Three lead changes and 826 rolled in doubles at 2025 Open Championships
April 12, 2025
PHOTO (from left): Brent Ryan, Scott Percha, Eric Lesmeister, Matthew Lesmeister and Dominico Emmi representing DiLaura Brothers 6
BATON ROUGE, La. – Over the course of approximately 36 hours at the Raising Cane’s River Center, new leaders emerged in Standard Team, Regular Doubles and Regular Singles at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The strikes also added up for two-time champion Jeffrey Mersch of Orlando, Florida, during the exciting stretch, as he connected for an 826 series in doubles.
On Thursday evening, the members of DiLaura Brothers 6 of Clinton Township, Michigan, posted the first team set north of 2,800 in the Standard Division, taking the lead with a 2,812 total.
The team – featuring Brent Ryan, Scott Percha, Eric Lesmeister, Matthew Lesmeister and Dominico Emmi – had games of 859, 962 and 991 to move past the 2,762 rolled by Silver Creek Liquor Team 1 of Fairmont, Minnesota.
Matthew Lesmeister led the way for DiLaura Brothers 6 with a 608 series. Ryan was next with 579 and followed by Emmi (562), Eric Lesmeister (538) and Percha (525).
“Honestly, this whole thing feels surreal to us right now,” said Ryan, making his fourth appearance at the USBC Open Championships. “We fed off each other all day. Even when we get down, we bring each other up.”
The group has developed a connection through leagues in Michigan and past trips to the Open Championships. This marked their first time joining the DiLaura Brothers group at the tournament, and they were excited to lean on the experience the crew brings to the lanes – along with the past success.
The members of DiLaura Brothers 1 (Jay Lang, John Buffa, Ryan VanHecke, John Kelley and Ronnie Sparks Jr.) posted a record score in 2022 to win Team All-Events in Las Vegas (10,585).
“We have been bowling together with the same team for the last four years and all know each from back home since we bowl with each other in league,” Ryan said. “I am happy to be able to accomplish this with people I can call my close friends.
“This is our first year with the DiLaura Brothers group, and getting feedback from Lang, Sparks, VanHecke and Kelley is awesome. When those guys came down to give us praise and high-fives while they were still bowling really shows the character of those guys and how they want the guys in this group to succeed.”
They’ll be able to ask for advice on playing the waiting game now, too, as they hope to hold on for the top score in Standard Team.
“I think winning would be even more surreal than the feeling we have right now,” Ryan said. “We watched the video from their Team All-Events win before we came out here to get the blood flowing in preparation for the tournament, so it would just be truly poetic if we were able to hang on and win in front of these guys.”
Standard Team features groups with combined entering averages of 776-875.
Ronnie Sparks Jr. and Jay Lang
On Friday, Sparks and Lang joined the fun by cruising to the lead in Regular Doubles with a 1,468 total.
Sparks – a two-time Eagle winner (2015 Regular Singles and 2022 Team All-Events) – fired games of 225, 232 and 279 for a 736 series. Lang – the owner of three titles at the Open Championships (1997 Regular Team and Team All-Events in 1999 and 2022) – had 208, 258 and 266 for 732.
Steve Wright of Cypress, Texas, and Paul McCordic of Sugar Land, Texas, previously led Regular Doubles with 1,413.
After starting with 433 in Game 1, Sparks and Lang nearly averaged 260 during their final two games. They rolled strikes on 21 of their 24 deliveries in Game 3 to close with 545.
To learn more about their performance at the River Center, watch the video below.
The 2025 team for DiLaura Brothers 1 – including Lang, Sparks, Kelley, VanHecke and Jesse Hojnacki – also heads home from Baton Rouge in third place in Team All-Events (9,635) and sixth place in Regular Team (3,087).
Sparks led the team for the week with 2,000 and was followed by Hojnacki (1,931), VanHecke (1,915), Kelley (1,913) and Lang (1,876).
Mento Produce of Auburn, New York, took the lead in Team All-Events at the 2025 event Thursday with 9,887. Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 of St. Charles, Missouri, leads Regular Team with 3,270.
Jeffrey Grego
Shortly after the lead in doubles changed hands on Friday, Jeffrey Grego of Fort Wayne, Indiana, stepped up in his final frame with the chance to put his name at top of the leaderboard in Regular Singles.
After starting with games of 249 and 279, the 47-year-old right-hander had put together strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames, with a maximum score of 258.
Grego needed the first two strikes in the 10th for the opportunity to move past the 777 rolled by Isaac Goodman of Ottumwa, Iowa, on March 18. He delivered all three to close the set with 786.
He finished his 18th tournament appearance with 652 in doubles and 644 in team for an overall score of 2,082 to move into fifth place in Regular All-Events. Cassidy Schaub of Ashland, Ohio, leads with 2,158.
Grego previously took the lead in Regular Singles during the 2014 event in Reno, Nevada, posting games of 231, 288 and 279 for 798. He finished the event in fourth place and collected a second top 10 in Regular All-Events (eighth with 2,182).
Watch the video below to learn more about Grego’s performance in Baton Rouge.
Jeffrey Mersch
Mersch started striking Saturday morning at the River Center, and the 41-year-old left-hander accumulated strikes on 30 of his 34 deliveries in the set for games of 289, 258 and 279.
He paired with fellow two-time champion Matthew Tuckfield of Orlando to take over second place in Regular Doubles with 1,423. Tuckfield, who rolled a 300 game in doubles during the tournament’s last trip to Baton Rouge in 2012, had 597.
Mersch’s performance marked the second 800 of the 2025 Open Championships. Gregory Thompson Jr. of Tempe, Arizona, recorded 810 during his doubles set March 23.
Mersch and Tuckfield helped Junior Team USA Support 1 claim victory in Team All-Events in 2013 and 2015 alongside Steve Novak, Erik Vermilyea and three-time champion Anthony LaCaze.
His 826 on Saturday helped their 2025 crew – Enhance That #2 – to fourth place in Team All-Events at the River Center with 9,562.
Mersch led the way with 2,038 (665 in singles and 547 in team) and was followed by Tuckfield (1,932), Casey Shephard (1,911), Novak (1,854) and Vermilyea (1,827).
Click on the video below to learn more about Mersch’s big performance in doubles.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Over the course of approximately 36 hours at the Raising Cane’s River Center, new leaders emerged in Standard Team, Regular Doubles and Regular Singles at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The strikes also added up for two-time champion Jeffrey Mersch of Orlando, Florida, during the exciting stretch, as he connected for an 826 series in doubles.
On Thursday evening, the members of DiLaura Brothers 6 of Clinton Township, Michigan, posted the first team set north of 2,800 in the Standard Division, taking the lead with a 2,812 total.
The team – featuring Brent Ryan, Scott Percha, Eric Lesmeister, Matthew Lesmeister and Dominico Emmi – had games of 859, 962 and 991 to move past the 2,762 rolled by Silver Creek Liquor Team 1 of Fairmont, Minnesota.
Matthew Lesmeister led the way for DiLaura Brothers 6 with a 608 series. Ryan was next with 579 and followed by Emmi (562), Eric Lesmeister (538) and Percha (525).
“Honestly, this whole thing feels surreal to us right now,” said Ryan, making his fourth appearance at the USBC Open Championships. “We fed off each other all day. Even when we get down, we bring each other up.”
The group has developed a connection through leagues in Michigan and past trips to the Open Championships. This marked their first time joining the DiLaura Brothers group at the tournament, and they were excited to lean on the experience the crew brings to the lanes – along with the past success.
The members of DiLaura Brothers 1 (Jay Lang, John Buffa, Ryan VanHecke, John Kelley and Ronnie Sparks Jr.) posted a record score in 2022 to win Team All-Events in Las Vegas (10,585).
“We have been bowling together with the same team for the last four years and all know each from back home since we bowl with each other in league,” Ryan said. “I am happy to be able to accomplish this with people I can call my close friends.
“This is our first year with the DiLaura Brothers group, and getting feedback from Lang, Sparks, VanHecke and Kelley is awesome. When those guys came down to give us praise and high-fives while they were still bowling really shows the character of those guys and how they want the guys in this group to succeed.”
They’ll be able to ask for advice on playing the waiting game now, too, as they hope to hold on for the top score in Standard Team.
“I think winning would be even more surreal than the feeling we have right now,” Ryan said. “We watched the video from their Team All-Events win before we came out here to get the blood flowing in preparation for the tournament, so it would just be truly poetic if we were able to hang on and win in front of these guys.”
Standard Team features groups with combined entering averages of 776-875.
Ronnie Sparks Jr. and Jay Lang
On Friday, Sparks and Lang joined the fun by cruising to the lead in Regular Doubles with a 1,468 total.
Sparks – a two-time Eagle winner (2015 Regular Singles and 2022 Team All-Events) – fired games of 225, 232 and 279 for a 736 series. Lang – the owner of three titles at the Open Championships (1997 Regular Team and Team All-Events in 1999 and 2022) – had 208, 258 and 266 for 732.
Steve Wright of Cypress, Texas, and Paul McCordic of Sugar Land, Texas, previously led Regular Doubles with 1,413.
After starting with 433 in Game 1, Sparks and Lang nearly averaged 260 during their final two games. They rolled strikes on 21 of their 24 deliveries in Game 3 to close with 545.
To learn more about their performance at the River Center, watch the video below.
The 2025 team for DiLaura Brothers 1 – including Lang, Sparks, Kelley, VanHecke and Jesse Hojnacki – also heads home from Baton Rouge in third place in Team All-Events (9,635) and sixth place in Regular Team (3,087).
Sparks led the team for the week with 2,000 and was followed by Hojnacki (1,931), VanHecke (1,915), Kelley (1,913) and Lang (1,876).
Mento Produce of Auburn, New York, took the lead in Team All-Events at the 2025 event Thursday with 9,887. Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 of St. Charles, Missouri, leads Regular Team with 3,270.
Jeffrey GregoShortly after the lead in doubles changed hands on Friday, Jeffrey Grego of Fort Wayne, Indiana, stepped up in his final frame with the chance to put his name at top of the leaderboard in Regular Singles.
After starting with games of 249 and 279, the 47-year-old right-hander had put together strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames, with a maximum score of 258.
Grego needed the first two strikes in the 10th for the opportunity to move past the 777 rolled by Isaac Goodman of Ottumwa, Iowa, on March 18. He delivered all three to close the set with 786.
He finished his 18th tournament appearance with 652 in doubles and 644 in team for an overall score of 2,082 to move into fifth place in Regular All-Events. Cassidy Schaub of Ashland, Ohio, leads with 2,158.
Grego previously took the lead in Regular Singles during the 2014 event in Reno, Nevada, posting games of 231, 288 and 279 for 798. He finished the event in fourth place and collected a second top 10 in Regular All-Events (eighth with 2,182).
Watch the video below to learn more about Grego’s performance in Baton Rouge.
Jeffrey MerschMersch started striking Saturday morning at the River Center, and the 41-year-old left-hander accumulated strikes on 30 of his 34 deliveries in the set for games of 289, 258 and 279.
He paired with fellow two-time champion Matthew Tuckfield of Orlando to take over second place in Regular Doubles with 1,423. Tuckfield, who rolled a 300 game in doubles during the tournament’s last trip to Baton Rouge in 2012, had 597.Mersch’s performance marked the second 800 of the 2025 Open Championships. Gregory Thompson Jr. of Tempe, Arizona, recorded 810 during his doubles set March 23.
Mersch and Tuckfield helped Junior Team USA Support 1 claim victory in Team All-Events in 2013 and 2015 alongside Steve Novak, Erik Vermilyea and three-time champion Anthony LaCaze.
His 826 on Saturday helped their 2025 crew – Enhance That #2 – to fourth place in Team All-Events at the River Center with 9,562.
Mersch led the way with 2,038 (665 in singles and 547 in team) and was followed by Tuckfield (1,932), Casey Shephard (1,911), Novak (1,854) and Vermilyea (1,827).
Click on the video below to learn more about Mersch’s big performance in doubles.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.