Indiana couple second in Classified Doubles at OC
May 18, 2010
RENO, Nev. - Cassondra and Doug Geller of New Haven, Ind., have been married since September, and this week, they extended their partnership to the lanes at the USBC Open Championships.
After a member of Doug's group got injured and had to have surgery, Cassondra was invited to bowl since she'd be making the trip to watch anyway. It was her first appearance at the Open Championships, and she was excited to be on the lanes with her husband, rather than in the stands watching.
Doug, who made his debut at the 2009 event in Las Vegas, was proud to be able to share the tournament experience with his wife, and the newlyweds wasted no time making memories at the National Bowling Stadium.
The couple combined for a 1,182 total Tuesday morning, which is tied for second place in Classified Doubles. Robert Blum of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Frank DeFrancesco of Poway, Calif., took the lead with a 1,200 effort Monday.
"I got the chance to bowl with my wife, and that was really special," said Doug Geller, who paced the pair with a 648 series. "Usually, she's the one watching me, so it was a joy to be able to watch her bowl the way she did, and for us to bowl well together made it that much better."
The pair found success on the lanes earlier in the year with a sixth-place doubles finish in their city tournament, and their performance on bowling's biggest stage will be a hot topic once they get home.
"We have a very close-knit group of friends and extended family, so it's going to be fun to sit around and talk about what we did," Doug Geller said. "We also have two boys at home who are probably wondering how we're doing, so we're looking forward to telling them all about it, too."
While Cassondra's primary role has been as a spectator, the two do bowl in a league together at Georgetown Bowl. Even though they clearly support one another on the lanes, there also is a little bit of competitiveness.
"I tried my best to keep up with him today, and I'm really proud of how we did," said Cassondra Geller, who entered this year's event with a 151 average, compared to her husband's 192. "There's a ton of people who come to this tournament, so to do this well is incredible. Even if we finished 50th today, it still would've been a great memory."
Coming to the Open Championships this year was never about high scores for the Gellers. They had no idea what the top scores were, and their focus simply was on having fun and bowling well.
"I told her just to let it happen and have a good time," Doug Geller said. "We fed off the fact that we were bowling well, which was the goal. We had no idea what was leading because we didn't check the leaderboards. We weren't chasing any numbers, so there were no real expectations. There's also no disappoint about not taking the lead. There's nothing but pure enjoyment."
Cassondra enjoyed being on the other side of things so much that she's already planning on bowling again next year.
"When you first walk in, you're just in awe of everything," she said. "The atmosphere, the checking in, the ball weighing and the experience as a whole were just amazing. It puts it all into perspective. This tournament has so much history and tradition, and I got to be a part of it. It's definitely something I plan to do again."
Cassondra rounded out her Open Championships debut with 534 in doubles, 509 in singles and 437 in team for a 1,480 all-events total. Doug added 563 in singles and 513 in team for 1,724.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, 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.
After a member of Doug's group got injured and had to have surgery, Cassondra was invited to bowl since she'd be making the trip to watch anyway. It was her first appearance at the Open Championships, and she was excited to be on the lanes with her husband, rather than in the stands watching.
Doug, who made his debut at the 2009 event in Las Vegas, was proud to be able to share the tournament experience with his wife, and the newlyweds wasted no time making memories at the National Bowling Stadium.
The couple combined for a 1,182 total Tuesday morning, which is tied for second place in Classified Doubles. Robert Blum of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Frank DeFrancesco of Poway, Calif., took the lead with a 1,200 effort Monday.
"I got the chance to bowl with my wife, and that was really special," said Doug Geller, who paced the pair with a 648 series. "Usually, she's the one watching me, so it was a joy to be able to watch her bowl the way she did, and for us to bowl well together made it that much better."
The pair found success on the lanes earlier in the year with a sixth-place doubles finish in their city tournament, and their performance on bowling's biggest stage will be a hot topic once they get home.
"We have a very close-knit group of friends and extended family, so it's going to be fun to sit around and talk about what we did," Doug Geller said. "We also have two boys at home who are probably wondering how we're doing, so we're looking forward to telling them all about it, too."
While Cassondra's primary role has been as a spectator, the two do bowl in a league together at Georgetown Bowl. Even though they clearly support one another on the lanes, there also is a little bit of competitiveness.
"I tried my best to keep up with him today, and I'm really proud of how we did," said Cassondra Geller, who entered this year's event with a 151 average, compared to her husband's 192. "There's a ton of people who come to this tournament, so to do this well is incredible. Even if we finished 50th today, it still would've been a great memory."
Coming to the Open Championships this year was never about high scores for the Gellers. They had no idea what the top scores were, and their focus simply was on having fun and bowling well.
"I told her just to let it happen and have a good time," Doug Geller said. "We fed off the fact that we were bowling well, which was the goal. We had no idea what was leading because we didn't check the leaderboards. We weren't chasing any numbers, so there were no real expectations. There's also no disappoint about not taking the lead. There's nothing but pure enjoyment."
Cassondra enjoyed being on the other side of things so much that she's already planning on bowling again next year.
"When you first walk in, you're just in awe of everything," she said. "The atmosphere, the checking in, the ball weighing and the experience as a whole were just amazing. It puts it all into perspective. This tournament has so much history and tradition, and I got to be a part of it. It's definitely something I plan to do again."
Cassondra rounded out her Open Championships debut with 534 in doubles, 509 in singles and 437 in team for a 1,480 all-events total. Doug added 563 in singles and 513 in team for 1,724.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, 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.