March 29, 2006 - USBC - Steve Steinpreis of Plymouth, Wis., found the perfect way to celebrate his 25th trip to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships (formerly the American Bowling Congress Championships Tournament).
The 49-year-old right-hander complemented one tournament milestone with another as he posted the 10th perfect game of the 2006 Open Championships on Tuesday night at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall.
After opening doubles with 201 and 208, Steinpreis strung together 12 consecutive strikes to polish off the 12th 300 of his career for a 709 series, his first 700 series in 25 trips to the tournament.
"Coming in I really just wanted to shoot 700 here, but to do it like this was even better," said Steinpreis, who along with his wife Nancy is a member of the Sheboygan (Wis.) Bowling Association Hall of Fame. "With as much time as I spend around bowling, I've always wanted to come out here and put on a good show. I don't always bowl well because of the inside line you usually have to play, but I have gotten more comfortable with all the years of practice."
Steinpreis teamed up with Clinton Kilb of Plymouth, Wis., to finish with a 1,314 doubles total, which is currently tied for 49th in Regular Doubles. Steinpreis added 682 in singles and 527 in team for 1,918 all-events.
"To me this is one of bowling's biggest stages, and to achieve this in front of all my friends and family was incredible," Steinpreis said. "I bowled terrible in team last night and had no ball reaction, but today the reaction got better and better as I got more confident out there."
While Steinpreis can easily measure his success on the lanes, it is often his time spent behind the lanes that he finds most rewarding. He is a USBC Silver Certified coach who has been coaching high school bowling for 10 years, as well as a long-time pro shop operator and local association official.
"I think the things that are the most rewarding are being honored and recognized by your peers and being able to help people be successful based on your own knowledge and experiences."
NEW MEXICO WOMAN SHOOTS 298 AT OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
In 2000, when Kristy Baker of Albuquerque, N.M., bowled in her first Open Championships, she was seven months pregnant with her second child.
Now almost six years later, Baker's two kids were asleep in the stands Tuesday night when she tossed the third 298 game of this years this year's tournament.
After games of 158 and 157, Baker made a ball change and rattled off 11 consecutive strikes before a 3-9 combination stood between her and perfection. She finished with a 613 series, her highest ever at the tournament by 88 pins.
"After the second frame I started taking deep breaths and by the ninth frame I was already shaking," said Baker, whose previous high game was 262. "During the 10th frame I was so nervous I probably couldn't even have told you my first name. My dad, brother and husband all have 300s, and my mom and I have always joked that my kids would probably do it before me too. But now that I got this close, I think anything might be possible."
In February, Janette Piesczynski of Cheektowaga, N.Y., joined Kristine Kropf of Antioch, Calif., as the only two women to ever record perfect games in Open Championships competition.
Presenting sponsors for the 2006 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Texas State Aquarium, Majestic Ventures Yacht Charters, Inc., USS Lexington Museum and Texas Treasure Casino Cruises.
For more information on the USBC Open Championships, visit USBCopen.com
Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls:
REGULAR DIVISION
Team
1, Brunswick Shox (Luis Kassian, Casey Slaughter, T.J. Mento, Tyson Branagan, Ryan Abel), Wichita, Kan., 3,436. 2, Chilton Billiard Supply, Wichita, Kan., 3,365. 3, Wichita Bowling Supply 1, Wichita, Kan., 3,355. 4, Champions Bowling, Sacramento, Calif., 3,319. 5, Steve Cook's Bowling Supply, Sacramento, Calif., 3,318. 6, Arcade Amusement, Orland Park, Ill., 3,297. 7, Hammer of Oregon, Klamath Falls, Ore., 3,292. 8, #'s Delivered, Houston, 3,270. 9, Shox U, Wichita, Kan., 3,243. 10, Breakpoint Pro Shop 2, Fargo, N.D., 3,242.
Doubles
1, Joe Baker, Billings, Mo./Jeff Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 1,399. 2, Peter McCordic, Katy, Texas/Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, 1,393. 3, Bill Orlikowski, Grand Rapids, Mich./Kerry Kreft, Warren, Mich., 1,384. 4, Dana Criswell/Gary Ekman, Fremont, Calif., 1,381. 5, Luis Kassian, Wichita, Kan./Kevin Tabron, Wichita, Kan., 1,377. 6 (tie), Dave Hewitt, Fremont, Calif./Larry Cooper, Reno, Nev., and Jerry Wiesendanger, Salina, Kan./Marvin Vidricksen, Salina, Kan., 1,376. 8 (tie), Chris Zoellner, Belvidere, Ill./Gerald Marrs, Lake in the Hills, Ill., and Douglas Weese, Carson City, Mich./Mark Abraham, Lansing, Mich., 1,375. 10, James Magara Jr., Limestone, N.Y./William Owens, Salamanca, N.Y., 1,374.
Singles
1, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 792. 2, Janette Piesczynski, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 789. 3, Dave Hewitt, Fremont, Calif., 788. 4, Ernest Goedicke, Brigham City, Utah, 774. 5 (tie), Marcia Kamrowski, Pleasantview, Utah, and Joe Spoonmore, Sandwich, Ill., 772. 7, Thomas McLane, Lusby, Md., 769. 8, (tie), Randy Watson, Liberty, Mo., and Heath Hawkins, Toledo, Ohio, 763. 10 (tie), Joe Conrad, Melrose Park, Ill., Charlie Commons, Dover, Fla., and Dan Lyman Jr., Chicago, 761.
All-Events
1 (tie), Kevin Tabron, Wichita, Kan., and Dave Hewitt, Fremont, Calif., 2,130. 3, Jim Carter, Keller, Texas, 2,117. 4, Ron Boroff, Mansfield, Texas, 2,111. 5, Leonard Ruiz, Diamond Bar, Calif., 2,105. 6, Marcia Kamrowski, Pleasantview, Utah, 2,097. 7, Dan Lyman Jr., Chicago, 2,095. 8, Greg Newtson, Medford, Ore., 2,094. 9, Matt Smith, Altoona, Iowa, 2,093. 10, Robby Porter, Rancho Cordova, Calif., 2,089.
Team All-Events
1, Warrior Lanes (Scott Taylor, Jason Mesecher, Chris Wade, Shawn Riley, Tom Hess), Des Moines, Iowa, 9,837. 2, Chilton Billiard Supply, Wichita, Kan., 9,793. 3, Champions Bowling, Sacramento, Calif., 9,784. 4, Hewitt's Hurlers, Reno, Nev., 9,686. 5, Hammer of Oregon, Klamath Falls, Ore., 9,603. 6, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,554. 7, Ebonite Bowlers Map, Antioch, Calif., 9,509. 8, Wichita Bowling Supply 1, Wichita, Kan., 9,502. 9, Brunswick Shox, Wichita, Kan., 9,500. 10, Vic Telemarketing, Westfield, Mass., 9,498.
CLASSIFIED DIVISION
Team
1, Torkelson Construction (Greg Schipull, Roger Haupt, Troy Schultz, Dustin Elston, Eric Douglass), Clarion, Iowa, 2,878. 2, Suburban Lanes, Meade, Kan., 2,851. 3, Sportsman Bowling Club 3, Cerritos, Calif., 2,807. 4, Grogan's Dairy Queen, Dyersburg, Tenn., 2,789. 5, D&R; Golf, New Iberia, La., 2,750. 6, Hole in the Wall 2, Newton, Iowa, 2,744. 7, Sandhills Rollers 2, Aberdeen, N.C., 2,735. 8, Perkins Farms 1, Stanton, Mich., 2,716. 9, Tom's Pro Shop, Orland, Ind., 2,708. 10, DSDG Painting, Kewaskum, Wis., 2,701.
Doubles
1, Richard Cockerhan, Davison, Mich./Ron Caldwell, North Branch, Mich., 1,234. 2, Kevin Mitchell, Millbrae, Calif./Robert Stephens, San Francisco, 1,214. 3, Ron Hester/Ken Varner, Lexington, N.C., 1,209. 4, Tim Anderson, Dawson, Minn./Rob Bennett, Montevideo, Minn., 1,198. 5, Fernando Cahue, Orland Park, Ill./Art Schmitt, Palos Park, Ill., 1,185. 6, William Listerud/Gene Fenhaus, Elko, Nev., 1,180. 7, Mark Kemper, Frazee, Minn./Greg Mickelson, Perham, Minn., 1,169. 8, Allen Albers, Keystone, Iowa/Larry Meyer, Keystone, Iowa, 1,168. 9 (tie), Christopher Araya, Fernley, Nev./John Matarazza, Fallon, Nev., and Ronald Arbanas, Grand Rapids, Mich./Ronald Varney, Kentwood, Mich., 1,166.
Singles
1 (tie), Steve Jacoby, Gowen, Mich., and Ted Skrzynecki Jr., Ida, Mich., 679. 3, Darlene Baker, Mahomet, Ill., 675. 4, Rand Syverson, Onamia, Minn., 665. 5, Aaron Biagioni, Ottawa, Ill., 661. 6, Chris Case, Knoxville, Tenn., 657. 7, Tate Ziglar, Lexington, N.C., 654. 8, Don Boone, Foley, Ala., 647. 9, James Lutz, Tucson, Ariz., 642. 10 (tie), Jeffery Schrupp, Lester Prairie, Minn., and Robert Weber, Milliken, Colo., 639.
All-Events
1, Jeffery Schrupp, Lester Prairie, Minn., 1,800. 2, Billy Haferkamp, Clifton, Texas, 1,788. 3, Michael Licko, Carol Stream, Ill., 1,787. 4, James McLendon, Charlotte, N.C., 1,781. 5, Rand Syverson, Onamia, Minn., 1,774. 6, Ken Varner, Lexington, N.C., 1,766. 7, Tate Zigler, Lexington, N.C., 1,765. 8, Ron Hester, Lexington, N.C., 1,764. 9, Danny Noss, Las Vegas, 1,761. 10, Jerry Schrimsher, Pangburn, Ark., 1,759.
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