Two young bowlers, each competing in the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships for just the second time, rolled perfect games at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Monday.

Strangely, the two have more than just bowling in common. Both are right-handed, named Steven and work as cooks at restaurants in their hometowns. Now, their names will sit side by side in the tournament record books after they rolled the 13th and 14th perfect games of this year's event.

The first 300 of the day came from Steven Waters (pictured left) of Northfield, Ohio, who finished his bowling season with 12 consecutive strikes and a 736 singles set. The second 300 belonged to Steven Tribbett (right) of Vinton, Va., who sandwiched it between games of 208 and 185 for a 693 singles series.

Because of a severely sprained and heavily-taped ankle, Waters, 20, was forced to modify his style on the lanes, but his new slow and deliberate approach helped him combat the challenging lane condition at the USBC Open Championships.

"A week ago I was on crutches, so I definitely wasn't bowling like I normally do, but it forced me to slow down and let the ball read the lane a little better," said Waters, who had 655 in doubles and 550 in team for a 1,941 all-events total. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime feeling. Not a lot of people get this opportunity, but I got a few breaks and luck was on my side. This is just awesome, and it's starting to hit me now."

Waters made his Open Championships debut at the 2003 event in Knoxville, Tenn., where he bowled with a team, but was not able to secure a spot for doubles and singles. Because of the financial challenges that come with being young, he was not able to return until this year, but plans to become a tournament regular.

For now, though, Waters will take the summer off to rest his ankle, which he injured playing softball.

"Now that I'm older and know I can compete out here, I am excited about coming back in the future," said Waters, who rolled his first career perfect game when he was just 11 years old. "Now, I'm going to let my ankle heal up. I'll spend the summer relaxing and taking it easy, and I hope to be ready in time to practice before leagues start in the fall."

After 11 consecutive strikes of his own, Tribbett's final shot was slow and wide and came up high on the head pin. While the initial result looked to be a 298 game, a messenger traveled across the deck and tripped the 3 and 6 pins.

"My ball reaction was a lot better than yesterday, and this is something I will never forget," said Tribbett, 23, who had a disappointing 1,612 all-events effort in his tournament debut last year in Reno, Nev. "I really wasn't feeling anything until the 11th shot when I started shaking like crazy. I was just concentrating on throwing a good shot, and I was disappointed when I saw the 3-6 standing, but when I saw that pin coming across, I was praying and hoping it would hit it."

Tribbett, who recently joined a PBA Experience summer league to help sharpen his skills on the lanes, added 671 in doubles and 531 in singles for a 1,895 all-events total.

"I average 230-240 at home in league, but the conditions here are a lot tougher, and I didn't bowl very well in team," Tribbett said. "Things were just a lot better out there today, but I never thought something like this would ever happen. This is a great accomplishment."

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, Rhino for President (David Haynes, Steve Kloempken, Ted Hannahs, Bill Hoffman, Rhino Page), Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 2, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 3, Marcor Technologies, Gaylord, Mich., 3,235. 4, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 3,231. 5, Clone Huskers, Milwaukee, 3,228. 6, Drillsheet.com, Rochester, N.Y., 3,219. 7, K & K Bowling Service 1, Henderson, Nev., 3,208. 8, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,201. 9, Buddy Tierno Senior Tour, Mount Laurel, N.J., 3,197. 10, Ansara Restaurant Group 1, Farmington Hills, Mich., 3,194.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 3, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 4, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 5, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 6, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 7, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 8, Brian Corley, Piedmont, Okla./Brett Erickson, Oklahoma City, 1,409. 9, Robert Wenger, Wooster, Ohio/Kerry Barbera, Dalton, Ohio, 1,407. 10, Patrick Smart/Ricky Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif., 1,404.

Singles
1, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 2, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 3, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 4, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 5, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 6, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 768. 7, Mike Preston, High Springs, Fla., 764. 8, Greg Benefield, Lees Summit, Mo., 763. 9, Mike Leonard, Front Royal, Va., 762. 10 (tie), Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., and Scott Shimer, Kokomo, Ind., 761.

All-Events
1, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 2, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 3, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 4, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 5, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122. 6, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 2,118. 7, Brian Diede, Huron, S.D., 2,113. 8, Jeff Jensen, Fall River, Kan., 2,111. 9, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 2,094. 10, John Gaines, Orlando, Fla., 2,092.

Team All-Events
1, Team Pabst (Jeff Prein, Troy Cox, Scott Erickson, Kevin Thompson, Chris Gibbons), Madison, Wis., 9,977. 2, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 3, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 4, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 5 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 7, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708. 8, J & S Auto Supply Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., 9,684. 9, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,664. 10, Browning Pontiac, Eminence, Ky., 9,662.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Lake Country Rollers 1 (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, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 7, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 8, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 9, Red Carpet, Sauk Centre, Minn., 2,744. 10, All of Them, Warner Robins, Ga., 2,734.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 4, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 5, Larry Tschoepe, San Antonio/Ted Smith LaVernia, Texas, 1,188. 6, (tie), Lenny Boogaard, Osakis, Minn./Larry Sorenson, West Union, Minn., and Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 8, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181. 9, Myron Asleson/Tony Haugen, Devils Lake, N.D., 1,179. 10 (tie), Jim Selgo, Phoenix/Doug Krauss, Archbold, Ohio, and Mark Powell/Barry Fortner, Hobbs, N.M., 1,173.

Singles
1, Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., 676. 2, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 3, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 4, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 5, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 6, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657. 7 (tie), Dale Fuller, Otter Lake, Mich., and Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648. 9, Stefanie Suntum, Montrose, Colo., 647. 10, (tie), Lynn Parker, Berwick, La., and Mike Leblanc, New Iberia, La., 644.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 4, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 5, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 6, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 7, Hartsell Duhart, Compton, Calif., 1,789. 8, Dave Dubois, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,782. 9, John Albaugh, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,773. 10, Mycaiah Maestas, Hays, Kan., 1,769.