Tri State Tour / East Rutherford, NJ
by Skip Maloney
Guy Iannuzzi joined the limited ranks of players who’ve won multiple times on the Tri-State Tour by completing a third undefeated day at the tour’s most recent stop April 26. The $500-added, B-D handicapped event, held at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, drew 29 entrants.
While Iannuzzi gave up only one rack in his opening three matches, the competition heated up in the battle for the hot seat. From among the final four, Iannuzzi held off Ryan McCarthy in a 7-5 win, as Alex Rojas sent Raj Vannala west in a hill-hill struggle. Iannuzzi then sent Rojas to the semifinals 7-4 to gain the hot seat.
On the one-loss side, Cory Sohlman was there waiting for McCarthy, while Vannala faced Phil Carr. Sohlman dropped McCarthy into the tie for fifth place 6-4, as Vannala advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-2 win over Carr. Vannala then defeated Sohlman 8-6 for a second chance against Rojas in the semifinals. Vannala came out strong and with a 7-2 win, advanced to take on Iannuzzi.
Vannala and Ianuzzi battled back and forth, exchanging the lead three times in the finals. At hill-hill, the struggle culminated with Iannuzzi completing his third undefeated day on the Tri-State Tour since last September.
Guy Iannuzzi joined the limited ranks of players who’ve won multiple times on the Tri-State Tour by completing a third undefeated day at the tour’s most recent stop April 26.
Results:
1st Guy Iannuzzi $550
2nd Raj Vannala $300
3rd Alex Rojas $200
4th Cory Sohlman $100
5th Ryan McCarthy $65
Phil Carr
7th T.J. Smithers
John Trobiano
9th Jacob Schwartz
Jack Egeln
Dennis Quinn
Rhio Anne-Flores