As a college student in Lincoln, Jeremy Sonnenfeld made history by bowling 36 strikes in a row -- three consecutive 300 games.
A decade later, he nearly did it again.
Jeremy Sonnenfeld had experienced this before.
Rolling his bowling ball down an oiled lane, finding the pocket and watching the pins fall for strikes.
Again. Again. And again.
This time, it was a Friday night in December 2007 in Sioux Falls, S.D., with Sonnenfeld competing in a league.
"Have you heard of ‘being in the zone'?" he asked. "It was kind of like that. I was going through the motions. Not getting caught up in the moment. Just throwing one shot at a time."
It was exactly what he had done more than 10 years earlier at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, when he made bowling history.
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The baby-faced 20-year-old, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was participating in a fundraiser for UNL's bowling teams on a cold Sunday in February 1997 when he bowled three consecutive 300 games.
It was the first 900 series sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress in its 101-year history.
There have been 14 rolled since then.
Catching lightning in the bottle was how his college coach, Bill Straub, described Sonnenfeld's feat.
The young kegler rolled his 36 straight strikes on three pairs of lanes, making it even more impressive.
League bowlers generally compete on one pair.
"Having to move from one set of lanes to another and then to another says as much as anything," Straub said. "From my perspective, it takes an uncanny ability to do that."
Sonnenfeld said it was funny what he remembered from that day -- like the junior bowler he was paired with in the third game. The youngster asked Sonnenfeld to roll a 300 for him as he did for his buddy in game two.
"I told him I would sure try," he said. "Talk about putting on a little pressure."
Sonnenfeld became an instant celebrity, with news outlets from around the world wanting to interview him.
The 900 changed his life -- and not necessarily for the better.
He left UNL after his sophomore year to try to capitalize on the 900 and made "some bad decisions" along the way. He declined to elaborate.
"I was young and naive," he said. "It became too overwhelming. I didn't know what to do or who to turn to. ... But I have no complaints. I'm happy where I'm at now."
He eventually went back to school, enrolling at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., where he competed on the men's bowling team.
He returned home to Sioux Falls after graduating in 2002 with a degree in business management and worked at Sport Bowl, where he honed his game as a kid.
Today, Sonnenfeld, 34, is co-owner of the bowling center, where his 900 ball is on display. He married his wife, Stacey, in August.
"It's all good," he said. "(Owning the center) goes hand in hand with the passion I have for the sport of bowling. I can't imagine doing anything else. I love coming to work every day."
Sonnenfeld never turned pro because he didn't want to be away from home so much, but he bowls competitively in leagues and tournaments.
He did miss six months recently because of back surgery. He returned to the lanes in March, using a 14-pound ball instead of his usual 16-pounder as he regains his strength.
Sonnenfeld had bowled seven 300 games before his 900 series. He now has more than 40, including two more on that December night in 2007, when he nearly duplicated his 900.
He had a third perfect game going into the ninth frame, when he left a 10 pin wobbling. He picked it up and finished with three more strikes for an 879.
"I never thought I would get a 900 the first time, and to nearly do it a second time ... it was unreal," he said.
Like in 1997, all eyes were on Sonnenfeld, with play coming to a stop around him as people watched him bowl one strike after another.
His best friends left a basketball game across town to watch him.
"I thought I would be more nervous than I was, but I just stayed focused on my target and kept going through the motions," he said.
He was, after all, in the zone.
Again.
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 402-473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com, or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jeffkorbelik.
