Maine duo leads Classified Doubles at 2018 USBC Open Championships
June 02, 2018
By Christine Nichols and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - After a slow start in doubles at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Edward Cotter of Levant, Maine, and Jessica Archer of Portland, Maine, were shocked to find out their strong finish was enough to take the lead in the Classified Division at the Oncenter Convention Center.
Neither player broke 150 in their first game Friday, but Cotter and Archer averaged 210 as a team in their final two games to finish with a 1,116 total. Adam Valentinas of Palos Park, Illinois, and Daniel Hartmont of Orland Park, Illinois, previously held the lead with 1,097.
Cotter, a 29-year-old right-hander, led the way with games of 128, 223 and 233 for a 584 series, while Archer, a 28-year-old right-hander, added 148, 182 and 202 for a 532 total.
Both players delivered in the final frame, as Cotter connected for a pair of strikes and Archer converted a 10 pin to move to the top of the leaderboard.
"This was a complete team effort," said Archer, who made her second USBC Open Championships appearance. "We did a great job of picking each other up, especially after such an awful start to our doubles set."
Archer and Cotter both knew adjustments had to be made, but each was fighting a different issue in the early portion of doubles. Archer had drilled a new ball Thursday that she still was trying to get comfortable with, and Cotter settled in after getting his feet underneath him.
"I knew the adjustments I had to make after the first game," said Cotter, who also made his second tournament appearance. "The ball wasn't coming off my hand correctly at all, and the approaches took a toll. We came here to bowl and have fun with family and friends, and taking the lead is an added bonus."
The two bowled doubles together in their Open Championships debut last year in Las Vegas, and they enjoy spending time both on and off the lanes, which is something they've been doing for the last 20 years. Like many up-and-coming youth bowlers, Archer and Cotter got their first experience of competing in a national event at the Junior Gold Championships.
"We've had the opportunity to bowl in other tournaments together around the country," said Archer, who added 514 in singles but did not bowl in the team event in 2018. "We were fortunate enough to bowl in Junior Gold when we were younger, and now, we're still fortunate to be bowling in the Open Championships."
Now, Archer and Cotter will have to wait and see if their score is enough to hold on for the next month. The 2018 Open Championships, which kicked off March 24, will conclude July 8.
"I never thought for a second about taking the lead in doubles," said Cotter, who added sets of 454 in team and 427 in singles for a 1,465 all-events total. "I was out here to have fun, and I'll check the leaderboard every so often. If our number holds up, it would be great, and we would be very happy."
Classified Doubles includes pairs with combined entering averages of 360 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
USBC Communications
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - After a slow start in doubles at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Edward Cotter of Levant, Maine, and Jessica Archer of Portland, Maine, were shocked to find out their strong finish was enough to take the lead in the Classified Division at the Oncenter Convention Center.
Neither player broke 150 in their first game Friday, but Cotter and Archer averaged 210 as a team in their final two games to finish with a 1,116 total. Adam Valentinas of Palos Park, Illinois, and Daniel Hartmont of Orland Park, Illinois, previously held the lead with 1,097.
Cotter, a 29-year-old right-hander, led the way with games of 128, 223 and 233 for a 584 series, while Archer, a 28-year-old right-hander, added 148, 182 and 202 for a 532 total.
Both players delivered in the final frame, as Cotter connected for a pair of strikes and Archer converted a 10 pin to move to the top of the leaderboard.
"This was a complete team effort," said Archer, who made her second USBC Open Championships appearance. "We did a great job of picking each other up, especially after such an awful start to our doubles set."
Archer and Cotter both knew adjustments had to be made, but each was fighting a different issue in the early portion of doubles. Archer had drilled a new ball Thursday that she still was trying to get comfortable with, and Cotter settled in after getting his feet underneath him.
"I knew the adjustments I had to make after the first game," said Cotter, who also made his second tournament appearance. "The ball wasn't coming off my hand correctly at all, and the approaches took a toll. We came here to bowl and have fun with family and friends, and taking the lead is an added bonus."
The two bowled doubles together in their Open Championships debut last year in Las Vegas, and they enjoy spending time both on and off the lanes, which is something they've been doing for the last 20 years. Like many up-and-coming youth bowlers, Archer and Cotter got their first experience of competing in a national event at the Junior Gold Championships.
"We've had the opportunity to bowl in other tournaments together around the country," said Archer, who added 514 in singles but did not bowl in the team event in 2018. "We were fortunate enough to bowl in Junior Gold when we were younger, and now, we're still fortunate to be bowling in the Open Championships."
Now, Archer and Cotter will have to wait and see if their score is enough to hold on for the next month. The 2018 Open Championships, which kicked off March 24, will conclude July 8.
"I never thought for a second about taking the lead in doubles," said Cotter, who added sets of 454 in team and 427 in singles for a 1,465 all-events total. "I was out here to have fun, and I'll check the leaderboard every so often. If our number holds up, it would be great, and we would be very happy."
Classified Doubles includes pairs with combined entering averages of 360 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.