Wisconsin bowler leads two standard events at 2017 Open Championships

LAS VEGAS - Brennan Nett of Kiel, Wisconsin, found his groove during doubles and singles Thursday at the 2017 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on his way to taking the lead in two Standard Division events.

The 27-year-old right-hander averaged nearly 225 during his six games at the South Point Bowling Plaza to move into the lead in Standard Doubles with Douglas Turney, also from Kiel, with a 1,201 total, and Nett's overall effort helped him take over the top spot in Standard All-Events with 1,865.

Thomas Fredrick and Mark Mallow of Watertown, Wisconsin, previously held the Standard Doubles lead with 1,192, while Stephanie Sanders of Bakersfield, California, led Standard All-Events with 1,826.

050517-Brennan-Nett-Douglas-Turney_637After starting his third USBC Open Championships appearance with a 516 effort in team Wednesday, Nett settled in with games of 213, 226 and 245 in doubles for a 684 set. Turney added 517. The 245 game for Nett included strikes on his final eight deliveries.

Nett recorded seven consecutive strikes during his first game of singles to start with 259, and he added 190 and 216 to finish with a 665 total, which is fourth in Standard Singles. Charlie Theobald of Minot, North Dakota, leads with 696.

"I was definitely more consistent frame to frame and shot to shot compared to team event," said Nett, whose previous high series at the Open Championships was 560 during team competition at the 2009 event, also held in Las Vegas. "I was pretty amped up for the first few frames of singles, and it kind of showed, but I calmed down and finished it up well."

Nett and Turney were surprised to find out their doubles effort was enough to move them into the lead as they recorded the first 1,200 series of the 2017 event.

"I didn't shoot very well, so I wasn't expecting that news at all," said Turney, who made his ninth tournament appearance. "Brennan really carried us, and it was a lot of fun to find out."

The trip also serves as a family affair for Nett, who was joined at South Point by his father, Michael, and uncle, Patrick.

Nett recently returned to the sport after stepping away for several years, and he now gets to wait to see if his scores are enough to survive the final half of the 2017 event. This year's tournament kicked off Feb. 18 and will conclude July 16.

"I didn't bowl for a couple of years after high school, so getting back into it and bowling a lot more has really helped," Nett said. "I'm still in shock, and it's a cool accomplishment to see your name on top of the leaderboard. If it hangs on, it hangs on, but if it doesn't, we bowled well and had fun, and that's really all that matters."

Standard Doubles includes bowlers with combined entering averages of 361-419. Standard Singles and All-Events includes bowlers with entering averages of 181-209.

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