Past Purdue bowlers lead Team All-Events at 2024 Open Championships
May 17, 2024
LAS VEGAS – The members of Top Score Bowling of Whitestown, Indiana, leaned on the chemistry they developed and skills they honed during their time on campus and on the lanes representing Purdue University to make an impact this week at the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The team – featuring Dustin Zehner, Jacob Wright, Luke Matthys, TJ Schmidt and Zach Weidman – started their trip to the South Point Bowling Plaza by making a run at the lead in Regular Team on Thursday.
The group finished just short of the top spot and moved into second place with a 3,350 total after games of 1,046, 1,124 and 1,180. Trip 4 Pro Shop of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, leads Regular Team at the 2024 USBC Open Championships with 3,363.
Top Score Bowling was able to use the momentum from that performance to start chipping away at the top score in Team All-Events on Friday during doubles and singles, taking over the lead by 55 pins with a 10,087 total.
Maximum Potential Pro Shop of Rome, New York, had held the lead since April 29 with 10,032.
Schmidt paced the group with a 2,174 total and moved into a tie for seventh place in Regular All-Events. The 2010-2011 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Most Valuable Player for the Boilermakers is the owner of a pair of 300 games at the Open Championships (2011 and 2012 in doubles) and rolled an 855 series in doubles at the 2011 event.
Weidman was next for Top Score Bowling with 2,136 to move into the top 15 of Regular All-Events. He rolled a 300 game during team competition at the 2022 Open Championships.
Zehner, a former Junior Team USA member and runner-up at the 2016 Junior Gold Championships, posted, 2,022, Wright added 1,952 and Matthys finished with 1,803.
Wright provided a spark to start the group’s singles event by rolling 300 on the way to a 722 series.
The teammates got stronger as their block continued Friday during doubles and singles, averaging nearly 230 as a unit in singles to push their total past the leading score.
After posting 3,289 in doubles, Top Score Bowling finished singles with a 3,448 total.
All five members of Top Score Bowling competed for Purdue’s bowling team during their time at the university, ranging from the start of the 2005-2006 season for Matthys through the 2017-2018 season for Zehner.
Watch the video below to learn more about the group’s reaction to just missing out on the lead in Regular Team on Thursday, the bond they’ve built through their time and connection to Purdue and what it means to leave with the lead at the Open Championships.
Watch the video below to learn more about Wright’s run to perfection, which included a stretch of 22 consecutive strikes, and what it means to join Schmidt and Weidman with an honor score at the Open Championships.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
The team – featuring Dustin Zehner, Jacob Wright, Luke Matthys, TJ Schmidt and Zach Weidman – started their trip to the South Point Bowling Plaza by making a run at the lead in Regular Team on Thursday.
The group finished just short of the top spot and moved into second place with a 3,350 total after games of 1,046, 1,124 and 1,180. Trip 4 Pro Shop of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, leads Regular Team at the 2024 USBC Open Championships with 3,363.
Top Score Bowling was able to use the momentum from that performance to start chipping away at the top score in Team All-Events on Friday during doubles and singles, taking over the lead by 55 pins with a 10,087 total.
Maximum Potential Pro Shop of Rome, New York, had held the lead since April 29 with 10,032.
Schmidt paced the group with a 2,174 total and moved into a tie for seventh place in Regular All-Events. The 2010-2011 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Most Valuable Player for the Boilermakers is the owner of a pair of 300 games at the Open Championships (2011 and 2012 in doubles) and rolled an 855 series in doubles at the 2011 event.
Weidman was next for Top Score Bowling with 2,136 to move into the top 15 of Regular All-Events. He rolled a 300 game during team competition at the 2022 Open Championships.
Zehner, a former Junior Team USA member and runner-up at the 2016 Junior Gold Championships, posted, 2,022, Wright added 1,952 and Matthys finished with 1,803.
Wright provided a spark to start the group’s singles event by rolling 300 on the way to a 722 series.
The teammates got stronger as their block continued Friday during doubles and singles, averaging nearly 230 as a unit in singles to push their total past the leading score.
After posting 3,289 in doubles, Top Score Bowling finished singles with a 3,448 total.
All five members of Top Score Bowling competed for Purdue’s bowling team during their time at the university, ranging from the start of the 2005-2006 season for Matthys through the 2017-2018 season for Zehner.
Watch the video below to learn more about the group’s reaction to just missing out on the lead in Regular Team on Thursday, the bond they’ve built through their time and connection to Purdue and what it means to leave with the lead at the Open Championships.
Watch the video below to learn more about Wright’s run to perfection, which included a stretch of 22 consecutive strikes, and what it means to join Schmidt and Weidman with an honor score at the Open Championships.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.