On the Lanes with Patti Riddle
March 08, 2010
In the coming months, we'll talk with some of the best-known bowlers at the USBC Open Championships and get their thoughts on their time at the tournament and what it takes to succeed on the championship lanes.
This week, we heard from Patti Riddle, who is one of six USBC league bowlers with a chance at going on national television to compete against some of the top bowlers on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour.
Riddle is a participant in the PBA Experience Showdown, which started in August 2009 and includes all bowlers who compete in Sport Bowling leagues. Those leagues use many of the same lane conditions that are used on the PBA Tour.
For almost six months, the top bowler (highest scratch series) each week in those leagues was eligible to be entered in the PBA Experience Showdown. More than 1,300 entries were sent to USBC from Sport Bowling leagues across the country.
From those entries, 18 competitors were randomly selected as finalists and were divided into six groups based on the lane condition on which qualified. Three finalists were randomly selected from each category, and bowling fans went online to vote for their favorite bowler from each of the six lane patterns.
Fans cast more than 140,000 votes on BOWL.com, and after 15 days of voting, the field was narrowed down to six finalists- Riddle; Bill Matovina, Clearwater, Fla.; Joseph Petrowski, East Syracuse, N.Y.; Kevin Reuer, Hoffman Estates, Ill.; Brent Watson, Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Bobby Wenger, Wooster, Ohio.
This weekend, however, Riddle's focus was on the Open Championships, where she shot 648 in singles, 645 in doubles and 536 in team for a career-best, 1,829, all-events total at the National Bowling Stadium.
HOMETOWN: Palatine, Ill.
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS APPEARANCES: 11
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLES: 0
BOWLING BALL WEIGHT: 14
FAVORITE BRAND OF BOWLING BALLS: Ebonite, Hammer and Storm
ONE all-time favorite host city: Las Vegas
TWO best Open Championships memories: 1. shooting a 661 series in doubles (2007); 2. my 1,800+ all-events this year
THREE keys to success at the Open Championships: 1. make lane adjustments fast; 2. bring the right equipment; 3. make your spares
FOURgettable Open Championships moment: None- just great memories
FIVE bowlers in history on your Open Championships fantasy all-star team: Me, Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Amleto Monacelli, Wes Malott
SIX bowling balls currently in your Open Championships arsenal: Just four: Storm Virtual Gravity, Storm Hy-Road, Columbia, Bedlam, Ebonite The One
SEVEN cities you'd like to see the Open Championships go to/return to: Just three: Las Vegas, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi
EIGHT favorite bowling balls ever: Ebonite V2 pearl, Ebonite The One, Storm Virtual Gravity, Ebonite V2 sanded, Hammer Black Vibe, Hammer Black Widow pearl, Hammer Big Rig Diesel, Storm Reign
NINE other bowlers you would choose to join you on your ideal pair of companion teams at the Open Championships: My current team members and my husband, Rick
TEN seconds or less, who is your favorite bowler of all-time?: My dad
ELEVEN strikes in a row to start a game at the Open Championships, what's going through your head?: Make a good shot and be aggressive
TWELVE years from now, where do you hope to be in your bowling career?: Still bowling regularly and bowling in the Open Championships with my friends
This week, we heard from Patti Riddle, who is one of six USBC league bowlers with a chance at going on national television to compete against some of the top bowlers on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour.
Riddle is a participant in the PBA Experience Showdown, which started in August 2009 and includes all bowlers who compete in Sport Bowling leagues. Those leagues use many of the same lane conditions that are used on the PBA Tour.
For almost six months, the top bowler (highest scratch series) each week in those leagues was eligible to be entered in the PBA Experience Showdown. More than 1,300 entries were sent to USBC from Sport Bowling leagues across the country.
From those entries, 18 competitors were randomly selected as finalists and were divided into six groups based on the lane condition on which qualified. Three finalists were randomly selected from each category, and bowling fans went online to vote for their favorite bowler from each of the six lane patterns.
Fans cast more than 140,000 votes on BOWL.com, and after 15 days of voting, the field was narrowed down to six finalists- Riddle; Bill Matovina, Clearwater, Fla.; Joseph Petrowski, East Syracuse, N.Y.; Kevin Reuer, Hoffman Estates, Ill.; Brent Watson, Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Bobby Wenger, Wooster, Ohio.
This weekend, however, Riddle's focus was on the Open Championships, where she shot 648 in singles, 645 in doubles and 536 in team for a career-best, 1,829, all-events total at the National Bowling Stadium.
HOMETOWN: Palatine, Ill.
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS APPEARANCES: 11
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLES: 0
BOWLING BALL WEIGHT: 14
FAVORITE BRAND OF BOWLING BALLS: Ebonite, Hammer and Storm
ONE all-time favorite host city: Las Vegas
TWO best Open Championships memories: 1. shooting a 661 series in doubles (2007); 2. my 1,800+ all-events this year
THREE keys to success at the Open Championships: 1. make lane adjustments fast; 2. bring the right equipment; 3. make your spares
FOURgettable Open Championships moment: None- just great memories
FIVE bowlers in history on your Open Championships fantasy all-star team: Me, Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Amleto Monacelli, Wes Malott
SIX bowling balls currently in your Open Championships arsenal: Just four: Storm Virtual Gravity, Storm Hy-Road, Columbia, Bedlam, Ebonite The One
SEVEN cities you'd like to see the Open Championships go to/return to: Just three: Las Vegas, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi
EIGHT favorite bowling balls ever: Ebonite V2 pearl, Ebonite The One, Storm Virtual Gravity, Ebonite V2 sanded, Hammer Black Vibe, Hammer Black Widow pearl, Hammer Big Rig Diesel, Storm Reign
NINE other bowlers you would choose to join you on your ideal pair of companion teams at the Open Championships: My current team members and my husband, Rick
TEN seconds or less, who is your favorite bowler of all-time?: My dad
ELEVEN strikes in a row to start a game at the Open Championships, what's going through your head?: Make a good shot and be aggressive
TWELVE years from now, where do you hope to be in your bowling career?: Still bowling regularly and bowling in the Open Championships with my friends