Nebraska bowler joins elite club during 2010 OC
April 05, 2010
RENO, Nev. - Rob Gotchall of Lincoln, Neb., rolled the fifth perfect game of the 2010 USBC Open Championships on Monday and became the 20th bowler in tournament history with two 300s on the championship lanes.
This year's 300 came in singles after games of 215 and 214 at the National Bowling Stadium. He finished with a 729 series to go along with 697 in doubles and 670 in team for a career-best 2,096 all-events total, which puts him in sixth place in Regular All-Events. Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., leads with 2,155.
"Anytime you shoot a 300 at this event, it's special," said Gotchall, who bowls regularly at Sun Valley Lanes and made his 15th Open Championships appearance. "This is going to mean a lot more, though, since there have been so few this year."
The 32-year-old right-hander also put together 12 consecutive strikes during his team event at the 2002 Open Championships in Billings, Mont., but he admits that he was a much different bowler back then.
"I've learned a lot in the last four years," said Gotchall, who finished seventh at the 2009 USBC Masters in Las Vegas. "I was always pretty good, but didn't really understand what I was doing."
Gotchall's true bowling education started during the 2004 (October) Masters in Milwaukee when he spent the week with his former University of Nebraska roommate Mike Machuga and USBC/Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Norm Duke.
"I literally just soaked in information the whole week and learned a lot about equipment and lane play as well as the mental side of things," Gotchall said. "It's a lot easier to be dominant at home on a house shot, but there's a big learning curve on the national scene."
Growing up in Lincoln, Gotchall had the chance to know and compete with and against a lot of the top bowlers who worked their way through the Huskers bowling program. He also developed friendships with many of the top players at megabuck tournaments like the High Roller and Mini-Eliminator and finally started believe he was good enough to compete with them.
"Everything clicked for me, and I began bowling well and finally started to believe I was one of the guys people were watching out there," said Gotchall, who won the July edition of the Mini-Eliminator in 2008. "I truly believe I can be competitive wherever I bowl, and the main difference between 2002 and now is confidence. I believe in myself a lot more now, and I believe I can do well."
After nearly making the televised portion of the 2009 Masters, Gotchall returned to Las Vegas to compete in the 2009 Open Championships and found more success on the lanes at Cashman Center with a 2,016 all-events total, his highest since shooting 2,041 in his tournament debut at the 1996 event in Salt Lake City. His return to Las Vegas also included top three finishes in Open Singles and Open Doubles at the nearby Storm Bowlers Journal Championships, presented by USBC.
Although four of his five sub-1,800 performances at the Open Championships have come at the National Bowling Stadium, Gotchall had high expectations for this year and was confident and calm as he polished of his perfect game Monday.
"The one thing I thought about was that there can't be many people who have shot 300 twice, and with three great shots, I could join that club," Gotchall said. "It was such a relief when I did it. At this tournament, there's so much prestige, and it's an honor to it. And to do it in this venue is even better because this is the ultimate facility, built especially for big events like this."
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.
This year's 300 came in singles after games of 215 and 214 at the National Bowling Stadium. He finished with a 729 series to go along with 697 in doubles and 670 in team for a career-best 2,096 all-events total, which puts him in sixth place in Regular All-Events. Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., leads with 2,155.
"Anytime you shoot a 300 at this event, it's special," said Gotchall, who bowls regularly at Sun Valley Lanes and made his 15th Open Championships appearance. "This is going to mean a lot more, though, since there have been so few this year."
The 32-year-old right-hander also put together 12 consecutive strikes during his team event at the 2002 Open Championships in Billings, Mont., but he admits that he was a much different bowler back then.
"I've learned a lot in the last four years," said Gotchall, who finished seventh at the 2009 USBC Masters in Las Vegas. "I was always pretty good, but didn't really understand what I was doing."
Gotchall's true bowling education started during the 2004 (October) Masters in Milwaukee when he spent the week with his former University of Nebraska roommate Mike Machuga and USBC/Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Norm Duke.
"I literally just soaked in information the whole week and learned a lot about equipment and lane play as well as the mental side of things," Gotchall said. "It's a lot easier to be dominant at home on a house shot, but there's a big learning curve on the national scene."
Growing up in Lincoln, Gotchall had the chance to know and compete with and against a lot of the top bowlers who worked their way through the Huskers bowling program. He also developed friendships with many of the top players at megabuck tournaments like the High Roller and Mini-Eliminator and finally started believe he was good enough to compete with them.
"Everything clicked for me, and I began bowling well and finally started to believe I was one of the guys people were watching out there," said Gotchall, who won the July edition of the Mini-Eliminator in 2008. "I truly believe I can be competitive wherever I bowl, and the main difference between 2002 and now is confidence. I believe in myself a lot more now, and I believe I can do well."
After nearly making the televised portion of the 2009 Masters, Gotchall returned to Las Vegas to compete in the 2009 Open Championships and found more success on the lanes at Cashman Center with a 2,016 all-events total, his highest since shooting 2,041 in his tournament debut at the 1996 event in Salt Lake City. His return to Las Vegas also included top three finishes in Open Singles and Open Doubles at the nearby Storm Bowlers Journal Championships, presented by USBC.
Although four of his five sub-1,800 performances at the Open Championships have come at the National Bowling Stadium, Gotchall had high expectations for this year and was confident and calm as he polished of his perfect game Monday.
"The one thing I thought about was that there can't be many people who have shot 300 twice, and with three great shots, I could join that club," Gotchall said. "It was such a relief when I did it. At this tournament, there's so much prestige, and it's an honor to it. And to do it in this venue is even better because this is the ultimate facility, built especially for big events like this."
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.