Last year, Jonathan Masur (l.) of West Orange, N.J., rolled an 810 series on the way to the Regular Doubles title in his United States Bowling Congress Open Championships debut, and he knew it would be a tough act to follow when he returned to the tournament lanes this week.

The 24-year-old right-hander and his partner, Jeffrey Butler (r.) of Garfield, N.J., took home the doubles crown with a record 1,544 total at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., and put their title on the line at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Tuesday.

This time out, Masur led the pair with games of 214, 206 and 210 for a 630 series, while Butler contributed 193, 195 and 186 for 574. Although their 1,204 total won't help them become the first duo in tournament history to win consecutive doubles titles, their time on top was rewarding.

"This has all been a lot of fun, and the intro we got was more than we were expecting," said Masur, a medical school student. "We were looking forward to being here, and the experience was great, but we tried not to let our expectations on the lanes get too high. We understand how tough it is here, and anytime you can be plus in every event, you've done pretty well."

Coming into their 2008 USBC Open Championships appearances, both Masur and Butler were nursing injuries. Masur recently returned from a two-week hiatus that allowed his sprained wrist to heal, while Butler has been hampered by a broken toe.

"There are no excuses, and I'd be happy with what we shot today anytime," said Butler, who made his fourth trip to the Open Championships. "Obviously, it's hard to go out there knowing that everyone is watching you, but I'm not upset about how we bowled. We were definitely anxious, but there was no added pressure."

On Monday, the pair helped He Saw It of West Orange, N.J., into 39th place in Regular Team with a 3,151 effort. Butler led the team with 682 and was followed by Masur (649), Raymond Smarsh (649), Rusty Thomsen (613) and Dan Dunleavy (558).

Masur finished the trip with 606 in singles for a 1,885 all-events total, and Butler closed with 559 and a 1,815 all-events effort.

"Last year was amazing, but you couldn't possibly come here expecting to do something like that again," Masur said. "Even finishing in the top 20 or 30 is a big accomplishment. We bowled well in team, and we all bowled well overall, so you can't really ask for much more than that."

Rick Oelkers III (far right) of Valdosta, Ga., came to the 2008 USBC Open Championships with a little extra motivation and walked away with the 30th perfect game of the year Monday night.

Before leaving Georgia to head to the Albuquerque Convention Center, Oelkers told his bowling buddy Michael Wingert that he was going to beat the 298 game Wingert rolled on the tournament lanes earlier in the year, and he did just that in his final game of doubles.

Oelkers 300 followed games of 255 and 235 and helped him to a 790 series and seventh place in Regular Doubles with David Tolson (left) of Summerville, S.C., who contributed 236, 184 and 224 for a 644 set and 1,434 doubles total. John Socha of Oak Creek, Wis., and Dennis Rakauskas of Apopka, Fla., lead with 1,467.

"It does seem to be a quirky twist of fate for me to have been able to do this, but I just really concentrated, took my time and I did it," said Oelkers, a mechanic at the South Georgia Medical Center who made his fourth Open Championships appearance. "It still hasn't sunk in. I can't believe I did it. This is my first 300 at nationals, and the excitement is unbelievable."

Oelkers added 585 in team and 523 in singles for a career-high 1,898 all-events total, while Tolson had 630 in singles and 590 in team for 1,864.


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, Team Tilt (Thomas Ault Jr., Russ Wilson, Chris Greene, Joe Keltner, Jay Futrell), Lawrence, Kan., 3,374. 2, Turbo Grips 1, Chesterfield, Mich., 3,308. 3, Fox Bowl 2, Wheaton, Ill., 3,303. 4, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 5, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 6, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 7, Ballard's Bowling Solution 1, North Richland Hills, Texas, 3,258. 8, Play 2 Win, Lakewood, Ohio, 3,254. 9, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 10, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Skip Wolfe, Dixon, Ill./Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,462. 3, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 4, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 5, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 6, Ted Baer/Josh Edenburn, Omaha, Neb., 1,439. 7, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 8, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 9, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 10, Ward Mocaby/Steve Elson, Wichita, Kan., 1,416.

Singles
1, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 832. 2, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 3, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 4, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 5, Eric Lukins, Fort Myers, Fla., 778. 6, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 7 (tie), Larry Aldridge, Aurora, Colo., and Alexander Shand, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 774. 9, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 10, Ryan Shepherd, Collinsville, Va., 769.

All-Events
1, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 2,183. 2, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 2,165. 3, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 4, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 5, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 6, Brian Kjergaard, Fulton, Ill., 2,147. 7, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 8, Todd Fenske, Weston, Wis., 2,132. 9, Gregg Zicha, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,124. 10, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122.

Team All-Events
1, Fox Bowl 2 (Anthony Jordan, Pete Spreadbury, Walter Schaub, Gregg Zicha, Mike Nape), Wheaton, Ill., 10,025. 2, Team Tilt, Lawrence, Kan., 9,986. 3, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,977. 4, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 5, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 6, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 7 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 9, Sack Toe, Sacramento, Calif., 9,717. 10, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Cardinal Lanes (Edward Hitschmann, Mike Steinert, Reuben Flagor, Tim Higgins, Gary Boxberger), 2,804. 2, Lake Country Rollers 1, Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 3, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 4, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 5, D&H Glass, Harrison, Ark., 2,787. 6, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 7, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 8, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 9, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 10, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, Frank Smyle Jr., Reeder, N.D./Jesse Smyle, Bowman, N.D., 1,240. 4, James Whisenhant, Robertsdale, Ala./Dean Swindle, Foley, Ala., 1,237. 5, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 6, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C./Bob Butts, Charlotte, N.C., 1,207. 7, Ron Schara, Big Timber, Mont./Tom Schara, Rio Rancho, N.M., 1,205. 8, Arthur King, Grass Valley, Calif./Sandy Wagner, Loomis, Calif., 1,203. 9, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 10, Judy Waliczek, Pflugerville, Texas/Christopher Brown, Jonesboro, Ark, 1,192.

Singles
1, Jeremy Noland, Chelsea, Okla., 696. 2, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 3 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 5, Donald D. Mueller Jr., Fremont, Neb., 672. 6, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 7, Brion Estis, St. Davids, Bermuda, 666. 8, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 9, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 10, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657.

All-Events
1, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 1,857. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C., 1,849. 4, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 5, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 6, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 7, Kenny DeYoung, Valley Springs, Ark., 1,805. 8, Kenny Halsted, Harrison, Ark., 1,805. 9, John Victor, Rockford, Ill., 1,794. 10, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791.