BOWLERS SHARE SPOTLIGHT WITH PERFECT
GAMES AT USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

LAS VEGAS - During the first 21 days of the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, five bowlers added their names to the tournament record book by rolling perfect games at Cashman Center.

On Saturday, two bowlers on the same squad achieved perfection, bringing the total to seven, which is nearly twice as many as the entire 127-day run of the 1986 event (four) under the same roof.

Mike Newman of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Keith Ubert of Hays, Kan., were just a few lanes apart, so the bowling fans on the low side of the venue definitely got their money's worth during the afternoon team event.

Newman struck first, starting his 2009 tournament campaign with 12 consecutive strikes, while Ubert needed some time to warm up before flawlessly closing out his team event.

"It was kind of lucky," said Newman, who made his fifth USBC Open Championships appearance and added 206 and 135 for a 641 series and helped his team to a 2,560 total. "In practice, I could not find a way to attack the lanes, so in the first frame of the first game, I changed up everything and stuck with it."

Newman's main goal coming in was to simply fill frames and help his team. It wasn't until the eighth frame that he started thinking about the possibility of a 300.

"My knees were knocking in the 10th frame," Newman said. "I knew if I got the first strike in the 10th, the other two would be easy. It's pretty cool to shoot one here at the Open."

The 36-year-old right-hander added 543 in doubles and 464 in singles for a 1,648 all-events total.

Ubert started slowly, but it didn't take long for him to get going. After games of 182 and 209, he put the finishing touches on his own 300 game.
"The shot was really tight to start off," said Ubert, who made his eighth Open Championships appearance. "By the third game, I finally found my mark and the pins started to fall."

With the 10th frame approaching, Ubert calmed his nerves and focused on some wise advice he was given.

"Someone once told me that if you have a 300 game going into the 10th, move a board to the left every ball," Ubert said. "I kept moving to the left and kept my feet slow and soft. This is an awesome feeling, and I couldn't ask for anything more."

Ubert, an assistant manager at Centennial Lanes, finished his trip to this year's event with 663 in doubles and 637 in singles for a 1,991 all-events total.

Ubert wasn't the only bowler from Hays making headlines at Cashman Center this weekend.

Bruce Herreman, whose son Dallas rolled the first 300 game of the 2008 event in Albuquerque, N.M., nearly added his name to the list, too, but came up just short with a 299 game Sunday morning.

After a disappointing doubles event, Herreman made a minor strategic change and started his second game of singles with 11 consecutive strikes before a stubborn 4 pin ended his bid for perfection.

"After a poor doubles performance and struggling in the first game of singles, I was pretty much ready to go home," said Herreman, who made his 32nd tournament appearance. "Then, after watching my teammate bowl well by lofting the ball, I decided to try it, too. On that last shot, I told myself to make sure I lofted it, but I didn't, and it hooked early. I'm definitely disappointed about not shooting 300, but I'm also excited that I now have an honor score here."

The near-perfect effort helped Herreman to a 719 series, his first 700 in singles at the Open Championships. He added 599 in team and 555 in doubles for a 1,873 all-events total.

"Towards the end of that game, I thought that if my son could do it, I could do it, and it would've been nice to have another one in the family," Herreman said. "This is the biggest stage we bowl on, and it was a thrill to have gotten so close."

Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.

For more information on the USBC Open Championships, visit USBCopen.com.

2009 USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Cashman Center, Las Vegas
(Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls)

REGULAR DIVISION

Team

1, Junior Team USA Support (Steve Novak, Amanda Vermilyea, Anthony LaCaze, Jeffrey Mersch, Erik Vermilyea), Orlando, Fla., 3,236. 2, Forgey Sports Medicine 1, Milwaukie, Ore., 3,200. 3, Super Bowl-Appleton, Kaukauna, Wis., 3,181. 4, Highland Lanes 2, Ottawa, Ohio, 3,140. 5, AF Strike Eagles, Burke, Va., 3,138. 6, On the Ball Pro Shop, Tulsa, Okla., 3,137. 7, Wichita Bowling Supply 2, Wichita, Kan., 3,134. 8, Rob Bailey's Pro Shop 1, Sun Prairie, Wis., 3,117. 9, St. Charles Lanes, O'Fallon, Mo., 3,110. 10, Joliet Town/Country Lanes 2, Joliet, Ill., 3,104.

Doubles

1, Ron Nelson, Bridgeview, Ill./Bryan O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 1,466. 2, Jason Guest, Urbandale, Iowa/Scott Wohlwend, Moline, Ill., 1,453. 3, Richard Renollet, Park City, Kan./James Hall, Wichita, Kan., 1,415. 4, David Scott, Springfield, Mo./DeWayne Scott, Mountain View, Mo., 1,401. 5, Kevin Kelly/Chad Fowler, Minot, N.D., 1,383. 6, Curtis Odom, Coldwater, Mich./Mark Weller, Jonesville, Mich., 1,372. 7, Rick Ehrnschwender, Cincinnati/Chris Viale, Westfield, Mass., 1,361. 8, Emil Dudas, Toms River, N.J./Gary Budra, Howell, N.J., 1,360. 9 (tie), Dan Crumb, Tallahassee, Fla./Mike Herring, Altamonte Springs, Fla., and David Townsend Jr., Washougal, Wash./John Fantini, Las Vegas, 1,358.

Singles

1, Keith Jeffery, St. Louis, 777. 2, Orin Baugher, Spokane, Wash., 773. 3, Jason Johnson, Macedonia, Ohio, 772. 4, Jeff Voght, Canajoharie, N.Y., 771. 5, Jason Zook, Tampa, Fla., 770. 6, Scott Horvath, Windsor, Colo., 748. 7 (tie), Brian Watson, Washington, W.V., and Steven Vance, Stone Mountain, Ga., 747. 9, Jim Santino, Birch Run Mich., 745. 10, Troy Kendrick, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 744.

All-Events

1, Ron Nelson Jr., Bridgeview, Ill., 2,138. 2, Chris Dicus, Chillicothe, Ohio, 2,123. 3, Jeff Voght, Canajoharie, N.Y., 2,115. 4, Anthony LaCaze, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 2,110. 5, Michael Hansell, Broken Arrow, Okla., 2,107. 6, Richard Renollet, Park City, Kan., 2,103. 7, Stace Bohlender, Lawton, Okla., 2,075. 8, Scott Culp, Lima, N.Y., 2,066. 9, Thomas Hinz, Joliet, Ill., 2,062. 10 (tie), Camden Rokita, Springfield, Ill., and Mike Cole, Plainfield, Wis., 2,058.

Team All-Events

1, Junior Team USA Support (Steve Novak, Amanda Vermilyea, Anthony LaCaze, Jeffrey Mersch, Erik Vermilyea), Orlando, Fla., 9,846. 2, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 9,784. 3, Forgey Sports Medicine 1, Milwaukie, Ore., 9,582. 4, Bowler's Connection, Waukee, Iowa, 9,548. 5, Joliet Town/Country Lanes 2, Joliet, Ill., 9,496. 6, Holiday Bowl 2, Wichita Falls, Texas, 9,477. 7, Forgey Sports Medicine 2, Portland, Ore., 9,330. 8, AF Strikes Eagles, Burke, Va., 9,320. 9, Rob Baileys Pro Shop 1, Sun Prairie, Wis., 9,248. 10, Nobody's Pro Shop, Yorktown, Va., 9,226.

CLASSIFIED DIVISION

Team

1, Malad Gun Club (Darren Tripp, William Evans, Mike Bercier, Doyle Williams, Rex Williams), Malad City, Idaho, 2,745. 2, ATW, New London, Minn., 2,698. 3, Pro Zone 3, Mission Hills, Calif., 2,696. 4, Yetties From Ypsi, Ypsilanti, N.D., 2,684. 5, Golden Gate Bowling Club 2, San Francisco, 2,683. 6, Whitlow Furnace & Duct, Scobey, Mont., 2,675. 7, Brits On Tour, Oxfordshire, England., 2,671. 8, Wild Bill's, Tremonton, Utah, 2,663. 9 (tie), Johnson Insurance, Hardin, Mont., and Lake Country Rollers 1, Clarissa, Minn., 2,661.

Doubles

1, Eric Douglass, Goldfield, Iowa/Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,204. 2, Veronica Boone/Luis Boone, Mission Hills, Calif., 1,195. 3, George Marquez, Whittier/ Pete Dumpit, El Monte, Calif., 1,192. 4, Mamerto Jablan, Baldwin Park/Philip Lebaguin, Cerritos, Calif., 1,161. 5, Jeff Zolman, Lagrange, Ind./Dick Kelly, Orland, Ind., 1,149. 6, Steve Peterson/Rich Wahl, Hannaford, N.D., 1,147. 7, Kelly Campbell, Wenatchee, Wash./Rollin Murphy, Spokane, Wash., 1,143. 8, Joel Olson/Cory Forcht, Greenfield, Iowa, 1,137. 9, Virginia Sweatt, Lakewood, Calif./Ernie Taylor, Cypress, Calif., 1,134. 10, Mark Heilman, Kasota/Bruce Huikko, South Haven, Minn., 1,132.

Singles

1, Ryan Knutson, Dilworth, Minn., 664. 2, Adam Macleod, Brampton, Ontario, 662.
3, Roy Umehira, Honolulu, 657. 4, Jean Reese, Owatonna, Minn., 654. 5, Richard Pecoraro, San Bernadino, Calif., 651. 6, Glenn Matsuda, La Palma, Calif., 644. 7 (tie), Merwin Metzger, Big Lake, Minn., and Patrick Schmidt, Flower Mound, Texas, 632. 9, Alan Schroeder, Mount Vernon, S.D., 629. 10 (tie), Mamerto Jablan, Baldwin Park, Calif., Leon Fosheim, Webster, S.D., and Tyler DeWitt, Wendell, Idaho, 628.

All-Events

1, Anthony Kastle, Charlotte, N.C., 1,834. 2, Pete Dumpit, El Monte, Calif., 1,798. 3, Roy Umehira, Honolulu, 1,782. 4, Ryan Knutson, Dilworth, Minn., 1,750. 5 (tie), John Dorseth, Scobey, Mont., and Glenn Matsuda, La Palma, Calif., 1,745. 7, Eric Halverson, Spearfish, S.D., 1,738. 8, Luis Boone, Mission Hills, Calif., 1,737. 9, Roger Stansbery, New Hampton, Iowa, 1,735. 10, Mamerto Jablan, Baldwin Park, Calif., 1,732.