By AARON SMITH
USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS – United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Jeff Richgels added another accolade to his impressive collection at the USBC Open Championships on Saturday as he rolled a perfect game to conclude his doubles set at the 2024 event.
Richgels, of Oregon, Wis., got on track after a rocky start to doubles at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The 61-year-old right-hander had games of 199 and 137 and went through four different bowling balls before finding the right look with his fifth selection on the way to a perfect finish and 636 series.
The five-time Eagle winner at the USBC Open Championships added 642 in singles and 637 in team to finish his 42nd tournament appearance with an all-events total of 1,915 to help 11thFrame.com 1 into the top 10 in both Regular Team and Team All-Events.
The team took over 10th place in Regular Team on Friday with games of 967, 1,120 and 1,118 for a 3,205 total, and the group’s combined effort in 2024 lands them in seventh place in Team All-Events with 9,810.
The 2024 edition of 11thFrame.com 1 featured Richgels, three-time champion Steve Richter (2,099), two-time winner Marc McDowell (2,023), two-time titlist and USBC Hall of Famer Mike Shady (1,950) and Jeff Nimke (1,823), the owner of two wins and a pair of 300 games at the Open Championships.
Trip 4 Pro Shop of St. Clair Shores, Mich., leads Regular Team with 3,363, and Maximum Potential Pro Shop of Rome, N.Y., holds the top spot in Team All-Events with 10,032.
Richgels had two previous runs with the first 11 strikes during his career in doubles competition on the championship lanes.
He recorded a 299 during his trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1993, and at the 2005 event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he posted 298 in Game 2 on the way to 787 series to join Richter (713 series) and capture the Regular Doubles title with a 1,500 total. The team also took home the win in Team All-Events during the 2005 event with a score of 9,698.
KRZYWONOS HITS 300
Indianapolis’ Joey Krzywonos put together the best performance of his young career in Las Vegas, and he cashed in a fortunate roll of the pins on his final delivery of doubles to record a 300 game along the way.
The 27-year-old posted games of 251, 213 and 300 on Saturday during doubles at the South Point Bowling Plaza for a 764 series, and he paired with Kyle Luckett of Indianapolis (604 series) to finish with a 1,368 total in Regular Doubles.
He added 654 in singles and 604 in team to finish with his top all-events score (2,022) over his five appearances at the USBC Open Championships.
Krzywonos posted the 11th 300 game of the 2024 event Saturday, and his performance marked the fourth 300 in doubles competition at the Bowling Plaza.
The powerful right-hander mixed up the pins with a pocket hit on his first delivery in the 10th frame of Game 3, and his 11th shot left little doubt as it hit flush in the pocket.
Things got interesting on his final delivery for perfection, as the shot was left of target and went through the head pin to leave the 3-6 standing for a moment.
A pin bounced across the deck to connect with the 3 pin first, before also catching the 6 pin to officially secure the 300 score.
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.