Team USA third, fourth in doubles at World Men's Championships

8/15/10

By Lucas Wiseman
USBC Communications

RESULTS: Doubles

MUNICH, Germany - Team USA occupied the third and fourth positions after three rounds of qualifying in doubles Sunday at the 2010 World Tenpin Bowling Association World Men's Championships but remained realistic about their chances of staying among the top four.

Defending world doubles champions Patrick Allen and Rhino Page sat in third for the United States with a six-game total of 2,513, an average of 209.4. Bill O'Neill and Chris Barnes are fourth with 2,502.

The top four teams in the standings after five qualifying squads advance to the semifinals, and Team USA head coach Rod Ross thinks the odds are stacked against both pairs heading into Monday's final two rounds of qualifying.

"The lanes are definitely playing tougher than we anticipated, and the scores are lower," Ross said. "I don't see these scores holding up. You've got two squads of very high caliber players tomorrow. But the good news is we have two of the best players in the world playing tomorrow."

The final U.S. pairing of Tommy Jones and Wes Malott will compete on the second squad Monday. They will be chasing the leaders after Sunday's three rounds, Martin Paulsson and Mathias Arup of Sweden, who totaled 2,621. Malaysia's Alex Liew and Nur Aiman are second with 2,568.

Allen and Page competed on the first squad Sunday, with Allen putting up one of the highest individual totals of the day with 1,367, while Page shot 1,146.

Barnes and O'Neill, meanwhile, were hampered by a disappointing fifth game in which they totaled just 350. O'Neill finished with 1,265, while Barnes shot 1,237.

BowlingDigital.com will provide live streaming of the semifinals and finals of each event and coverage can also be viewed live on BOWL.com. The doubles semifinals and final are scheduled to begin Monday at Noon Eastern.

The 2010 WTBA World Men's Championships features 356 competitors from 65 countries competing for medals in six events - five-player team, trios, doubles, singles, all-events and Masters match play.

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