PDA

View Full Version : Former collegiate standout shoots 299 game at Open Championships



onefrombills
06-24-2009, 10:54 PM
LAS VEGAS - Brian Hatcher of Kettering, Ohio, played the wrong part of the lane with the wrong bowling ball for the first game and a half of his doubles event at the USBC Open Championships, but some advice from his fianc, and a ball change helped him make a run at perfection Monday.

The 29-year-old right-hander tossed 11 consecutive strikes in his last game of doubles before leaving the 7 pin on his final offering. He finished with games of 215, 192 and 299 for a 706 series. The effort marked the 15th 299 of this year's event at Cashman Center. There have been 27 perfect games.

"I was doing things all wrong and didn't catch it quick enough, but my fiance, (Jessica) pointed it out, and after a ball change, things fell into place for a while," said Hatcher, who bowled for Wichita State University and earned second team All-America honors during the 1999-2000 season. "I'm a little disappointed because I've always thought it would be nice to shoot 300 at the USBC tournament, but there's still plenty more years to try."

Hatcher shot 624 in team Sunday to help AMP Bowling Supply of Naperville, Ill., to a 3,094 total and added 558 in singles Monday for a 1,888 all-events effort.

This was his first year bowling with the group that has enjoyed its share of collegiate and international success. Hatcher's team includes former collegiate standouts Art Brown and Chris Hester, former Team USA member Mark Siders and team captain Mark Clark.

Their companion team, Kaizen by Diandra, is comprised of 11-time Team USA member and USBC Youth spokesperson Diandra Asbaty, her sister and former Team USA member Kassy Golden, former Team USA members Marcia Kloempken and Kari Schwager and international standout Paola Gomez. Kaizen by Diandra shot 3,179 on Sunday, which is 27th overall.

"I felt honored to be invited to bowl with such a talented group, and our expectations were pretty high coming in," said Hatcher, a former Junior Team USA member who made his sixth Open Championships appearance. "You have to be able to communicate as a team and have chemistry if you're going to be successful here, and we can do that well. No one on my team bowled poorly, but no one really bowled well, so we're a little disappointed. We'll come in with the same expectations next year in Reno, and we're a young team, so hopefully, we can participate together for quite awhile."

Hatcher understands what it takes to be successful at the Open Championships and knows that things sometimes just click, and sometimes they don't. Although he didn't bowl as well as he would've liked, he knows that next year will bring another opportunity for success.

"Sometimes it's a crapshoot to make the right guess out there," Hatcher said. "You can be in the wrong place with the wrong ball, but still feel like you're close. No matter how you bowl, good or bad, you always try to improve on it next year."

Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.