With help from the tournament's lifetime average leader, Fox Bowl 2 of Wheaton, Ill., moved into the top spot in Team All-Events at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Wednesday.

The group combined for a 10,025 total to become the 15th team in tournament history to eclipse the 10,000 mark and moved past Team Tilt of Lawrence, Kan., which previously held the lead with 9,986. Team All-Events, which was awarded for the first time in 1947, combines the individual all-events scores of all five team members.

In recent years, the Fox Bowl teams have become regular threats on the championship lanes, and despite being close on more than one occasion, USBC Open Championships lifetime average leader, Mike Nape, has been unable to secure his first tournament title.

"If we hold on to win, I'll probably cry when I get the call," said Nape, who made his 21st consecutive Open Championships appearance and entered the year with a 216.59 average for 180 games. "I started bowling here with guys from Chicago who took me under their wings and taught me how to respect this tournament. They helped me understand just how special and prestigious it is, and after all this time, it would be amazing to win one."

This week, Fox Bowl 2 was led by 2001 Regular Doubles champion Gregg Zicha, who moved into ninth place in Regular All-Events with a 2,124 total. Zicha was followed by Pete Spreadbury, who finished 16th at the 2007 USBC Masters (2,101), Anthony Jordan (2,010), Walter Schaub (1,901) and Nape (1,889).

"It's so hard for five guys to come together like this, and that's why Team All-Events is so hard to win," Zicha said. "Winning doubles was amazing, but to have five guys who are as close of friends as we are do something together like this is phenomenal. There's nothing better in bowling than this."

SOUTH CAROLINA BOWLER ROLLS PERFECT GAME AT USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Many bowlers in pursuit of that elusive perfect game at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships strive year after year to better themselves and build on previous tournament experiences so that maybe one day, they too, can claim the ultimate achievement on the tournament lanes.

On Monday, Philipp Hudak of Columbia S.C., reached the milestone in only his second USBC Open Championships appearance and posted the 27th 300 of this year's tournament at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

His family and friends call him 'the machine' because he is so mechanical in his approach to the lanes, and years of hard work paid off as he rolled games of 202, 300 and 155 for a 657 series and helped Damage 1 of Columbia, S.C., to a 3,001 team total.

"I didn't do this alone," said Hudak, a 23-year-old right-hander and senior at the University of South Carolina. "I owe a lot to many others. My dad, Brian Hudak, got me started in bowling when I was 8 years old, and many others encouraged me and helped me get to where I am right now. Even my younger brother, Paul, pushes me. We all love it, and the whole family, even my grandparents, enjoy the sport and being together. We bowl in league every Tuesday night and just the fun of being together is what it is all about."

2008 USBC OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.
(Top 10 regular division leaders with hometown and pinfalls as of June 29, 2008)

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.