AUBURN - Last season Sara Chalupnicki rolled a 289 game, which included the first 10 strikes. It was a great accomplishment, for sure. Still, she knew an opportunity had passed her by.

“I realized how close I had come (to a perfect game) after throwing all those strikes,” the 23-year-old right-hander said. “I thought I would get another chance, but I wasn't sure when it would happen.”

Last week Chalupnicki got that chance, and she delivered in outstanding fashion. She fired all 12 strikes in the Saturday Night Mixed League at Starlite Lanes for a 300 game, the first since Mary Eastman turned the trick on April 9, 2005.

Chalupnicki finished with a 753 series.

Making it even sweeter, Chalupnicki accomplished the feat in front of her family. She was bowling on the same team with her mother, Chris, brother, Marc, and sister-in-law, Kristina. Her father, Rick, was there watching.

“It was awesome that they were there to see it,” Sara said. “They really helped me.”

The perfect game completed a trifeca of sorts. Rick and Marc each have 300s to their credit. Now Sara has one of her own.

“It's cool that we all have done it,” she said. “It's huge, and I'll always remember it.

There certainly was some drama involved.

Chalupnicki said she crossed over for Brooklyn strikes in the first, third and 10th frames. Every other shot was in the pocket. She began thinking about perfection in the eighth frame.

“I knew I was getting close, but nobody made a big deal out of it, which was good,” she said. “People left it alone.”

Before she stepped up in the 10th frame, her father simply told her to take a deep breath. She did, but her first shot went awry.

“I had been throwing the ball too hard, so I was thinking about that,” said Sara, who averages 197. “I think I tried to slow it down, and that caused me to tug it.”

Fortunately, she carried the crossover hit. At the same time, she was bowling anchor opposite Greg Walczyk, who has also rolled a 300 game. Normally, everyone stops when a competitor bids for a perfect game. That can be unnerving and Walczyk, a member of the Auburn association's board of directors, realized that.

“I just tried to pace her. After she threw her first ball in the 10th frame, I went right up after her,” he said. “I thought that was the best thing to do.”

Chalupnicki said she appreciated Walczyk's etiquette. After a couple more deep breaths she buried the last two balls in the pocket to finish off the great game, setting off a celebration.

“Everybody swarmed me, shaking my hand and giving me hugs,” she said. “They all cheered and yelled.”

Ironically, later on Saturday night Chalupnicki received a plaque for her 289 at the Hall of Fame dinner. She has already secured that honor for next year with her perfect game.

So what's next for this fine young bowler? Well, she has a Citizen Masters title in her sights. It would go nicely with her two Byrn's Junior Masters crowns. She hopes to enter the adult tournament for the third time this season.

“I have more experience now. I'm getting used to bowling with all of the ladies,” she said. “I'm going to work on (winning it).”

And who knows? There may even be a Hall of Fame nomination in her future.

“That would be an honor,” Chalupnicki said. “I just want to keep bowling as long as I can. I couldn't even explain how it would feel to be in the Hall of Fame.”