DUBUQUE, Iowa. – Matt McNiel of Eden Prarie, Minnesota, leads at the 11thFrame.com Open presented by Coors Light, InsideBowling.com, and the Diamond Jo Casino. McNiel posted 1366 for his six games of qualifying, establishing a 47 pin margin over Lindenwood University First Team All American, Brad Miller.
McNiel, of recent USBC Open Championships fame, having won three Eagles in record-setting fashion in the past three years, and Miller have set the pace for a very strong field of 88 bowlers filled with likes of 11thFrame.com author and USBC Hall of Famer, Jeff Richgels, as well as Nick Heilman and Andy Mills of the Nicholas J's Pro Shop Team which won the USBC Open Championships Team Event in Baton Rouge this year.
McNiel summarized his experience of the day by saying, "The shot was very demanding. I just focused on making one good shot at a time and tried to leave myself makeable spares. I used my 900 Global Freight Train, had a great ball reaction and threw the ball very well. All those things combined produced a great block and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
The tournament pattern designed at a ratio of 1.8 to 1 by host, Bob Hochrein, was characterized by some competitors as more challenging than the US Open. The field's significant skills were tested (and even re-tested with the possibility of re-entry) in at measure that has become characteristic of events produced by InsideBowling.com. Today, only 13 bowlers managed to negotiate the demanding pattern at 200 average or better.
Tomorrow the top sixteen qualifiers, those who sit currently at -17 or better, will bowl sixteen games of match play followed by stepladder finals for the top three to determine the eventual winner of the tournament title and its $4,000 first prize. The event is being live-streamed in its entirety at InsideBowling.com.
RESULTS AFTER QUALIFYING ROUND
(6 game pinfall totals)
Top 16 advance to Sunday's match play
| Place | Bowler | Game | Total | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matt McNiel | 6 | 1366 | 166 |
| 2nd | Brad Miller | 6 | 1319 | 119 |
| 3rd | Shannon Buchan | 6 | 1288 | 88 |
| 4th | John Brockland | 6 | 1274 | 74 |
| 5th | Jason Wojnar | 6 | 1270 | 70 |
| 6th | Greg Thomas | 6 | 1245 | 45 |
| 7th | Thomas York | 6 | 1243 | 43 |
| 8th | Dan Lemiesz | 6 | 1236 | 36 |
| 9th | Greg Pizl | 6 | 1227 | 27 |
| 10th | Derek Eoff | 6 | 1224 | 24 |
| 11th | Brad Snell | 6 | 1210 | 10 |
| 12th | Quinton Bohlen | 6 | 1209 | 9 |
| 13th | Andy Mills | 6 | 1208 | 8 |
| 14th | Matt Tomsu | 6 | 1201 | 1 |
| 15th | Brian Burkhardt | 6 | 1184 | -16 |
| 16th | Chad Kloss | 6 | 1183 | -17 |
For full qualifying results visit InsideBowling.com.
