Hello everybody. Just got back from Las Vegas a couple of days ago (bowled on the 21st and 22nd of July). Just like last year, it was a struggle at the beginning (though not quite as bad this year). On the first frame of the team event, I fell and fouled on the first shot, and got 9 on the second shot. On my second frame, I left the bucket and got 3 on my second shot. I was thinking, here we go again; opening with 2 open frames. I ended up staying clean the rest of the game with one double for a 184 on the 1st game. Things went better on the 2nd game, had a 4 bagger with one open for a 212 game. The last game, I went to using a different ball on each lane (I was getting carry down on the left lane and break down on the right lane). I ended having a 9/ in the first frame, and wiffed on a 10 pin in the 7th frame for a 257 and a 653 series. As a team, we rolled a 2762. I also got a certificate for rolling a 250+ game in competition.
On doubles and singles, it was a struggle. In doubles, I rolled a 201, 188, 189 for a 578 series. And I fell apart on singles. I rolled a 191, 149, 177 for a 517 series.
I ended up rolling 1748 for All Events. A little bit below last year, but I am still happy with the result. Hopefully, I can break the 1800 barrier next year.
Driving from St Louis to Las Vegas was a long drive. Being that we were in Las Vegas, we went by 29 Palms Ca. to visit my daughter (she enlisted in the Marine Corps earlier this year). We ended up driving through 10 states (Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma) and logged more than 4000 miles on our vehicle.
All of my leagues are finished now. I was in a slump recently, and I was glad for the leagues to be over. I took a couple of weeks off to go to Paris Island, SC to pick up my daughter from Marine Corps Bootcamp, and welcome her into the CORPS. Ohh-rah.
Anyway, not that my leagues are over, all of my practice will be on the USBC Open pattern. Since coming back, I have practiced 3 times on the pattern and have done well. My spare shooting has been better, and I have been able to keep the ball around the pocket.
Kieth Jeffery, whom I bowl with on Monday nights, has the early lead in the USBC Open Regular Singles. There is an article about him on the bowl.com web site under the "Sport Bowling" section. If you are interested, the link to the article is www.bowl.com/sportbowling...
Bowled the USBC Open in Albuquerque this last weekend, and I am
happy with my results for the first time bowling in the National
tournament. However, I got off to a pretty rough start. I started the
1st game of the team event with 4 opens (had a score of 35 going into
the 5th frame). After the 3rd frame, I thought I had my spare problem
fixed, and then I left a split in the 4th frame. In addition to having
problems with my spare game, the lanes were hooking more than I
expected on the outside, and I didn't get close to the pocket until 5th
frame. (Everybody I talked to said to play inside. However, I am more
comfortable on the outside, so I was trying to roll somewhat of a tight
line down the 5 board. And I stayed with that line through out the
tournament.) In the 8th frame, I found a line that held until half way
through the 2nd game. I finished the 1st game with a 5 bagger to
finish with a 184. I followed that with a 208 and a 205 for a 607
series in the team event.
In the doubles, I didn't get quite as
many strikes, and my spare shooting was a little better. But I still
averaged 2 opens per game. My scores in doubles were 196, 178, 185 for
a 559 series.
I shot my high game of the tournament in the 2nd
game of the singles competition. I rolled a 244 with an open frame
(another single pin miss). I bowled a 171, 244, 188 for a 603 series.
The singles was also my best set for spare shooting (had a total of 4
opens for the set).
My total for All Events was 1769. Only
missed averaging 200 by 31 pins. I should get back about half my entry
fee for cashing in Singles and AllEvents.
