Shane Van Boening Double Dips Fellow Young Gun

Shane Van Boening Double Dips Fellow Young Gun
Snares 21st Annual Music City Open
By Michael Basha
Shane Van Boening captured the 21st Annual Music City Open defeating 25-year-old Tommy D’Alfonso two sets in a row, 11-9, 11-8 to take the first-place prize of $3,000 and a custom Gibson guitar.
D’Alfonso started his day with a decisive 11-6 win over Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton, followed by an 11-2 win over Jeremy Hart, and finally he took down the winners’ bracket in a spectacular hill-hill bout with Ronnie Wiseman.
While D’Alfonso coasted through the winners’ side, Van Boening was cutting his way through the west side of the bracket; edging out Rafael Martinez 11-9, then dismantling Jonathan Pinegar 11-2, setting up a face off with former world champ Alex Pagulayan. Pagulayan seemed to be the only man who could stop Van Boening, running rack after rack to reach the hill from one game down at 5-6, but Pagulayan missed a tough 1 ball and Van Boening took advantage of the opportunity and put together four racks to join his opponent on the hill. A perfect break left Van Boening a decent layout, but he landed awkwardly on the 8 ball and almost scratched playing a safety. The cue ball hanging in the corner pocket offered no reprieve for Pagulayan, though, and he failed to pocket the difficult 8 ball on a wild bank shot, allowing Van Boening to advance 11-10.
In the semifinals, Van Boening dominated Wiseman, allowing him only a single opportunity at the table en route to an 11-0 thrashing, setting up the confrontation of Van Boening versus Tommy D’Alfonso in a true double-elimination final. The first set stayed close, with Van Boening barely escaping 11-9. The second set was no different—the combatants staying close until, tied at 8 games apiece, Van Boening put together a three-pack to shut out his opponent and take the first-place finish.
Sarah Rousey justified her early favoritism in the women’s Music City Open 9-ball event, running through the 27-player field undefeated. Grace Nakamura took down the one-loss bracket to face Rousey in the double-elimination finals, but Rousey simply overpowered Nakamura in the first and only set, defeating her 7-1.
Men’s Results:
1st Shane Van Boening
2nd Tommy D’Alfonso
3rd Ronnie Wiseman
4th Alex Pagulayan
5th Jose Parica
Jeremy Hart
7th Tony Fargo
Jonathan Pinegar
Women’s Results:
1st Sarah Rousey
2nd Grace Nakamura
3rd Amy Williams
4th Mary Marrilla
5th Kristen Robinson
Jennifer Livingston