North Dakota team storms into lead at 2015 USBC Open
March 24, 2015
EL PASO, Texas - Matt Smallin of Glenburn, North Dakota, gave the crowd at the El Paso Convention Center a little bit of excitement Tuesday night as he made a run at the second perfect game of 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
Although he came up short, leaving a 3 pin on his final delivery, his 299 game helped ND Storm of Mandan, North Dakota, to a 1,223 finale and the top spot in Regular Team with a 3,149 total. The Cutting Edge of Windsor, Colorado, previously held the lead with 3,032.
The 27-year-old right-hander already stood out in his purple shirt in a crowd of red and black jerseys, but anyone who didn't notice him before certainly stopped to look on as he stepped up on the verge of perfection. The reason he didn't match his teammates was because the jersey he ordered was as huge as his performance on the lanes.
"I don't think I was shaking, but I felt like I was, and the last shot definitely was the most difficult to get off my hand," said Smallin, who made his sixth USBC Open Championships appearance. "I just wanted it really badly for this team because we've never been in the lead when we left. I honestly didn't know if we could get there after the first two games, but something just clicked for us early in the last game."
ND Storm opened the night with games of 939 and 987 before the strikes started adding up. Staying clean in the final game also was crucial in helping the team become the third in the 18 days of the 2015 Open Championships to surpass the 3,000 mark. Team Dirty of Evansville, Wisconsin, posted a 3,010 total Saturday and went on to set the pace in Team All-Events with a 9,055 total.
Smallin started with games of 223 and 192 and finished with a 714 series. He was joined by Travis Hersrud (629), Robert Vander Vorst (610), Randy Peterson (607) and Dave Schick (589).
Their companion team, ND Roto Grip, rolled games of 929, 994 and 1,060 to settle into fourth place in Regular Team with a 2,983 effort. Ryan Selk led the way with a 685 series and was followed by Justin Coste (666), Jim Pulver (583), Phil Mann (544) and Tim Frenz (505).
Although Smallin and his teammates won't share exactly what their strategy was for attacking the 38-foot Sport Bowling-certified team lane condition, he said the execution of their game plan is what helped them to such an exciting finish.
"I think from the second frame, where we all threw quality shots and four of us struck, we saw a spark we really didn't see the first two games," Smallin said. "The most unbelievable thing is the margin of this lead. There haven't been a lot of big scores, so I feel like this score is going to be a little tougher to catch."
Chad Oachs of Mankato, Minnesota, rolled the lone 300 of the 2015 Open Championships earlier Tuesday on the way into the lead in Regular Singles with a 772 series. Doubles and singles is contested on a 39-foot Sport-certified lane condition.
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Although he came up short, leaving a 3 pin on his final delivery, his 299 game helped ND Storm of Mandan, North Dakota, to a 1,223 finale and the top spot in Regular Team with a 3,149 total. The Cutting Edge of Windsor, Colorado, previously held the lead with 3,032.
The 27-year-old right-hander already stood out in his purple shirt in a crowd of red and black jerseys, but anyone who didn't notice him before certainly stopped to look on as he stepped up on the verge of perfection. The reason he didn't match his teammates was because the jersey he ordered was as huge as his performance on the lanes.
"I don't think I was shaking, but I felt like I was, and the last shot definitely was the most difficult to get off my hand," said Smallin, who made his sixth USBC Open Championships appearance. "I just wanted it really badly for this team because we've never been in the lead when we left. I honestly didn't know if we could get there after the first two games, but something just clicked for us early in the last game."
ND Storm opened the night with games of 939 and 987 before the strikes started adding up. Staying clean in the final game also was crucial in helping the team become the third in the 18 days of the 2015 Open Championships to surpass the 3,000 mark. Team Dirty of Evansville, Wisconsin, posted a 3,010 total Saturday and went on to set the pace in Team All-Events with a 9,055 total.
Smallin started with games of 223 and 192 and finished with a 714 series. He was joined by Travis Hersrud (629), Robert Vander Vorst (610), Randy Peterson (607) and Dave Schick (589).
Their companion team, ND Roto Grip, rolled games of 929, 994 and 1,060 to settle into fourth place in Regular Team with a 2,983 effort. Ryan Selk led the way with a 685 series and was followed by Justin Coste (666), Jim Pulver (583), Phil Mann (544) and Tim Frenz (505).
Although Smallin and his teammates won't share exactly what their strategy was for attacking the 38-foot Sport Bowling-certified team lane condition, he said the execution of their game plan is what helped them to such an exciting finish.
"I think from the second frame, where we all threw quality shots and four of us struck, we saw a spark we really didn't see the first two games," Smallin said. "The most unbelievable thing is the margin of this lead. There haven't been a lot of big scores, so I feel like this score is going to be a little tougher to catch."
Chad Oachs of Mankato, Minnesota, rolled the lone 300 of the 2015 Open Championships earlier Tuesday on the way into the lead in Regular Singles with a 772 series. Doubles and singles is contested on a 39-foot Sport-certified lane condition.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.