RENO, Nev. - There may not be anyone happier about the USBC Open Championships returning to the National Bowling Stadium than John Kreyer Jr. of Fridley, Minn., who turned in another memorable performance at the 78-lane bowling Mecca on Friday night.

All eyes were on the 30-year-old left-hander when he and Steve Bohn of Norwood, Minn., marched to the lanes as the defending Regular Doubles champions, but Kreyer was unfazed by the excitement and calmly delivered the highest team series of his 10-year Open Championships career.

Kreyer's recent history at the Stadium includes the first perfect game of the 2007 event, and an 816 series on the way to the Regular Doubles title in 2010. That effort also helped him to a career-best 2,184 all-events total and fifth-place finish in Regular All-Events.

This time, he came within one shot of another spot in the tournament record books when he started his final game of team with 11 consecutive strikes before a devastating 8 pin ended his run and left him with a 299 game.

Kreyer already is one of 28 bowlers who own a 300 and 800 on the championship lanes, but another perfect game Friday would've made him the 22nd bowler in tournament history with two 300s, and just the third person to roll two at the Stadium.

"The 299 felt really good," said Kreyer, who has averaged 210 in nine previous tournament appearances. "When walking out tonight and getting on the pair, a lot of memories really came back, and making another run at 300 was really exciting. The 10th shot was probably the most nervous shot, versus the 12th. I wanted that shot for my team more than me at the moment. I wasn't fortunate enough to carry the 8 pin, but I'm glad I was able to strike where it counted."

Kreyer's near-perfect effort capped off a 742 series and helped Huikko's Wizards 2 into fifth place in Regular Team with a 3,382 total. He was joined by Dave Oulman, who rolled a 300 in singles in 1996 (723), Dave Lutz (710), Greg White (652) and Chad Huikko (555). Brian Brazeau Pro Shop of Ocala, Fla., leads Regular Team with 3,439.

"It's a really awesome feeling when you're deep into the third game and you know you have a chance, and you want to press really hard," Kreyer said. "You just don't want to overdue it. The pins didn't quite fall our way, and we did fall short, but we gave it our best. We tried to get every pin we could. It was a different feeling knowing that 10 guys could work together and break something down. It felt really great. We look up at the two numbers we put up tonight, and we're leaving with our heads held high."

Now, Kreyer must refocus his attention and prepare to put his doubles title on the line. In order to make it two in a row, he and Bohn will have to top current leaders George Rowan and Rod Singer of Columbus, Ohio, who lead with 1,494.

And, after Friday's team performance, a run at Team All-Events also is possible. Linds Lakers 1 of Minneapolis leads with 10,076.

"The guys I bowl with really enjoy being here, and we have a great time," said Kreyer, who teamed with Bohn for a 1,514 doubles effort in 2010. "I really feed off of my teammates, and they help keep me focused, motivate me to throw good shots and keep me loose. I'm a very animated bowler, so it helps when those guys chat with me and talk about miscellaneous things to keep me calm."

Kreyer and his teammates will return to the lanes Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EDT, and both doubles and singles will be live streamed on BOWL.com.

Click here to watch video highlights from the 2011 Open Championships.

Presenting sponsors for the 2011 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Humana, official registration sponsor, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.