Michigan bowlers raise bar in team event at 2022 USBC Open Championships
March 19, 2022
LAS VEGAS - Sometimes, success at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships is as much about chemistry and communication as it is about talent and ball motion.
As illustrated by the Bruno's Pizza team that topped the Regular Team standings earlier this week, once you find the right combination, you ride that wave for as long as you can.
They won the team title in their first year together (2002), and they've shared the lanes almost every year since. Even when the pins haven't fallen their way, the memories are as valuable as any prize check.
For Supreme Deck of Grand Haven, Michigan, finding the perfect mix of personalities, styles and a willingness to cooperate was a decade-long process that appears to have ended. If there was any doubt about the cohesion, the team's performance Saturday at the South Point Bowling Plaza erased it.
The group settled on a strategy prior to the three-game team event, exhibited patience along the way and closed with a huge final game to catapult into the lead in Regular Team with a 3,372 total.
The performance started with games of 1,049 and 1,105, before a 1,218 finale launched Supreme Deck past Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1, which set the bar Thursday with 3,241.
The late push for Supreme Deck is the highest team game of the young 2022 Open Championships. David Carroll led the charge with a 290 game and was followed by Robert Schepis (246), Jason Porter (234), Michael Maynard (226) and Charles Brown II (222).
Schepis, the team's energetic leadoff bowler, led the overall effort with a 700 series. Carroll had 686, Porter added 679, Brown had 656 and Maynard contributed 651.
"We had some ups and downs, but we worked well together and got the job done the best we could," Schepis said. "Everyone contributed to the score going up, and everyone had a few mistakes. You can't expect to come to Nationals and shoot 3,600, so it's about minimizing those mistakes and picking each other up."
Supreme Deck is part of a large group organized by Patrick Bentley, who is meticulous when it comes to who is on which team and which teams are paired together.
Schepis, Brown and Porter have been together for about a decade, and they've continued to search for the right players to complete the roster. Based on the rapport in the settee and the numbers on the scoreboard, it looks like Maynard and Carroll have settled in nicely as the missing pieces.
The competitors used the Bowlers Journal Championships at the nearby South Point Bowling Center to get loose and comfortable before taking their one shot on the biggest stage in bowling, but there wasn't a specific practice or strategy session before Saturday's team event.
Most of the group is fairly active in a variety of leagues and tournaments, so being sharp never was expected to be an issue. Porter said he hasn't been bowling much, but it didn't seem to take long to shake off any rust.
The way they jelled as a new team is what made the difference, and they only expect that to get better the more times they share the lanes.
"For a group of guys who have never bowled together, the communication was amazing," Maynard said. "Just working together and following the transitions, especially when we lost Lane 1 early, we talked through the moves and got back on track. It was a fun day, and we can't wait to see what happens when we've bowled together for a few years."
Sunday's six games of doubles and singles is where their time at the Bowlers Journal Championships will come into play.
That event, which is being held alongside the Open Championships for the 75th year, features the same oil pattern being used for doubles/singles at the main tournament, and they feel good about the look they had when they saw it.
"This is just the first step for us this year," Brown said. "There's still more Eagles out there, especially Team All-Events, with this good start. That's always an ultimate goal."
Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 set the bar in Team All-Events on Friday with a 9,557 total. To reach that number, the members of Supreme Deck will need to average 206.2 over their six games Sunday. They'll hit the lanes at the Bowling Plaza at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
Team All-Events officially became a title event in 1947, and it uses the combined all-events scores for all five players to determine the champion.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
As illustrated by the Bruno's Pizza team that topped the Regular Team standings earlier this week, once you find the right combination, you ride that wave for as long as you can.
They won the team title in their first year together (2002), and they've shared the lanes almost every year since. Even when the pins haven't fallen their way, the memories are as valuable as any prize check.
For Supreme Deck of Grand Haven, Michigan, finding the perfect mix of personalities, styles and a willingness to cooperate was a decade-long process that appears to have ended. If there was any doubt about the cohesion, the team's performance Saturday at the South Point Bowling Plaza erased it.
The group settled on a strategy prior to the three-game team event, exhibited patience along the way and closed with a huge final game to catapult into the lead in Regular Team with a 3,372 total.
The performance started with games of 1,049 and 1,105, before a 1,218 finale launched Supreme Deck past Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1, which set the bar Thursday with 3,241.
The late push for Supreme Deck is the highest team game of the young 2022 Open Championships. David Carroll led the charge with a 290 game and was followed by Robert Schepis (246), Jason Porter (234), Michael Maynard (226) and Charles Brown II (222).
Schepis, the team's energetic leadoff bowler, led the overall effort with a 700 series. Carroll had 686, Porter added 679, Brown had 656 and Maynard contributed 651.
"We had some ups and downs, but we worked well together and got the job done the best we could," Schepis said. "Everyone contributed to the score going up, and everyone had a few mistakes. You can't expect to come to Nationals and shoot 3,600, so it's about minimizing those mistakes and picking each other up."
Supreme Deck is part of a large group organized by Patrick Bentley, who is meticulous when it comes to who is on which team and which teams are paired together.
Schepis, Brown and Porter have been together for about a decade, and they've continued to search for the right players to complete the roster. Based on the rapport in the settee and the numbers on the scoreboard, it looks like Maynard and Carroll have settled in nicely as the missing pieces.
The competitors used the Bowlers Journal Championships at the nearby South Point Bowling Center to get loose and comfortable before taking their one shot on the biggest stage in bowling, but there wasn't a specific practice or strategy session before Saturday's team event.
Most of the group is fairly active in a variety of leagues and tournaments, so being sharp never was expected to be an issue. Porter said he hasn't been bowling much, but it didn't seem to take long to shake off any rust.
The way they jelled as a new team is what made the difference, and they only expect that to get better the more times they share the lanes.
"For a group of guys who have never bowled together, the communication was amazing," Maynard said. "Just working together and following the transitions, especially when we lost Lane 1 early, we talked through the moves and got back on track. It was a fun day, and we can't wait to see what happens when we've bowled together for a few years."
Sunday's six games of doubles and singles is where their time at the Bowlers Journal Championships will come into play.
That event, which is being held alongside the Open Championships for the 75th year, features the same oil pattern being used for doubles/singles at the main tournament, and they feel good about the look they had when they saw it.
"This is just the first step for us this year," Brown said. "There's still more Eagles out there, especially Team All-Events, with this good start. That's always an ultimate goal."
Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 set the bar in Team All-Events on Friday with a 9,557 total. To reach that number, the members of Supreme Deck will need to average 206.2 over their six games Sunday. They'll hit the lanes at the Bowling Plaza at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
Team All-Events officially became a title event in 1947, and it uses the combined all-events scores for all five players to determine the champion.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.