Wacky week ends with doubles lead at 2017 USBC Open Championships
April 22, 2017
LAS VEGAS - The sound of shuffling is synonymous with Las Vegas, but that's generally reserved for the casino floor, not the check-in counter at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
This week, a little last-minute lineup shuffling led to a royal match for former college roommates and Junior Team USA teammates, Ryan Zagar of Racine, Wisconsin, and Tylor Greene of Davison, Michigan, who went on to take the lead in Regular Doubles with a 1,409 total Saturday at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
Watch their run into the lead here.
Things got complicated Thursday morning, when the fifth member of their team, 2013 Regular All-Events champion John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, New York, notified the group that he'd come down with the flu and couldn't make the trip.
Greene, a 23-year-old right-hander, didn't hear the news until his flight landed in Las Vegas. Until then, he was expecting to bowl doubles with someone he'd found through the tournament sub board on BOWL.com, since he was the odd man out on the five-player team.
After getting word from Szczerbinski, two phone calls needed to be made Thursday - one to Greene's doubles partner to let him know they were going to cancel the third doubles and singles set, and one to secure a fifth bowler for the team event.
"It's unbelievable how things worked out," said Greene, who contributed games of 244, 179 and 254 to Saturday's doubles effort for a 677 series. "I knew there was a chance Ryan and I could do something big today. We bowled together in college, and we're great friends. I was really glad when I found out we were going to get the chance to bowl together again."
Zagar, the Open Singles champion at the 2015 Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, led the doubles run Saturday with games of 255, 243 and 234 for a 732 series. He originally was scheduled to bowl doubles with Szczerbinski.
Both Zagar and Greene doubled in their final frame to surge past Charles Richey of Concord, North Carolina, and Steve Arehart of Chesapeake, Virginia, who previously held the lead in Regular Doubles with 1,385.
In that moment, Zagar, a 23-year-old right-hander, drew on the experience he gained in El Paso, Texas, when he stepped up in the 10th frame with a chance to throw two strikes for what likely would've been an Eagle-winning singles score in his Open Championships debut.
"I had a chance to take the singles lead in 2015, and I didn't throw the shots I needed to," said Zagar, who finished second in Regular Singles in 2015 with a 787 series, six pins behind Ronnie Sparks Jr. of Redford, Michigan. "That definitely was in my head today. Even though it wasn't the same pressure, since we already were at the number, we still wanted to throw the best shots possible to get as much as we could. This is an amazing feeling, and today was a total group effort."
After a disappointing 2,918 team performance Friday, the team stayed focused and regrouped for doubles and singles.
Team members Chris Drewes of Wichita, Kansas, and Jesse Buss of Belvidere, Illinois, also bowled well in doubles, shooting 668 and 663, respectively, for a 1,331 total, which is 10th in Regular Doubles.
"We had a game plan to start by playing outside, and Chris actually was the first one who saw it starting to go away," said Greene, the U20 winner at the 2014 Junior Gold Championships. "Chris made a ball change, and when it worked, we all looked at other balls and what moves to make. We made the right adjustments, and both teams were able to bowl well the last game. The lanes are pretty tough this year, and I think this score could hold up. There's still a lot of great bowlers coming through, so it will be a long wait, but I am very happy with our number."
The final piece for High5Gear was Professional Women's Bowling Association standout Jackie Carbonetto of Clarksville, Tennessee, who booked a flight Thursday and flew to Las Vegas on Friday to fill in for Szczerbinski in the team event. She also helped the group make a run in Team All-Events.
Carbonetto bowled doubles and singles nearly a month ago as the sixth bowler for Vanilla Salsa of Roseville, California, the Team All-Events leader at this year's event, but she left town without having found a team to bowl on to complete her all-events effort.
Through six games at the Bowling Plaza, Carbonetto had a total pinfall of 1,279 and a shot at a solid all-events total, if she could make it back before the event concludes in July. She's also just outside the top in Regular Doubles (1,312) with Matt Gasn of Clarksville, Tennessee, who went on to claim the lead in Regular Singles with the first 800 series of the 2017 tournament, an 802 set.
"For me, the Open Championships this year was the most ridiculous sequence of events just to bowl nine games, but it has been a lot of fun," said Carbonetto, who competed in her third Open Championships and added a 560 series in team for a 1,839 all-events total. "A month ago, I had a blast bowling with those guys, and just to be on the lanes when they took the lead was awesome. I'm glad this group agreed to let me come back and bowl with them this weekend, and it was great to see them bowl well, too."
The connection doesn't end with Carbonetto, as Gasn, Greene and Zagar were teammates at Robert Morris-Illinois, where they helped the Eagles to the men's title at the 2013 Intercollegiate Team Championships.
Now, they're nearly side by side in the Team All-Events standings, with High5Gear settling into third place with a 9,596 total. Vanilla Salsa leads with 9,743, and Lakeview Lanes of Baldwinsville, New York, is second with 9,635.
Drewes led the way for High5Gear this weekend with a 1,948 all-events total and was followed by Greene (1,943), Buss (1,935), Zagar (1,931) and Carbonetto.
Team All-Events is the combined all-events total for all five team members. Regular Doubles is for bowlers with combined entering averages of 419 and higher.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
This week, a little last-minute lineup shuffling led to a royal match for former college roommates and Junior Team USA teammates, Ryan Zagar of Racine, Wisconsin, and Tylor Greene of Davison, Michigan, who went on to take the lead in Regular Doubles with a 1,409 total Saturday at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
Watch their run into the lead here.
Things got complicated Thursday morning, when the fifth member of their team, 2013 Regular All-Events champion John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, New York, notified the group that he'd come down with the flu and couldn't make the trip.
Greene, a 23-year-old right-hander, didn't hear the news until his flight landed in Las Vegas. Until then, he was expecting to bowl doubles with someone he'd found through the tournament sub board on BOWL.com, since he was the odd man out on the five-player team.
After getting word from Szczerbinski, two phone calls needed to be made Thursday - one to Greene's doubles partner to let him know they were going to cancel the third doubles and singles set, and one to secure a fifth bowler for the team event.
"It's unbelievable how things worked out," said Greene, who contributed games of 244, 179 and 254 to Saturday's doubles effort for a 677 series. "I knew there was a chance Ryan and I could do something big today. We bowled together in college, and we're great friends. I was really glad when I found out we were going to get the chance to bowl together again."
Zagar, the Open Singles champion at the 2015 Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, led the doubles run Saturday with games of 255, 243 and 234 for a 732 series. He originally was scheduled to bowl doubles with Szczerbinski.
Both Zagar and Greene doubled in their final frame to surge past Charles Richey of Concord, North Carolina, and Steve Arehart of Chesapeake, Virginia, who previously held the lead in Regular Doubles with 1,385.
In that moment, Zagar, a 23-year-old right-hander, drew on the experience he gained in El Paso, Texas, when he stepped up in the 10th frame with a chance to throw two strikes for what likely would've been an Eagle-winning singles score in his Open Championships debut.
"I had a chance to take the singles lead in 2015, and I didn't throw the shots I needed to," said Zagar, who finished second in Regular Singles in 2015 with a 787 series, six pins behind Ronnie Sparks Jr. of Redford, Michigan. "That definitely was in my head today. Even though it wasn't the same pressure, since we already were at the number, we still wanted to throw the best shots possible to get as much as we could. This is an amazing feeling, and today was a total group effort."
After a disappointing 2,918 team performance Friday, the team stayed focused and regrouped for doubles and singles.
Team members Chris Drewes of Wichita, Kansas, and Jesse Buss of Belvidere, Illinois, also bowled well in doubles, shooting 668 and 663, respectively, for a 1,331 total, which is 10th in Regular Doubles.
"We had a game plan to start by playing outside, and Chris actually was the first one who saw it starting to go away," said Greene, the U20 winner at the 2014 Junior Gold Championships. "Chris made a ball change, and when it worked, we all looked at other balls and what moves to make. We made the right adjustments, and both teams were able to bowl well the last game. The lanes are pretty tough this year, and I think this score could hold up. There's still a lot of great bowlers coming through, so it will be a long wait, but I am very happy with our number."
The final piece for High5Gear was Professional Women's Bowling Association standout Jackie Carbonetto of Clarksville, Tennessee, who booked a flight Thursday and flew to Las Vegas on Friday to fill in for Szczerbinski in the team event. She also helped the group make a run in Team All-Events.
Carbonetto bowled doubles and singles nearly a month ago as the sixth bowler for Vanilla Salsa of Roseville, California, the Team All-Events leader at this year's event, but she left town without having found a team to bowl on to complete her all-events effort.
Through six games at the Bowling Plaza, Carbonetto had a total pinfall of 1,279 and a shot at a solid all-events total, if she could make it back before the event concludes in July. She's also just outside the top in Regular Doubles (1,312) with Matt Gasn of Clarksville, Tennessee, who went on to claim the lead in Regular Singles with the first 800 series of the 2017 tournament, an 802 set.
"For me, the Open Championships this year was the most ridiculous sequence of events just to bowl nine games, but it has been a lot of fun," said Carbonetto, who competed in her third Open Championships and added a 560 series in team for a 1,839 all-events total. "A month ago, I had a blast bowling with those guys, and just to be on the lanes when they took the lead was awesome. I'm glad this group agreed to let me come back and bowl with them this weekend, and it was great to see them bowl well, too."
The connection doesn't end with Carbonetto, as Gasn, Greene and Zagar were teammates at Robert Morris-Illinois, where they helped the Eagles to the men's title at the 2013 Intercollegiate Team Championships.
Now, they're nearly side by side in the Team All-Events standings, with High5Gear settling into third place with a 9,596 total. Vanilla Salsa leads with 9,743, and Lakeview Lanes of Baldwinsville, New York, is second with 9,635.
Drewes led the way for High5Gear this weekend with a 1,948 all-events total and was followed by Greene (1,943), Buss (1,935), Zagar (1,931) and Carbonetto.
Team All-Events is the combined all-events total for all five team members. Regular Doubles is for bowlers with combined entering averages of 419 and higher.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.