Las Vegas duo just miss top spot at Open Championships
Led by Joe, who made his Open Championships debut, the pair combined to shoot 1,257 and moved into second place in Classified Doubles. Joe posted games of 222, 243 and 203 for 668, while Henry added 207, 202 and 180 for 589. Frank Smyle of Reeder, N.D., and Jesse Smyle of Bowman, N.D., lead with 1,287.
"I didn't know what to expected since I've never bowled in this tournament before, but this has been a pretty amazing experience," Joe Mancini said. "I've never seen anything like this. It feels professional and I'm proud to be a part of it. We glanced at the leaderboard earlier and saw that the scores were reachable, so we knew that if we bowled well, we could get there."
About a year ago, Henry, 68, had both of his knees replaced and is just now getting back to being comfortable on the lanes. He added 519 in singles and 448 in team to round out his third Open Championships appearance with a 1,556 all-events effort.
"Having my knees done definitely affected my bowling for a while, but it's starting to come back and really seems to be helping me, especially with staying down at the line," Henry Mancini said. "After two games tonight, we knew we had a chance, so we just tried to stay clean. But unfortunately, we ran into a couple of bad frames and came up short. Of course I wish we could've won, but it feels great either way, and I love bowling with my son."
Joe finished his first Open Championships with 546 in singles and 475 in team for a 1,689 all-events total. Now all the pair can do is look to improve next year in Albuquerque, N.M.
"I thought our score was good, but I didn't realize how big it really was until I thought about all the people who have already been here and didn't score as high," Joe Mancini said. "That really puts it into perspective, and even though we didn't get to the top, I'm proud and walking out with my chin up. We're definitely looking forward to next year and then bowling at home in Las Vegas the year after."
Presenting sponsors for the 2007 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Sands Regency Casino and Hotel, official brackets sponsor and supporting sponsors Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa and Harrah's Casino and Hotel.
By Matt Cannizzaro and David Ellis USBC Communications