LaCaze leads Open Singles at 2017 Bowlers Journal Championships
April 09, 2017
LAS VEGAS - Seeing Anthony LaCaze's name at the top of the leaderboard at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships has been a common thing since 2013.
The Northwood, Illinois, resident also has found success at the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, which has run in conjunction with the USBC Open Championships for more than seven decades.
LaCaze, a past champion at both tournaments, again made his presence known as he moved into the lead in Open Singles at the Bowlers Journal Championships on Friday. His effort also helped him to the top spot in the Dual Entry standings, a special prize list for bowlers who choose to enter doubles and singles at the same time, using their three games for both events.
The 34-year-old right-hander edged his way into the lead at the South Point Bowling Center with games of 279, 279 and 213 for a 771 series, one pin ahead of Matthew O'Grady of Rahway, New Jersey, in Open Singles, and eight pins past Kyle Sherman of O'Fallon, Missouri, in the event's Dual Entry category.
LaCaze also paired with Erik Vermilyea of Eagan, Minnesota (647), and Jeffrey Mersch of Orlando, Florida (611), during the set to move into a tie for second place (1,418) and ninth place (1,382), respectively, in Open Doubles. Casey Shephard of Portage, Michigan, and Andrew Klingler of Grand Rapids, Michigan, lead Open Doubles with 1,483.
After back-to-back 279 games, LaCaze knew he was in a great position to raise the bar at the event, but an open in the seventh frame of Game 3 put the top spot in jeopardy. He responded with three consecutive strikes.
"After that kind of start, of course you start to think about putting up a big number," said LaCaze, who won the 2010 Open Doubles title with Vermilyea. "I was happy to regroup after the missed spare. I just wanted to concentrate on what I had to do to execute a good shot, and I put together three good ones. I'm pretty happy about that and being able to put myself in contention to win here. It's a very prestigious event, and it would be an honor to call myself a champion here once again."
LaCaze made his way into the Open Championships record book by becoming the second bowler in tournament history to win a title in three consecutive years.
With his victories in 2013 (Team All-Events), 2014 (Regular All-Events) and 2015 (Team All-Events), LaCaze matched USBC Hall of Famer Les Zikes, who captured four of his six Open Championships titles from 1962-1964.
LaCaze joined Vermilyea and Mersch, along with Steve Novak and Matthew Tuckfield, in both of the Team All-Events wins at the Open Championships. Their team, Junior Team USA Support 1, was back on the lanes this weekend at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
The group hoped its time spent at the Bowlers Journal Championships would translate into another run at Team All-Events on Sunday after finishing their team event Saturday night with a 2,986 total.
Vanilla Salsa of Roseville, California, leads Team All-Events with 9,743, and HoF Silver Lanes 1 of New Hartford, Connecticut, leads Regular Team with 3,239.
"We know they'll play a little different, but the score will be out there," said LaCaze, who won the 2010 Earl Anthony Memorial Classic on his way to be named the Professional Bowlers Association Rookie of the Year in the 2009-2010 season. "It's up to us to execute and make it happen."
The group went on to finish its 2017 Open Championships campaign with a Team All-Events total of 8,873.
Mersch, the lone left-hander of the team, led the way with a 1,858 all-events total and was followed by LaCaze (1,839), Novak (1,781), Vermilyea (1,707) and Tuckfield (1,688).
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
The Northwood, Illinois, resident also has found success at the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC, which has run in conjunction with the USBC Open Championships for more than seven decades.
LaCaze, a past champion at both tournaments, again made his presence known as he moved into the lead in Open Singles at the Bowlers Journal Championships on Friday. His effort also helped him to the top spot in the Dual Entry standings, a special prize list for bowlers who choose to enter doubles and singles at the same time, using their three games for both events.
The 34-year-old right-hander edged his way into the lead at the South Point Bowling Center with games of 279, 279 and 213 for a 771 series, one pin ahead of Matthew O'Grady of Rahway, New Jersey, in Open Singles, and eight pins past Kyle Sherman of O'Fallon, Missouri, in the event's Dual Entry category.
LaCaze also paired with Erik Vermilyea of Eagan, Minnesota (647), and Jeffrey Mersch of Orlando, Florida (611), during the set to move into a tie for second place (1,418) and ninth place (1,382), respectively, in Open Doubles. Casey Shephard of Portage, Michigan, and Andrew Klingler of Grand Rapids, Michigan, lead Open Doubles with 1,483.
After back-to-back 279 games, LaCaze knew he was in a great position to raise the bar at the event, but an open in the seventh frame of Game 3 put the top spot in jeopardy. He responded with three consecutive strikes.
"After that kind of start, of course you start to think about putting up a big number," said LaCaze, who won the 2010 Open Doubles title with Vermilyea. "I was happy to regroup after the missed spare. I just wanted to concentrate on what I had to do to execute a good shot, and I put together three good ones. I'm pretty happy about that and being able to put myself in contention to win here. It's a very prestigious event, and it would be an honor to call myself a champion here once again."
LaCaze made his way into the Open Championships record book by becoming the second bowler in tournament history to win a title in three consecutive years.
With his victories in 2013 (Team All-Events), 2014 (Regular All-Events) and 2015 (Team All-Events), LaCaze matched USBC Hall of Famer Les Zikes, who captured four of his six Open Championships titles from 1962-1964.
LaCaze joined Vermilyea and Mersch, along with Steve Novak and Matthew Tuckfield, in both of the Team All-Events wins at the Open Championships. Their team, Junior Team USA Support 1, was back on the lanes this weekend at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
The group hoped its time spent at the Bowlers Journal Championships would translate into another run at Team All-Events on Sunday after finishing their team event Saturday night with a 2,986 total.
Vanilla Salsa of Roseville, California, leads Team All-Events with 9,743, and HoF Silver Lanes 1 of New Hartford, Connecticut, leads Regular Team with 3,239.
"We know they'll play a little different, but the score will be out there," said LaCaze, who won the 2010 Earl Anthony Memorial Classic on his way to be named the Professional Bowlers Association Rookie of the Year in the 2009-2010 season. "It's up to us to execute and make it happen."
The group went on to finish its 2017 Open Championships campaign with a Team All-Events total of 8,873.
Mersch, the lone left-hander of the team, led the way with a 1,858 all-events total and was followed by LaCaze (1,839), Novak (1,781), Vermilyea (1,707) and Tuckfield (1,688).
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.