Talented Field Dominates Tri-State TourBy John Leyman  The Tri-State Tour drew an impressive field of 35 players to Amsterdam Billiards & Bar on Saturday, February 5, and because they were right in New York City, some of the city's most talented players came to compete. The field included George SanSouci, Tony Robles, Frankie Hernandez, and WPBA pros Jennifer Barretta and Romana Dokovic.
Out of the gates, it was clear that SanSouci drew a tough spot on the chart. After his opening-round 9-5 win over Steve Lipsky, he faced Barretta, as she was fine-tuning her game just a week before the WPBA kicks off their 2005 season. In what many spectators called "the most exciting match of the event" SanSouci and Barretta played nip and tuck the whole way. Barretta took advantage of a couple mistakes by her opponent to reach the hill first at 8-6, and then she was faced with what looked to be an easy 2-9 combo to win the match. The 9 rolled right for the pocket, but caught the point and hung right on the edge. SanSouci ran out the rack and followed up with another win to get the match even before he completed his three-game comeback to win the match 9-8. SanSouci then faced Tony Robles and Hernandez in his next two matches, winning them 9-7 and 9-4, respectively. Finally, he bested Lester Smulowitz 9-4 to reach the finals. In the one-loss side, it was Robles roaring through with wins over Anthony Robles, Lipsky, Joey Kong, and Hernandez to set up the semifinal match with Smulowitz. After Robles jumped out 4-2, Smulowitz staged his comeback with five straight wins, including a 1-9 combo to take a 7-4 lead. But Robles bounced right back with a 3-9 combo of his own, followed by a second straight win to get within one game at 7-6. In Game 14, Smulowitz ran out the rack to reach the hill at 8-6, but again, Robles found a way to get back in the match. Finally, after the match reached hill-hill, Robles snapped in the 9 on the break to win the match 9-8, vaulting him into the finals against SanSouci. The long delay may have cooled SanSouci off a little, while Robles was still on fire from his semifinal performance. But the two friends and pool veterans put together a tough match, trading games back and forth to reach hill-hill. In the decisive game, SanSouci had control of the table but missed the 3 on a tough bank, leaving Robles to run out the rack to win the tournament 9-8. Results: 1st Tony Robles 2nd George SanSouci 3rd Lester Smulowitz 4th Frankie Hernandez 5th Tony Rodriguez, Joey Kong 7th Christopher Lynch, Steve Lipsky 9th Evan Broxmeyer, Mhet Vergara, Jude Rosenstock, Anthony Robles Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Tri-State Tour.
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