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| Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y. | |
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| Ken Muscato, Canandaigua, N.Y. | |
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - With his Regular All-Events title on the line at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Sunday, Mike Rose Jr. of Rochester, N.Y., came through with the biggest frame of his bowling career and put himself in position to make history at the USBC Open Championships.
Rose stepped onto the approach for his final frame needing a strike and nine-spare to secure the all-events lead and give himself a chance to become the first bowler in 105 years of Open Championships competition to win back-to-back all-events titles.
The 37-year-old right-hander got just what he needed, and his 2,161 total moved him past Randy Weiss of Columbia, S.C., who previously held the lead with 2,160.
"Last year was a little bit less stressful because I knew I had the lead going into the 10th frame, but this time I knew what I needed and was trying to do something that no one has ever done, and the feeling was indescribable," said Rose, who had 748 in singles, 731 in team and 682 in doubles this year. "I made sure I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down for the first shot in the 10th, and I knew I threw it well. I honestly thought I was going to cry once the 10th frame was over. I was completely drained."
During singles, Rose was standing in front of the left ball return and lofting the ball over the left gutter. Because the lanes were drier than he had expected, he didn't know if he had a decent shot at the lead because the lanes were hooking so much.
After games of 234 and 258, Rose opened his final game with five consecutive strikes, but left a weak 10 pin on his sixth shot. After missing the spare, he regrouped, knowing what he had to do and finished with 256.
"When I had the front five the last game, I really started to think I had a shot at it," said Rose, who took home the 2007 all-events title with a 2,198 total at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev. "I made a move and threw a good shot. Then on the spare, the ball just hooked. After that, I was just concentrating on staying aggressive and throwing good shots. I've always dreamed of winning once, and to be in this position again is amazing."
While on the lanes, Rose had the support of his teammate and doubles partner Ken Muscato, who also bowled well and celebrated his 42nd birthday with a 299 game and 2,051 all-events total.
"It was funny because we always travel to this competition on my birthday," said Muscato, an inductee into the Canandaigua, N.Y., Bowling Association Hall of Fame. "My kids were asking me before I came out what I wanted for my birthday, and I said I wanted a 300 game. And I was telling my teammates that today at lunch and they were all laughing saying why not an 800 series and this and that, but I wanted a 300 game because that's what I told my kids I wanted. The last shot came up a little light, and I left the 3 pin. But that feeling I had in that 10th frame was something I haven't experienced in bowling in 15 or 20 years."
On Saturday night, Rose and Muscato helped Drillsheet.com into sixth place in Regular Team with a 3,219 total, and now have given their team an excellent jump on Team All-Events. The three remaining team members will take to the lanes for doubles and singles Sunday night. Team Pabst of Madison, Wis., leads Team All-Events with 9,977.
"I was out there rooting for Ken to do well, especially in the second game of singles when he shot 299, and that really helped keep me relaxed," Rose said. "For us to have a shot at Team All-Events would also be incredible because I'd really love for the rest of my team to experience the feeling I had when I won my eagle."
The Team All-Events title, which was given out for the first time in 1947, combines the nine-game totals for all five team members.
Drillsheet.com's companion team, Bowlingfordumdums.com, moved into second place in Regular Team on Saturday and also bowled well again Sunday to put itself in position for a run at Team All-Events, too.
Greg Thomas marked in 89 of 90 frames and led Bowlingfordumdums.com with a 2,058 all-events total. He was followed by Michael Gaither (1,988), Craig Auerbach (1,949) and Bob Davidson (1,938). The fifth member of the team, Jerry Casebolt, isn't scheduled to bowl doubles and singles until next week.
Thomas, who made his 27th Open Championships appearance, was a 4-9 split away from becoming the second bowler in tournament history to post 90 clean frames. Jeff Richgels of Oregon, Wis., accomplished the feat on the way to the Regular All-Events title in 1997.
For the defending all-events champion, this is just the start of an exciting week. From Albuquerque, Rose will head to Kansas City, Mo., to compete in Bowling's Clash of Champions, a USBC event featuring 16 USBC champions from 2007.
The special made-for-television event, presented in cooperation with Strike Ten Entertainment, will take place Wednesday and Thursday at the USBC Convention in Kansas City and will be taped for broadcast on CBS Sports on Saturday from 5-6 p.m. Eastern and Sunday from 4-5 p.m. Eastern.
The event will mark the first time bowling has been broadcast on network television since June 26, 1999, when the Professional Bowlers Association's ACDelco All-Star Classic aired on CBS Sports.
Former Professional Women's Bowling Association star Wendy Macpherson, the first woman to win a Regular Division title at the Open Championships (singles in 2006), will compete at the Open Championships in Albuquerque on Monday and Tuesday and then head to Kansas City, too. Macpherson earned her spot in the Clash by claiming the Classic All-Events title at the 2007 USBC Women's Championships.
"Winning a USBC title could end up being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, but to win again would be a dream come true," Rose said. "The chance to go to the Clash and compete for another $50,000 makes it all even better. The way things have been going for me lately, I really think I've got a chance to do something. I've been throwing the ball well, and I'm really confident right now."
Presenting sponsors for the 2008 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Roto Grip, official sponsor of the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge; Isleta Casino & Resort; Santa Ana Star Casino, the official brackets sponsor; Rainbow Ryders, the exclusive hot air balloon company of the 2008 Open Championships; and Sandia Resort & Casino.