-N-1 Grips 1, Madison, Wis., 9,609.
CLASSIFIED DIVISION
Team
1, Huikko's Bowling Center 3 (Pam Strong, Ronda Bauman, Jeanne Schmid, Jeffrey Schmid, Dale Bauman), Buffalo, Minn., 2,730. 2, EWI/NPS/Denny's, Mentor, Ohio, 2,699. 3, We Don't Know, Columbia, S.C., 2,687. 4, Wothe Bait 1, Perham, Minn., 2,684. 5, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,683. 6, Razorback Rollers, Stuttgart, Ark., 2,668. 7, Garden Center Lanes 3, Alexandria, Minn., 2,663. 8, Sportsman Bowling Club 5, Moreno Valley, Calif., 2,662. 9, Queen Bee's Bar/Grill 1, Paynesville, Minn., 2,651. 10, Paradise Lanes, Walden, Colo., 2,648.
Doubles
1, Tyson Sims/Scott Wilcox, Georgetown, Idaho, 1,182. 2, John Bishop/Dan Mosteller, Tooele, Utah, 1,175. 3, Wayne Doney, Lamar, Colo./Jim Matusek, Hartland, Wis., 1,174. 4, Pat Fitzgibbons, Colorado Springs, Colo./Pete Fitzgibbons, Goodland, Kan., 1,173. 5, Chris Nugent, Mays Landing, N.J./Jason Campbell, Galloway, N.J., 1,171. 6, Greg Allen/Stacey Bauer, Ogallala, Neb., 1,166. 7, Joe McKee/Mark Nalan, Sheffield, Iowa, 1,155. 8, Walter Cook, Inverness, Fla./Stephen Liik, Homosassa, Fla., 1,153. 9 (tie), Holly Ventura, Harwood Heights, Ill./Bob Zurek, River Grove, Ill., and Scott Lehman/Terry Reineke, Celina, Ohio, 1,149.
Singles
1, David Garcez, Merced, Calif., 669. 2, Blake Sandidge, Lead, S.D., 653. 3, Joseph Buggs, Honolulu, 647. 4, Mark Plute, Montrose, Colo., 644. 5, Gino Cerullo, Caspey, Wyo., 634. 6, Matt Tschann, Paynesville, Minn., 630. 7, Curt VanLaningham, Ogallala, Neb., 624. 8, Dan Dahlquist, Wheaton, Ill., 622. 9, Gerald Petersen, Sidney, Mich., 621. 10, Terrance Hall, Spanish Fork, Utah, 620.
All-Events
1, Steve Miller, Roanoke, Ill., 1,775. 2, Richard Eisenhut, Downers Grove, Ill., 1,766. 3, Scott Lehman, Celina, Ohio, 1,744. 4, Harry Berg, Eau Claire, Wis., 1,743. 5, Matt Tschann, Paynesville, Minn., 1,742. 6, Paul Daniels, Bonner, Mont., 1,739. 7, Jake Acuna, Pocatello, Idaho, 1,736. 8, John Stolarski, Waterford, Mich., 1,733. 9 (tie), Tom Sellers, Barstow, Calif., and Douglas Drake, Princeton, Ill., 1,732.
