Champion's Stories
Dan Higgins 
Bowling in the USBC Open Championships is something our team looks forward to each year.
To win as a team and be awarded the Eagle trophy, one of the sport's longest traditions, is priceless. We all work so unselfishly together, and communicate year-round, on and off the lanes, in preparation.
To see the eagle/cup next your name every year gives that goosebumps feeling.
Whether you're a professional or not, everyone knows what it means have won an Eagle.
You get one chance each year to bowl in the event, but it's the preparation that leads up to it that really builds that connection with your team. That connection is what makes sharing a win with them all that more special.
Stuart Sheck
To win an Eagle in the largest national tournament of thousands of bowlers is an achievement beyond words. USBC Eagle is one of the most prestigious awards in our sport. The Eagle represents the pinnacle achievement in our sport's longest standing tradition, the USBC Open Championships.
"Eagle" is the single word in bowling that has so much meaning to it.
It is a win that definitely doesn't come easy. You become a champion, and you're then recognized each and every year you participate. You become a part of bowling history.
Even more special, is that my teammate (Robert Tonelli) and I, also became the inaugural doubles champions in the newest division. Years later, I still can't believe we did it!
Amber Piper
Ever since I started bowling at age 10, I knew this was going to be the sport for me.
I constantly strive to get better, and I have dreams of one day hopefully joining the (Professional Bowles Association).
Getting my first Eagle on only my second time entering Nationals was a huge stepping stone, and I now have more confidence than ever in myself, which has also helped with improving my game.
I look forward to many more years bowling with my partner, who was able to help achieve this huge accomplishment.
Matt McNiel
To win an Eagle and put my name on the list of champions from this tournament is one of the most gratifying moments in my career. Plus, as a champion, you will be recognized for the rest of your career.
Every time you shoe up and take the lanes, the Eagle emblem and word "champion" will appear next to your name. You are in a club, a very exclusive group of some of the sport's greatest players, and your name is listed next to theirs. That is one of the greatest and most rewarding feelings I have ever felt.
The Eagle is one of the most sought after awards in our sport. Ask anyone, even the most accomplished professionals, winning an Eagle has been, or still is, one of the top accomplishments that they want to achieve before they retire.
The best part about winning an Eagle is the moment you take the lead. Stepping up on the approach with the cameras rolling and everyone watching you and being able to perform in the clutch is an experience I will always remember.
Plus, the celebration with teammates and friends following is unforgettable as well. Words cannot describe the feeling when you get the call at the end of the tournament, informing you that you have won an Eagle. It is truly indescribable.
Jeff Richgels
Growing up in Wisconsin, winning an Eagle is cherished by many as the ultimate achievement in bowling.
Us Cheeseheads obviously know a Professional Bowlers Association Tour title is a much greater thing to win, but only a select few have the talent and opportunity to win a PBA Tour title.
Every bowler can be a USBC member and dream of winning an Eagle. All it takes is talent and the heart to rise to the occasion for three games and beat thousands of other bowlers.
Winning an Eagle also almost always takes teamwork, which is not the case when winning a PBA Tour title (with rare exceptions). That includes singles and individual all-events, where winning an Eagle almost always signifies players have worked together to help one succeed. That teamwork is what makes winning an Eagle so meaningful.
The most memorable three days of my bowling career are when we won the team Eagle in 1986, the doubles and Team All-Events Eagles in 2005, and the team Eagle in 2011.
And, 2005 stands out because I was too young to quite grasp the full meaning of winning an Eagle in 1986 and because we already had won in 2011.
In 2005, I was the only member of our team with an Eagle, and I so badly wanted for the other guys to win one. I will never forget the tears in Steve Richter's eyes when I finished the 10th frame in doubles and the tears in Gail Myers Jr.'s eyes when I finished the 10th frame in singles. That was a feeling so wonderful it is impossible to describe. And it should explain why winning an Eagle is so cherished by so many.
John Janawicz
Winning an Eagle means that I/we were the best out of tens of thousands of some of the best bowlers in the world for a particular event.
Looking at the history of great bowlers who have won Eagles in the past and some who are now members of the USBC Hall of Fame, to share something in common with them and to be a part of that fraternity is quite humbling and a great honor.
Brent Bowers
The Eagle is something I've dreamed about since childhood. It was the mark of a champion. Truly one of the most prestigious awards a bowler can earn. Eagles are the kind of awards that put bowlers in the hall of fame, lifetime achievements. It has been the most remarkable accomplishment in my bowling career thus far.
To learn about past champions, records and more, click here.be awarded the Eagle trophy, one of the sport's longest traditions, is priceless. We all work so unselfishly together, and communicate year-round, on and off the lanes, in preparation.
To see the eagle/cup next your name every year gives that goosebumps feeling.
Whether you're a professional or not, everyone knows what it means have won an Eagle.
You get one chance each year to bowl in the event, but it's the preparation that leads up to it that really builds that connection with your team. That connection is what makes sharing a win with them all that more special.
To learn about past champions, records and more, click here.