Iowa bowler continues success at USBC Open Championships
March 08, 2010
RENO, Nev. - Matt Smith of Altoona, Iowa, has performed consistently during his USBC Open Championships career, and he excelled again in 2010, taking the lead in Regular Doubles and Regular All-Events at the National Bowling Stadium on Sunday.
The 34-year-old right-hander started his 2010 tournament campaign slowly with a 609 series in team, but averaged 244 during doubles and singles on the way to a 2,073 all-events total, the second-highest of his 11-year career on the championship lanes.
During doubles, Smith struck 25 times on the way to games of 234, 277 and 231 for a 742 series, his highest at the Open Championships, and partnered with Jason Hale of Des Moines, Iowa, for a 1,411 doubles total. Hale contributed games of 203, 248 and 218 for a 669 series as the pair passed Richard Voakes Jr. of Oshkosh, Wis., and Troy Schaefer of Neenah, Wis., who previously held the Regular Doubles lead with 1,326.
Communication was the key for Smith and Hale, who bowled doubles together at the Open Championships for the first time. Because their styles are similar, they were able to team up in deciphering the lane condition and making adjustments.
"We had to regroup from the night before," said Smith, who bowls regularly at Premiere Lanes in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. "Jason and I talked ahead of time about what we wanted to do. We play a similar shot, and were really able to feed off each other. Once we got rolling, we had a great time with it."
Smith continued striking in singles and rolled games of 231, 245 and 246 for a 722 series, which currently is third in Regular Singles. Smith's all-events effort topped William Banks of Laurel Hill, N.C., who previously held the lead with 1,986. Larry Thompson Jr. of Spring, Texas, leads singles with 742.
Smith credits confidence and spare shooting for his stellar tournament career. Entering the 2010 event, his average for 90 games was 214.4. He's also enjoyed prior success at the National Bowling Stadium, which included a 2,015 all-events total in 2007. Smith's best all-events performance came at the 2006 tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he finished 39th with 2,093.
"You've got to have confidence, and you have to come in knowing you can bowl well," Smith said. "The lanes are always a little tough, so you have to make good, clean shots and cover spares. You need to have all of the confidence in the world coming in, because it really helps you calm down and be aggressive."
Hale added 549 in singles and 457 in team for a 1,675 all-events total.
The Team All-Events lead also changed hands Sunday as the members of Bowlers Junction of Hemet, Calif., combined to shoot 9,214. Super Bowl-Appleton of Kaukauna, Wis., previously held the lead with 9,165.
Bowlers Junction started the weekend by moving into second place in Regular Team with a 3,080 total Saturday, just one pin behind Central Saw and Mower of Racine, Wis., and continued striking Sunday night.
Brian Carmichael led the group with a 1,946 all-events total and was joined by Zack Jellsey (1,865), Jeff Lewen Jr. (1,839), Joel Ricketts (1,806) and Evan Tolson (1,758).
Ricketts, the team captain, attributed their success to their plan about how they were going to break the lanes down and how well they handled their spares.
"We had a good plan in team, and played together really well both days," said Ricketts, a 28-year-old right-hander competing in his sixth Open Championships. "As a bonus, we picked up the baby split (3-10) as a team extremely well. Usually, I would guess we make it less than 10 percent of the time, but tonight, we went 11 out of 14. That's a pretty big feat for us."
The 2010 event also was the first time the group competed together at the Open Championships.
"Brian and I had bowled the tournament together previously, so this year we decided to bring a few guys from back home," Ricketts said. "We've bowled a lot back home and are comfortable together."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. 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.
The 34-year-old right-hander started his 2010 tournament campaign slowly with a 609 series in team, but averaged 244 during doubles and singles on the way to a 2,073 all-events total, the second-highest of his 11-year career on the championship lanes.
During doubles, Smith struck 25 times on the way to games of 234, 277 and 231 for a 742 series, his highest at the Open Championships, and partnered with Jason Hale of Des Moines, Iowa, for a 1,411 doubles total. Hale contributed games of 203, 248 and 218 for a 669 series as the pair passed Richard Voakes Jr. of Oshkosh, Wis., and Troy Schaefer of Neenah, Wis., who previously held the Regular Doubles lead with 1,326.
Communication was the key for Smith and Hale, who bowled doubles together at the Open Championships for the first time. Because their styles are similar, they were able to team up in deciphering the lane condition and making adjustments.
"We had to regroup from the night before," said Smith, who bowls regularly at Premiere Lanes in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. "Jason and I talked ahead of time about what we wanted to do. We play a similar shot, and were really able to feed off each other. Once we got rolling, we had a great time with it."
Smith continued striking in singles and rolled games of 231, 245 and 246 for a 722 series, which currently is third in Regular Singles. Smith's all-events effort topped William Banks of Laurel Hill, N.C., who previously held the lead with 1,986. Larry Thompson Jr. of Spring, Texas, leads singles with 742.
Smith credits confidence and spare shooting for his stellar tournament career. Entering the 2010 event, his average for 90 games was 214.4. He's also enjoyed prior success at the National Bowling Stadium, which included a 2,015 all-events total in 2007. Smith's best all-events performance came at the 2006 tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he finished 39th with 2,093.
"You've got to have confidence, and you have to come in knowing you can bowl well," Smith said. "The lanes are always a little tough, so you have to make good, clean shots and cover spares. You need to have all of the confidence in the world coming in, because it really helps you calm down and be aggressive."
Hale added 549 in singles and 457 in team for a 1,675 all-events total.
The Team All-Events lead also changed hands Sunday as the members of Bowlers Junction of Hemet, Calif., combined to shoot 9,214. Super Bowl-Appleton of Kaukauna, Wis., previously held the lead with 9,165.
Bowlers Junction started the weekend by moving into second place in Regular Team with a 3,080 total Saturday, just one pin behind Central Saw and Mower of Racine, Wis., and continued striking Sunday night.
Brian Carmichael led the group with a 1,946 all-events total and was joined by Zack Jellsey (1,865), Jeff Lewen Jr. (1,839), Joel Ricketts (1,806) and Evan Tolson (1,758).
Ricketts, the team captain, attributed their success to their plan about how they were going to break the lanes down and how well they handled their spares.
"We had a good plan in team, and played together really well both days," said Ricketts, a 28-year-old right-hander competing in his sixth Open Championships. "As a bonus, we picked up the baby split (3-10) as a team extremely well. Usually, I would guess we make it less than 10 percent of the time, but tonight, we went 11 out of 14. That's a pretty big feat for us."
The 2010 event also was the first time the group competed together at the Open Championships.
"Brian and I had bowled the tournament together previously, so this year we decided to bring a few guys from back home," Ricketts said. "We've bowled a lot back home and are comfortable together."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. 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.