Teammates lead every event at 2016 USBC Open Championships
March 12, 2016
RENO, Nev. - No matter how busy real life gets or how many miles are between them, Will Barnes of Austin, Texas, and his teammates, are able to effortlessly rekindle the camaraderie and trust that helped them find continued success while bowling together collegiately.
Although they're all five or six years removed from their days at Wichita State, the atmosphere they created on the lanes at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships was as electric as days past.
The result was the same, too, as Barnes and 5 ICT Bowlers of Johnston, Iowa, moved into the lead in every event at the National Bowling Stadium.
Barnes, a 28-year-old right-hander and the 2015 Professional Bowlers Association Southwest Region Rookie of the Year, got better with each event at the 2016 USBC Open Championships, and sets of 764 in singles and 642 in doubles and 617 in team helped him to a 2,023 all-events total Saturday.
Scott Salinas of Racine, Wisconsin, previously held the lead in Regular All-Events with 1,923, while Ryan Utterback of Clinton, Illinois, set the pace in Regular Singles with 704.
"My goal is always to make it to the top of the leaderboard in at least one event, and to be leading all five is an unbelievable feeling," said Barnes, who made his 10th Open Championships appearance. "I know the scores aren't going to hold up, but they're still pretty good and will make people think about having to strike a lot."
Barnes and Kevin Tatrow of Bel Aire, Kansas (693) earned the top spot in Regular Doubles with a 1,335 total, and the duo helped 5 ICT Bowlers set the bar in Team All-Events with 9,488. The group took the lead in Regular Team with a 3,128 performance Friday night on BowlTV.
Four of the five members of ICT Bowlers cracked the top 10 in Regular All-Events. Tatrow is fifth with 1,909 and is followed by Josh McBride of Johnston, Iowa, who is sixth with 1,896 and Geoffrey Young of Keller, Texas, who is ninth with 1,843. Nick Pahr of Wichita, Kansas, completed the effort with 1,817.
Some of the members of the two-team group were in Reno long enough to take advantage of the Showcase Lanes, adjacent to the main tournament lanes and available for team practice sessions on the team oil pattern, or the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, which is contested on the doubles and singles oil pattern.
Those who got to town a little later and didn't have time to partake relied on the trust and communication they developed on the way to three consecutive wins at the Intercollegiate Team Championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
"We do have a high level of trust, and even though I wasn't here for the Bowlers Journal squads, it really helped that the other guys were, and what they were able to tell me about it really helped," said Tatrow, who made his seventh tournament appearance. "It's also pretty early in the tournament, which is different for us, so we're really pleased with how we bowled with a little less time to gather information."
The move to their March time slot was necessitated by real-life responsibilities, as Barnes and McBride both have children on the way, but real-world jobs like social work (Tatrow) and nursing (Barnes), nor the distance, haven't hindered their preparation.
"We keep up with each other pretty well and visit each other when we can," Barnes said. "Especially leading up to the event, we talk a lot about ball selection and surface and take advantage of the time we have together before we bowl the team event. We're comfortable and confident in each other, and I think it shows."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
Although they're all five or six years removed from their days at Wichita State, the atmosphere they created on the lanes at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships was as electric as days past.
The result was the same, too, as Barnes and 5 ICT Bowlers of Johnston, Iowa, moved into the lead in every event at the National Bowling Stadium.
Barnes, a 28-year-old right-hander and the 2015 Professional Bowlers Association Southwest Region Rookie of the Year, got better with each event at the 2016 USBC Open Championships, and sets of 764 in singles and 642 in doubles and 617 in team helped him to a 2,023 all-events total Saturday.
Scott Salinas of Racine, Wisconsin, previously held the lead in Regular All-Events with 1,923, while Ryan Utterback of Clinton, Illinois, set the pace in Regular Singles with 704.
"My goal is always to make it to the top of the leaderboard in at least one event, and to be leading all five is an unbelievable feeling," said Barnes, who made his 10th Open Championships appearance. "I know the scores aren't going to hold up, but they're still pretty good and will make people think about having to strike a lot."
Barnes and Kevin Tatrow of Bel Aire, Kansas (693) earned the top spot in Regular Doubles with a 1,335 total, and the duo helped 5 ICT Bowlers set the bar in Team All-Events with 9,488. The group took the lead in Regular Team with a 3,128 performance Friday night on BowlTV.Four of the five members of ICT Bowlers cracked the top 10 in Regular All-Events. Tatrow is fifth with 1,909 and is followed by Josh McBride of Johnston, Iowa, who is sixth with 1,896 and Geoffrey Young of Keller, Texas, who is ninth with 1,843. Nick Pahr of Wichita, Kansas, completed the effort with 1,817.
Some of the members of the two-team group were in Reno long enough to take advantage of the Showcase Lanes, adjacent to the main tournament lanes and available for team practice sessions on the team oil pattern, or the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, which is contested on the doubles and singles oil pattern.
Those who got to town a little later and didn't have time to partake relied on the trust and communication they developed on the way to three consecutive wins at the Intercollegiate Team Championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
"We do have a high level of trust, and even though I wasn't here for the Bowlers Journal squads, it really helped that the other guys were, and what they were able to tell me about it really helped," said Tatrow, who made his seventh tournament appearance. "It's also pretty early in the tournament, which is different for us, so we're really pleased with how we bowled with a little less time to gather information."
The move to their March time slot was necessitated by real-life responsibilities, as Barnes and McBride both have children on the way, but real-world jobs like social work (Tatrow) and nursing (Barnes), nor the distance, haven't hindered their preparation.
"We keep up with each other pretty well and visit each other when we can," Barnes said. "Especially leading up to the event, we talk a lot about ball selection and surface and take advantage of the time we have together before we bowl the team event. We're comfortable and confident in each other, and I think it shows."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.