Teamwork helps former collegiate players climb leaderboard at 2021 USBC Open Championships
May 22, 2021
LAS VEGAS - Zachary Woelfel of Burlington, Wisconsin, and his K and J Finishing 1 teammates may have fallen short in their bid for a Regular Team title at the 2021 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, but they got some redemption Saturday at the South Point Bowling Center.
Following the morning's six games, they left as the leaders in Regular Singles and Team All-Events, which followed a close call in doubles and a run at the 10th perfect game of the tournament.
Woelfel, a 25-year-old right-hander, personally redeemed himself for what he described as less-than-stellar performances in team and doubles by tossing games of 212, 299 and 257 for a 768 singles series, three pins better than previous leader Adam Chase of Ronkonkoma, New York.
A 9 pin on his final shot kept Woelfel from a 300 game on bowling's biggest stage, but he was able to stay focused and continue throwing strikes on the way to the best series of his tournament career by 101 pins.
"It was a very up and down day to say the least," said Woelfel, who made his fifth USBC Open Championships appearance. "I didn't throw it very well in doubles, so I tweaked my hand a little bit for singles. That helped me get through the ball, and I was able to find a pretty good reaction, which was much needed after the first two sets. To take over the lead is pretty awesome and something I never dreamed of doing."
With his 622 series in team and 601 in doubles, Woelfel finished with a career-best 1,991 all-events score and helped K and J Finishing 1 to a 9,927 team total. Striking Edge Pro Shop of Wausau, Wisconsin, previously held the lead in Team All-Events with 9,831.
Woelfel was joined in the effort by Nick Kruml (2,098), Team USA and USBC Board member Nick Pate (2,035), Christopher Wiley (1,986) and Ryne Greenwood (1,817).
Though he may not have been at his best for all nine games, Woelfel knew his teammates were there to help keep the momentum moving forward. That's something they all learned while competing collegiately, and that team mentality has carried on to the Open Championships.
"It has been a total team effort, and the more years we bowl together here, the more comfortable we're getting," Woelfel said. "Everything kind of fell into place yesterday, and even though we came up a little short, moving into third place in the team event was pretty awesome. We grinded together, which is what we did in college, too. We communicated, made moves and discussed ball changes, and it was a lot of fun."
The group entered the final frame of Friday's team event at the South Point Bowling Plaza with all five players needing to at least throw a double for a shot at the top spot on the leaderboard. Woelfel, who was third in the lineup, was the first to miss.
The team landed in third place overall with a 3,321 total. The Bowlers Shoppe 1 of St. Louis leads Regular Team with 3,352, and Ansara Restaurant Group 4 of Clinton Township, Michigan, moved into the second spot minutes before Woelfel and his teammates closed things out.
Early on Saturday, the burden of strikes fell on Kruml and Wiley, who nearly grabbed the lead in Regular Doubles.
They again stepped up in their final frame with a chance to get there, but a pair of single pins ended the run. Kruml finished with a 730 set, and Wiley contributed 687 for a 1,417 total and second place in the standings.
Jonathan Schalow of Beloit, Wisconsin, and Chad Svendsen of Monroe, Wisconsin, lead Regular Doubles with 1,436.
Along with the team mentality that has carried over from collegiate bowling, Pate also has experienced that environment as a four-time member of Team USA.
Pate paced the team with a 723 series Friday and shifted roles as his teammates stepped up Saturday.
"Even though we were on different pairs today, we were still cheering each other on and helping each other out," Pate said. "We did get nine a lot today, so we left a lot of pins out there. We know 10,000 definitely was possible this year, but we're excited to be in the lead. When you get a group of guys together with the same common goal, it just makes for a fun time out here. We're incredibly proud of how we did. Now, we're going to celebrate for a minute and see what happens."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
Following the morning's six games, they left as the leaders in Regular Singles and Team All-Events, which followed a close call in doubles and a run at the 10th perfect game of the tournament.
Woelfel, a 25-year-old right-hander, personally redeemed himself for what he described as less-than-stellar performances in team and doubles by tossing games of 212, 299 and 257 for a 768 singles series, three pins better than previous leader Adam Chase of Ronkonkoma, New York.A 9 pin on his final shot kept Woelfel from a 300 game on bowling's biggest stage, but he was able to stay focused and continue throwing strikes on the way to the best series of his tournament career by 101 pins.
"It was a very up and down day to say the least," said Woelfel, who made his fifth USBC Open Championships appearance. "I didn't throw it very well in doubles, so I tweaked my hand a little bit for singles. That helped me get through the ball, and I was able to find a pretty good reaction, which was much needed after the first two sets. To take over the lead is pretty awesome and something I never dreamed of doing."
With his 622 series in team and 601 in doubles, Woelfel finished with a career-best 1,991 all-events score and helped K and J Finishing 1 to a 9,927 team total. Striking Edge Pro Shop of Wausau, Wisconsin, previously held the lead in Team All-Events with 9,831.
Woelfel was joined in the effort by Nick Kruml (2,098), Team USA and USBC Board member Nick Pate (2,035), Christopher Wiley (1,986) and Ryne Greenwood (1,817).
Though he may not have been at his best for all nine games, Woelfel knew his teammates were there to help keep the momentum moving forward. That's something they all learned while competing collegiately, and that team mentality has carried on to the Open Championships.
"It has been a total team effort, and the more years we bowl together here, the more comfortable we're getting," Woelfel said. "Everything kind of fell into place yesterday, and even though we came up a little short, moving into third place in the team event was pretty awesome. We grinded together, which is what we did in college, too. We communicated, made moves and discussed ball changes, and it was a lot of fun."
The group entered the final frame of Friday's team event at the South Point Bowling Plaza with all five players needing to at least throw a double for a shot at the top spot on the leaderboard. Woelfel, who was third in the lineup, was the first to miss.
The team landed in third place overall with a 3,321 total. The Bowlers Shoppe 1 of St. Louis leads Regular Team with 3,352, and Ansara Restaurant Group 4 of Clinton Township, Michigan, moved into the second spot minutes before Woelfel and his teammates closed things out.
Early on Saturday, the burden of strikes fell on Kruml and Wiley, who nearly grabbed the lead in Regular Doubles.
They again stepped up in their final frame with a chance to get there, but a pair of single pins ended the run. Kruml finished with a 730 set, and Wiley contributed 687 for a 1,417 total and second place in the standings.
Jonathan Schalow of Beloit, Wisconsin, and Chad Svendsen of Monroe, Wisconsin, lead Regular Doubles with 1,436.
Along with the team mentality that has carried over from collegiate bowling, Pate also has experienced that environment as a four-time member of Team USA.
Pate paced the team with a 723 series Friday and shifted roles as his teammates stepped up Saturday.
"Even though we were on different pairs today, we were still cheering each other on and helping each other out," Pate said. "We did get nine a lot today, so we left a lot of pins out there. We know 10,000 definitely was possible this year, but we're excited to be in the lead. When you get a group of guys together with the same common goal, it just makes for a fun time out here. We're incredibly proud of how we did. Now, we're going to celebrate for a minute and see what happens."
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.