Oregon group excels at 2014 Open Championships
March 23, 2014
RENO, Nev. - After just missing the top spot in Regular Team the day before, Ryan Losli of Hillsboro, Ore., and Tim Myers of Milwaukie, Ore., returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Sunday and left with the Regular Doubles lead at the 2014 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
In an exciting doubles event, Losli and Myers held off three other pairings from their four-team group to take the top spot in the standings by a pin over Kathy Tribbey of Cornelius, Ore., and Wade Rees of Spokane Valley, Wash., 1,343 to 1,342. Russ and Dillon Meyer of Fargo, N.D., previously held the lead with 1,318.
Myers, a 56-year-old right-hander, led the way with 687, while Losli, a 29-year-old right-hander, added 656 to the effort.
Joe Lipan of Sheridan, Ore., and Nick West of Gladstone, Ore., and Jodey Rees of Renton, Wash., and Evan Nash of Kennewick, Wash., also moved into the top 10 with scores of 1,311 and 1,305, respectively, which puts them in fifth and sixth.
Myers and Losli helped Oregon Bowlers Association 1 into second place in Regular Team on Saturday with a 3,319 total, which was seen live on BowlTV. They used the momentum from that, and a similar strategy of working together, to post their leading score.
"The game plan was to play more as a unit," said Myers, who bowls regularly out of Milwaukie Bowl. "We started outside and just tried to move off of that. We had everyone on board, even the guys who hooked it a little more."
Going into the final game of doubles, Myers and Losli had posted solid scores, but found themselves behind their teammates. A big finish and some late-game struggles from the other pairings led them to the top of the leaderboard.
"We were about plus 70 after two, which wasn't high compared to those around us," said Losli, who made his seventh USBC Open Championships appearance. "We just kept sparing. They had some opens and gave us a chance to sneak by. It was bittersweet to beat our teammates."
Over the course of the weekend, the four-team group from the Northwest rewrote the standings at the Open Championships. Two teams and four doubles pairings are in the top 10, along with three of the teams landing near the top of the Team All-Events standings (third, fourth and sixth). Towne & Country Lanes 1 of Hartland, Wis., leads Team All-Events with 9,756.
Lipan also cracked the top 10 in Regular Singles and Regular All-Events with749 and 2,016, respectively. Terrence Blevins of Chicago leads Regular Singles with 783, and Curtis Odom of Coldwater, Mich., is on top of the standings in Regular All-Events with 2,076.
Sunday also marked the first time that Myers and Losli bowled doubles together, so they're excited about how their debut turned out.
"We have a lot of good bowlers and talent," Losli said. "Everyone is competitive out there right now, and we have a great set of tournament directors who really encourage bowlers to show up. They also put out good shots that make us work a little harder than just going to league. I think that makes a big difference here and keeps us better all around. It's fantastic to be leading. It's our first time bowling together. Kathy put all of the teams and pairings together, and it worked out great."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
Presenting sponsors for the 2014 USBC Open Championships include Circus Circus Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno.
In an exciting doubles event, Losli and Myers held off three other pairings from their four-team group to take the top spot in the standings by a pin over Kathy Tribbey of Cornelius, Ore., and Wade Rees of Spokane Valley, Wash., 1,343 to 1,342. Russ and Dillon Meyer of Fargo, N.D., previously held the lead with 1,318.
Myers, a 56-year-old right-hander, led the way with 687, while Losli, a 29-year-old right-hander, added 656 to the effort.
Joe Lipan of Sheridan, Ore., and Nick West of Gladstone, Ore., and Jodey Rees of Renton, Wash., and Evan Nash of Kennewick, Wash., also moved into the top 10 with scores of 1,311 and 1,305, respectively, which puts them in fifth and sixth.
Myers and Losli helped Oregon Bowlers Association 1 into second place in Regular Team on Saturday with a 3,319 total, which was seen live on BowlTV. They used the momentum from that, and a similar strategy of working together, to post their leading score.
"The game plan was to play more as a unit," said Myers, who bowls regularly out of Milwaukie Bowl. "We started outside and just tried to move off of that. We had everyone on board, even the guys who hooked it a little more."
Going into the final game of doubles, Myers and Losli had posted solid scores, but found themselves behind their teammates. A big finish and some late-game struggles from the other pairings led them to the top of the leaderboard.
"We were about plus 70 after two, which wasn't high compared to those around us," said Losli, who made his seventh USBC Open Championships appearance. "We just kept sparing. They had some opens and gave us a chance to sneak by. It was bittersweet to beat our teammates."
Over the course of the weekend, the four-team group from the Northwest rewrote the standings at the Open Championships. Two teams and four doubles pairings are in the top 10, along with three of the teams landing near the top of the Team All-Events standings (third, fourth and sixth). Towne & Country Lanes 1 of Hartland, Wis., leads Team All-Events with 9,756.
Lipan also cracked the top 10 in Regular Singles and Regular All-Events with749 and 2,016, respectively. Terrence Blevins of Chicago leads Regular Singles with 783, and Curtis Odom of Coldwater, Mich., is on top of the standings in Regular All-Events with 2,076.
Sunday also marked the first time that Myers and Losli bowled doubles together, so they're excited about how their debut turned out.
"We have a lot of good bowlers and talent," Losli said. "Everyone is competitive out there right now, and we have a great set of tournament directors who really encourage bowlers to show up. They also put out good shots that make us work a little harder than just going to league. I think that makes a big difference here and keeps us better all around. It's fantastic to be leading. It's our first time bowling together. Kathy put all of the teams and pairings together, and it worked out great."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
Presenting sponsors for the 2014 USBC Open Championships include Circus Circus Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno.