Local bowler Brian Aldridge has been on a tear over the last few months, setting records at Town and Country Lanes and most recently winning a spot in the 2011 USBC Masters tournament.
Aldridge earned a free entry for the event by winning the Cincinnati Masters tournament on March 28. Despite rolling a 141 in his first of six games in the opening round of the prestigous 32-player tournament, Aldridge recovered to finish in the top 16 scores and move on to match play. There, he advanced out of the winners bracket and defeated R.J. Pollard 221-202 to win the championship.
That victory netted Aldridge $700 in prize money along with the entry to the 2011 Masters in Reno, Nevada. It was a dream come true for Aldridge, who had hoped to someday bowl in the tournament, which features many of the nation's top amateurs bowling alongside top PBA bowlers for a total purse of $350,000.
The tournament's requirement of a 190 average to participate had never been an obstacle for Aldridge as much as the money involved in paying the $450 entry fee and traveling across the country.
"The USBC Masters and the USBC Open are the two tournaments I've always wanted to bowl in," said Aldridge. "I just never had any plans to do it because with entry fees and travel it cost so much money. To win a free entry was just awesome."
The victory in Cincinnati was just the latest in a line of big accomplishments this year for Aldridge, who bowled an 838 series, his highest ever and the highest in the history of Town and Country Lanes, in February. A month later, he followed that up with an 821 series, giving him four of the seven 800 series bowled in the lanes' 50 year history.
Those Town and Country records have special meaning for Aldridge, whose family has been involved in the operation of the Aberdeen bowling alley since his grandfather began managing it in 1967 and his parents purchased it in 1979. Aldridge has spent much of his life on the lanes, taking up bowling at age five, going on to be a first-team All-American at the University of Cincinnati and returning to help run the family business.
Still, the previous high series, an 821 by Dwight Hurt in 1993, was a record Aldridge thought would never fall until everything fell into place for Aldridge in the Friday Night Fun League on Feb. 12. He bowled games of 278, 260 and 300 to reach the total, including finishing with 20 straight strikes spread over the final two games.
"For years, I thought (Hurt's series) would never be beat because it was so far out of reach," said Aldridge. "That was just one of those nights where everything felt good and everything worked."
