Past champion leads two events at 2016 Bowlers Journal
May 20, 2016
RENO, Nev. - On a squad that had more stars than a crystal-clear Lake Tahoe night, Sean Riccardi of St. Petersburg, Florida, was the brightest of the bunch Friday as he used the momentum of a perfect game to secure the lead in Open Singles and Open Doubles at the 2016 Bowlers Journal Championships presented by the United States Bowling Congress.
The 41-year-old right-hander calmly added games of 248 and 219 for a 767 series at the National Bowling Stadium, shooting past former Team USA member Derek Eoff of Madison, Wisconsin, who previously held the lead in Open Singles with 733.
The clean set helped Riccardi and two-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Brad Angelo of Lockport, New York, win a three-team battle for the doubles lead with a 1,459 total. Angelo also filled all 30 frames on the way to games of 259, 209 and 224 for a 692 finish.
Jeff Fehr and two-time USBC Open Championships titlist Kenny Abner of Cincinnati settled into second place with 1,408 and Abner teamed with former Junior Team USA member PJ Haggerty for a 1,401 effort and third place overall.
Angelo and Kevin Bienko of Kenmore, New York, set the bar in Open Doubles with a 1,376 performance Thursday afternoon.
"I wasn't eligible to bowl in these events for a few years, so to be able to come back and experience the excitement of bowling with friends and the adrenaline of stepping up in that situation has been great," Angelo said. "Sean bowled incredible today. It's really tough to start with 300 and keep things going through the end of the set, but he kept his emotions in check and made great shots, and it was awesome."
Riccardi has spent time in the spotlight before, including a perfect game at the 2009 Open Championships in Las Vegas on the way to top-10 finishes in Regular All-Events and Regular Singles and an Open Doubles title with Paul Stolp of Edison, New Jersey, at the 2011 Bowlers Journal Championships.
Most recently, Riccardi has been working with his brother-in-law, former Team USA member David O'Sullivan, on some timing issues, and the work has paid off, first with a 300 game this week during the opening night of his summer league and again Friday at the NBS to get his ninth Open Championships campaign off to a hot start.
"One of the things I've been working on lately is slowing down my approach, and it's really seems to be working out," Riccardi said. "Today, I was just focused on that and making good shots and didn't pay any attention to the scores or who was leading or anything like that. It's pretty cool to be bowling with all these guys and an honor to get to bowl doubles with someone like Brad. This is a great start to the weekend, and I hope to ride the wave until Sunday."
While Bowlers Journal Championships competitors are allowed to bowl doubles with up to four partners at the same time, Riccardi and Angelo almost didn't sign up to bowl together Friday.
Angelo already had committed to bowling with four other bowlers, but when one didn't work out, he found Riccardi, who had inquired Thursday night about the possibility of pairing up at some point during the trip.
The two now will turn their attention to the 2016 Open Championships, where they will compete among the eight teams captained by two-time titlist and three-game-series record holder Bo Goergen of Sanford, Michigan.
Riccardi's team includes three members of the 2010 Team All-Events winner (Goergen, Derwin Pitre and Dale Hofmeister), along with Open Championships first-timer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Florida, a USBC and PBA Hall of Famer.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 41-year-old right-hander calmly added games of 248 and 219 for a 767 series at the National Bowling Stadium, shooting past former Team USA member Derek Eoff of Madison, Wisconsin, who previously held the lead in Open Singles with 733.
The clean set helped Riccardi and two-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Brad Angelo of Lockport, New York, win a three-team battle for the doubles lead with a 1,459 total. Angelo also filled all 30 frames on the way to games of 259, 209 and 224 for a 692 finish.Jeff Fehr and two-time USBC Open Championships titlist Kenny Abner of Cincinnati settled into second place with 1,408 and Abner teamed with former Junior Team USA member PJ Haggerty for a 1,401 effort and third place overall.
Angelo and Kevin Bienko of Kenmore, New York, set the bar in Open Doubles with a 1,376 performance Thursday afternoon.
"I wasn't eligible to bowl in these events for a few years, so to be able to come back and experience the excitement of bowling with friends and the adrenaline of stepping up in that situation has been great," Angelo said. "Sean bowled incredible today. It's really tough to start with 300 and keep things going through the end of the set, but he kept his emotions in check and made great shots, and it was awesome."
Riccardi has spent time in the spotlight before, including a perfect game at the 2009 Open Championships in Las Vegas on the way to top-10 finishes in Regular All-Events and Regular Singles and an Open Doubles title with Paul Stolp of Edison, New Jersey, at the 2011 Bowlers Journal Championships.
Most recently, Riccardi has been working with his brother-in-law, former Team USA member David O'Sullivan, on some timing issues, and the work has paid off, first with a 300 game this week during the opening night of his summer league and again Friday at the NBS to get his ninth Open Championships campaign off to a hot start.
"One of the things I've been working on lately is slowing down my approach, and it's really seems to be working out," Riccardi said. "Today, I was just focused on that and making good shots and didn't pay any attention to the scores or who was leading or anything like that. It's pretty cool to be bowling with all these guys and an honor to get to bowl doubles with someone like Brad. This is a great start to the weekend, and I hope to ride the wave until Sunday."
While Bowlers Journal Championships competitors are allowed to bowl doubles with up to four partners at the same time, Riccardi and Angelo almost didn't sign up to bowl together Friday.
Angelo already had committed to bowling with four other bowlers, but when one didn't work out, he found Riccardi, who had inquired Thursday night about the possibility of pairing up at some point during the trip.
The two now will turn their attention to the 2016 Open Championships, where they will compete among the eight teams captained by two-time titlist and three-game-series record holder Bo Goergen of Sanford, Michigan.
Riccardi's team includes three members of the 2010 Team All-Events winner (Goergen, Derwin Pitre and Dale Hofmeister), along with Open Championships first-timer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Florida, a USBC and PBA Hall of Famer.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.