Longtime teammates lead doubles at 2018 USBC Open Championships
April 04, 2018
By Matt Cannizzaro and Fran Piraino
USBC Communications
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Bill Webb of Guilford, Connecticut, and Ron Nelson of Bridgeview, Illinois, topped an active Regular Doubles leaderboard Wednesday at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, while also helping their team into third place in Team All-Events.
The doubles bar had been raised minutes earlier 10 lanes away at the Oncenter Convention Center, and Webb and Nelson both delivered three strikes in the final frame to claim the top spot in the standings with a 1,376 total.
Doug Cutler and Jeff Fox of Fort Wayne, Indiana, initially took control with a 1,366 performance, surpassing Kurt Pilon of Warren, Michigan, and Andrew Burke of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, who previously held the lead with 1,331.
Two members of Webb and Nelson's companion team, Bruce Hall of Westborough, Massachusetts, and Tony Bennett of Worcester, Massachusetts, also made a run at the lead, before settling into third place with a 1,341 total.
Webb said that as they prepared for the 10th frame, someone mentioned to him what Cutler and Fox's final total was. That's when he realized the lead was within reach.
"I looked up and saw we could do it," Webb said. "You're always trying to get everything you can. At that point, if you know you can jump another team, you're going to try and do it."
Nelson and Webb recorded three-game doubles sets of 699 and 677, respectively, Wednesday.
While on the lanes, Nelson prefers a different approach and doesn't pay any attention to the scoreboard or leading numbers.
"I just bowl, I don't watch," said Nelson, who made his 26th USBC Open Championships appearance. "I had no idea what I had to score. You have to keep striking to get as much as you can get."
Nelson, a 51-year-old right-hander, struck quite a bit over his nine games and added sets of 689 in team and 613 in singles for a 2,001 all-events total. Webb, a 46-year-old right-hander making his 16th tournament appearance, had 662 in singles and 606 in team for 1,945.
The two started their 2018 tournament campaign by helping Cambridge Credit Counseling 1 into second place in Regular Team with a 3,188 total Tuesday night, and their all-events contributions helped the team to a 9,480 Team All-Events total.
They were joined in the performance by Ryan Graywacz (2,018), Chris Viale (1,800) and Stephen Dale (1,816). Bennett posted a 2,056 all-events total, which is second in Regular All-Events, while Graywacz is third and Nelson is fifth.
S&B Pro Shop 1 of Warren, Michigan, leads Regular Team (3,322) and Team All-Events (9,708), and Pilon, the leading team's anchor, tops the Regular All-Events standings with 2,186.
Nelson and Webb said teamwork and making adjustments contributed to their performance in doubles.
"The lanes change all the time," said Nelson, who works as a mechanic at Diversey River Bowl in Chicago. "You have to move around and see what's going on, and see what the other people on the lanes are doing."
Nelson's best Open Championships finish came in 2009 when he placed third in Regular Doubles with Junior Team USA head coach Bryan O'Keefe. Nelson rolled a 300 game in doubles that year on the way to a 1,466 total. Nelson added a 299 game to his Open Championships resume during singles in 2015.
Nelson and Webb also were part of back-to-back top-five finishes in the team event in 2011 and 2012. They appeared in the top 10 in Team All-Events both years, too.
USBC Communications
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Bill Webb of Guilford, Connecticut, and Ron Nelson of Bridgeview, Illinois, topped an active Regular Doubles leaderboard Wednesday at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, while also helping their team into third place in Team All-Events.
The doubles bar had been raised minutes earlier 10 lanes away at the Oncenter Convention Center, and Webb and Nelson both delivered three strikes in the final frame to claim the top spot in the standings with a 1,376 total.
Doug Cutler and Jeff Fox of Fort Wayne, Indiana, initially took control with a 1,366 performance, surpassing Kurt Pilon of Warren, Michigan, and Andrew Burke of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, who previously held the lead with 1,331.Two members of Webb and Nelson's companion team, Bruce Hall of Westborough, Massachusetts, and Tony Bennett of Worcester, Massachusetts, also made a run at the lead, before settling into third place with a 1,341 total.
Webb said that as they prepared for the 10th frame, someone mentioned to him what Cutler and Fox's final total was. That's when he realized the lead was within reach.
"I looked up and saw we could do it," Webb said. "You're always trying to get everything you can. At that point, if you know you can jump another team, you're going to try and do it."
Nelson and Webb recorded three-game doubles sets of 699 and 677, respectively, Wednesday.
While on the lanes, Nelson prefers a different approach and doesn't pay any attention to the scoreboard or leading numbers.
"I just bowl, I don't watch," said Nelson, who made his 26th USBC Open Championships appearance. "I had no idea what I had to score. You have to keep striking to get as much as you can get."
Nelson, a 51-year-old right-hander, struck quite a bit over his nine games and added sets of 689 in team and 613 in singles for a 2,001 all-events total. Webb, a 46-year-old right-hander making his 16th tournament appearance, had 662 in singles and 606 in team for 1,945.
The two started their 2018 tournament campaign by helping Cambridge Credit Counseling 1 into second place in Regular Team with a 3,188 total Tuesday night, and their all-events contributions helped the team to a 9,480 Team All-Events total.
They were joined in the performance by Ryan Graywacz (2,018), Chris Viale (1,800) and Stephen Dale (1,816). Bennett posted a 2,056 all-events total, which is second in Regular All-Events, while Graywacz is third and Nelson is fifth.
S&B Pro Shop 1 of Warren, Michigan, leads Regular Team (3,322) and Team All-Events (9,708), and Pilon, the leading team's anchor, tops the Regular All-Events standings with 2,186.
Nelson and Webb said teamwork and making adjustments contributed to their performance in doubles.
"The lanes change all the time," said Nelson, who works as a mechanic at Diversey River Bowl in Chicago. "You have to move around and see what's going on, and see what the other people on the lanes are doing."
Nelson's best Open Championships finish came in 2009 when he placed third in Regular Doubles with Junior Team USA head coach Bryan O'Keefe. Nelson rolled a 300 game in doubles that year on the way to a 1,466 total. Nelson added a 299 game to his Open Championships resume during singles in 2015.
Nelson and Webb also were part of back-to-back top-five finishes in the team event in 2011 and 2012. They appeared in the top 10 in Team All-Events both years, too.