Last year, Roberts Repair of Pontiac, Ill., topped nearly 4,000 teams on the way to the Classified Team title at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, and this weekend, the five team members were introduced as tournament champions for the first time.

After being recognized in the squad room, they marched out to see the orange eagles next to their names on the scoreboard, which represented their achievement, and then prepared to make their Regular Division debut. Because their combined average now is more than 900, the team no longer qualifies for the Classified Division and would not have the chance to defend its title.

"It was pretty neat to come in here and see our names up there with the eagles on the scoreboard," said Dave Schmidt, a 63-year-old right-hander and team captain. "Some people at first may wonder what the eagles are for, so we get to tell them we were the champs last year. That's cool. It also makes you want to try and do better, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. That's a pretty lofty goal to shoot for, but you want to try and do it."

Although the group fell short of last year's 2,845 winning total Sunday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, they were excited to be back and were ready for the challenge of the Regular Division.

"It's tough because it's a pretty good group of bowlers in that division" said Schmidt, who made his 10th Open Championships appearance. "Yeah, it happened once, so I suppose it could happen again. It may take us another nine years to get that one too, but hey, it's something to shoot for. It'll take practice, practice, practice."

Felix Salinas Jr. led Roberts Repair for the second straight year and posted a 613 series to help the team to games of 823, 827 and 854 for a 2,504 total. Rick Rambo added 530 and was followed by Jerry Roberts (504), Rich Buchheit (474) and Schmidt (383).

From here, the team will continue to work on improving and will enjoy the Open Championships and have fun whether they have a good night or a bad night on the lanes. For now, they will take pride in the championship banner bearing their names that hangs over the tournament lanes, and they always will look forward to next year.

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.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, K & K Bowling Service 1 (Ron Mohr, Phillip Platko, Chris Klerk, Adam Ishman, Andrew Cain), Henderson, Nev., 3,208. 2, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,201. 3, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 3,172. 4, Sign Producers 1, Winter Garden, Fla., 3,162. 5, Cambridge 2, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,149. 6, Central Saw, Racine, Wis., 3,145. 7, Ebonite Kids, Mundelein, Ill., 3,118. 8, Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 3,099. 9, Eide Painting, Mitchell, S.D., 3,097. 10 (tie), Warrior Lanes, Urbandale, Iowa, and Professional Image Center 1, Coffeyville, Kan., 3,096.

Doubles
1, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 2, Patrick Smart/Ricky Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif., 1,404. 3, George Aboud, San Jose, Calif.,/Jeff Frankos, Daly City, Calif., 1,399. 4, Marc Levy/Cathedral City, Calif./Vincent Wood, Moreno Valley, Calif., 1,398. 5, Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill./Hank Sorensen, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 1,389. 6, Jeff Lunde/Joe Crenshaw, Racine, Wis., 1,384. 7, Jim Capps, Kenosha,Wis./Jason Frank, Racine, Wis., 1,381. 8, Julius Awes, Minneapolis,/Charles Hayslett, Apple Valley, Mich., 1,370. 9 (tie), Tim Penner, Wichita, Kan./Justin Hromek, Towanda, Kan., and Paul Nicholas, Romeoville, Ill./George Kontos, Joliet, Ill., 1,368.

Singles
1, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 2, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 3, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 4, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 5, Mike Preston, High Springs, Fla., 764. 6, Greg Benefield, Lees Summit, Mo., 763. 7, Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., 761. 8, Eddie Martin, Hanford, Calif., 758. 9, Tracy Teeters, Salem, Ore., 751. 10, Mike Kristofik, St. Peters, Mo., 749.

All-Events
1, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 2, Brian Diede, Huron, S.D., 2,113. 3, John Gaines, Orlando, Fla., 2,092. 4, Richard Thomas, Middleton, Wis., 2,086. 5, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 2,082. 6, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 2,065. 76, Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich., 2,064. 8 (tie), Bryan O'Keefe, Rochester, N.Y., and Jason Polreis, Sioux Falls, S.D., 2,052. 10, Carl Marcincavage, Manville, N.J., 2,045.

Team All-Events
1, Pam's Boys 1 (Jeff True, Tracy Teeters, Rick Guined, Mike Shequin, Kevin Croucher), Salem, Ore., 9,736. 2, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,664. 3, Ebonite HQ, Hopkinsville, Ky., 9,501. 4, Gran Prix Pro Shop, St. Charles, Mo., 9,494. 5, Gene's Pro Shop, Livermore, Calif., 9,430. 6, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 9,392. 7, TPA 2-Rip Holzie, Madison, Wis., 9,385. 8, Design Wizards, Mandan, N.D., 9,380. 9, K & K Bowling Services 2, Henderson, Nev., 9,374. 10, Cambridge 2, Feeding Hills, Mass., 9,345.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Lake Country Rollers (Butch Booker, Dave Lisson, Wayne Booker, Michael Booker, Danny Booker), Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 2, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 3, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 4, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 5, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 6, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 7, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 8, Suburban Lanes, Meade Kan., 2,687. 9, Arrowood Plumbing, Parachute, Colo., 2,644. 10, Nerf Herders, Richmond, Ind., 2,642.

Doubles
1, Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 2, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181. 3, Myron Asleson/Tony Haugen, Devils Lake, N.D., 1,179. 4, Rich Ayers Jr., Webster City, Iowa/Darrell Pedersen, Eagle Grove, Iowa, 1,166. 5, Larry Kubasiak/Duane Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,165. 6, Gary Tomhave/Michael Donley, Fergus Falls, Minn., 1,163. 7, Ken Iredale/Kevin Furness, Oxfordshire, England, 1,158. 8, Eric Ohlrogge/William Meyer, Alexandria, Minn., 1,154. 9, Dave Stefl/Charles LaTendresse, Grundy Center, Iowa, 1,150. 10 (tie), Kevin Mitchell, Millbrae, Calif./Robert Stephens, San Francisco, and Steve Philippi/Tim Nicholas, Central City, Neb., 1,149.

Singles
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 2, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 3, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 4, Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648. 5 (tie), Lynn Parker, Berwick, La., and Mike Leblanc, New Iberia, La., 644. 7, Alan Miller, Lexington, N.C., 641. 8, Darrell Pedersen, Eagle Grove, Iowa, 639. 9 (tie), Chris Sedersten, Sutton, Neb., and Daniel Riley, North Fork, Ark., 631.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 3, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 4, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 5, Hartsell Duhart, Compton, Calif., 1,789. 6, Larry Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,764. 7, Ken Iredale, Oxfordshire, England, 1,754. 8, Bill Garrett, Hampton, Neb., 1,746. 9, Darrell Pedersen, Eagle Grove, Iowa, 1,745. 10, Alan Miller, Lexington, N.C. 1,742.