On January 24, 2015, an 8-Ball Tournament was held at the SaddleBrooke Ranch, run by Tournament Directors Dominic “The Doctor” Borland and Joe “Fast Eddie” Giammarino. We had 18 participants (wow!). SaddleBrooke residents and guests were Dominic “The Doctor” Borland, Joe “Fast Eddie” Giammarino (not pictured), Jim “Aviator” Wydick, Tom “Half Jacket” Barrett, Richard “Villa Park” Werkmeister, Al “Big Al” Petito, Gary Rowell (front center), Don “Deadeye” Cox, Don “California Kid” Fowler, John Nola, Fred Dianda (not pictured) and from the Ranch the participants were Richard “Loose Rack” Galant, Harley Schlachter, Frank Sciannella, Jim Kauffman, Peter Bratz, Tom “Teck” Sorensen and Cliff “Lucky Shirt” Terry.
Joe Giammarino and Dominic Borland
A big thank you goes out to the participants of the first SaddleBrooke Ranch 8-Ball Open Tournament. Dominic and I really enjoyed the company and the competition. Thank you to SaddleBrooke Ranch, SaddleBrooke Ranch Golf, SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Senior Softball Association for your support. Additionally Dominic and I would like to thank Tim Fudge and Andrea Marchus for their encouragement and allowing us the use of their facility; it’s a comfortable and beautiful place to hold an 8-Ball Tournament. Let us not forget the gracious ladies from the Bistro Viente Restaurant for their fine service.
The day started with a players meeting held at 12:45 p.m. to explain the tournament format and rules. The tourney was a double elimination format which means you have to lose two matches before you are out of the tourney. We also held a raffle in which three billiard gloves, provided by the tournament directors, were given away to the participants. Play commenced on two tables at 1:00 p.m.
Results:
First – Gary Rowell (SaddleBrooke)
Second – Joe “Fast Eddie” Giammarino (SaddleBrooke)
Third – Dominic “The Doctor” Borland (SaddleBrooke)
Fourth – Peter Bratz (Ranch)
Gary Rowell’s First Place finish was very much deserved as Gary was the most consistent player all day. He got off to a quick start with wins over Tom “Half Jacket” Barrett, Cliff “Lucky Shirt” Terry and Richard “Loose Rack” Galant before Joe “Fast Eddie” Giammarino sent Gary to the loser’s bracket. Gary and Dominic faced off in the loser’s bracket final where the winner would go to the finals. Gary outlasted Dominic and headed to the finals to meet Joe. Gary had to beat Joe twice to win the tournament and Gary was up to the challenge and a well-deserved First Place finish. A big high five to you Gary, our SaddleBrooke Ranch 8-Ball Open Champion.
A fun day was over after three and a half hours and 35 games of 8-Ball. 18 pool players had competed, won some, lost some and met new friends that shared their passion. That is a good day!
If you know any pool players in your community who would enjoy competing in these events, please tell them to send their email to Joe Giammarino at [email protected] or Dominic Borland at [email protected] and we will add them to our list.
Rack’em up! v