Billiard Education Foundation Awards 2008 Scholarships

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) Academic Scholarship Program is an annual program that is divided into two categories: BEF Excellence in Education scholarship ($5,000 awarded over a two-year term) and BEF Aiming for Higher Education scholarships (seven $1,000 awards). The objective of the BEF Academic Scholarship Program is to grant scholarships to high school seniors who have benefited from the sport of billiards and are pursuing a college education.

The scholarship criteria includes maintaining a  3.0 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale); receiving an ACT score of 23 or higher or an SAT score of 1050 or higher; being accepted to an accredited undergraduate academic program by June 1, 2008; carrying at least 12 hours per semester; submitting a 500- to 1,000-word essay on how billiards has been an integral part of his/her life; a letter outlining academic achievements, leadership and/or community service work and a description of the applicant’s background and career objectives.

Congratulations to the following 2008 winners:

BEF “Excellence in Education” Scholarship ($5,000 awarded over a two-year term)
Kelly King of Baltimore, MD 

BEF “Aiming for Higher Education” Scholarships   ($1,000 award)
Christopher Berger of Atlanta, GA
Dustin Farmer of Windsor, CO
Christopher Futrell of Virginia Beach, VA
Kyle Gassaway of Summerfield, NC
William Howard of Richardson, TX
Casey Landry of Bush, LA
Matthew Pina of Ludlow, MA

Essays may be viewed on the BEF website at www.BilliardEducation.org. The BEF would like to wish all the applicants much success.

The Billiard Education Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable organization committed
to furthering the standard of excellence and leadership within the billiard community by engaging in activities related to the education and cultural advancement of tomorrow’s leaders.

For more information about the BEF please visit www.BilliardEducation.org. To become a sponsor, make a donation or inquiry, please contact Laura Smith at LauraSmith@BilliardEducation.org or phone 303-926-1039.

Junior Billiards Champs Crowned in Tucson

Junior Billiards Champs Crowned in Tucson

BEF Junior Nationals / Tucson, AZ
by Skip Maloney

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) awarded four $1,000 scholarships to winners in four separate divisions of their juniors’ tournament, held the weekend of July 11-13. A total of 104 players gathered over the weekend in the Student Union Games Room of the University of Arizona in Tucson, where Brunswick had added 6 tables to complement the room’s original 16.

In the 19-and-under boys’ division, which hosted 66 players, it was Austin Murphy winning the $1,000 scholarship with a hill-hill 11-10 victory over Nick Tafoya, who received a $500 scholarship for his second-place finish. Murphy, who came from the one-loss side of the tournament, battled back through five opponents to reach the finals.

Tafoya was among the final four in the division, defeating Chuckie Holyoke and then, in the hot seat, Richard Barney (last year’s champion), for his spot in the finals. Both matches leading to the hot seat match were hill-hill contests, unlike the hot seat match itself, which Tofoya dominated 9-1.
On the one-loss side, Murphy worked his way through Devon Cataldi, Christopher Futrell, and Adam Davis before meeting and defeating Holyoke in the quarterfinals and Barney in the semifinals to meet Tafoya and capture the first-place prize.

In the 19-and-under girls’ division, with 10 entrants, a single family will be sharing the first and second place total of $1,500 in scholarship money because two sisters battled it out in the finals. The older sister, Allison Hardwick, prevailed over the younger sister, Chelsea (by two and a half years) 9-4 in the final match-up, although earlier in the day, Chelsea had sent Alison to the one-loss side with a 7-4 win in a final four winners’-side match. Chelsea went on to defeat Nicole Hernandez 7-3 in the hot seat match and waited around, watching her sister and Hernandez in the semifinals, won by the sister 7-4.

In the 14-and-under boys’ division, with 23 entrants, it was Landon Shuffett bringing home the $1,000 scholarship, with a 9-6 victory over Billy Thorpe. Thorpe had defeated Landon Cason in a winners’-side final four match-up and then, Chad Denke to reach the hot seat. Shuffett, on the one-loss side, worked through Tyler Adolini, Ronnie Kidd in the quarterfinals and Denke in the semifinals to get to Thorpe and ultimately win it.

The five girls who signed on for the 14-and-under girls’ division played a round robin tournament that concluded with a finals match between Brianna Miller and Taylor Reynolds. Miller prevailed to capture the $1,000 scholarship prize.

Results
19-and-under Boys
1st Austin Murphy
2nd Nick Tafoya
3rd Richard Barney
4th Chuckie Holyoke
5th Adam Davis
Joshua Newman
7th Christopher Futrell
Mac Harrell
9th Devon Cataldi
Ryan Dunn
Schuyler Woodward
DJ Outlaw
19-and-under Girls
1st Alison Hardwick
2nd Chelsea Hardwick
3rd Nicole Hernandez
4th Heather Torpin
5th Taylor Satterwhite
Amber Yniguez
14-and-under Boys
1st Landon Shuffett
2nd Billy Thorpe
3rd Chad Denke
4th Ronnie Kidd
5th Landon Cason
Tyler Adolini
14-and-under Girls
1st Brianna Miller
2nd Taylor Reynolds
3rd Macy Bullard
4th Courtney Frank

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Torres Wins Big at Bogies

Torres Wins Big at Bogies

Junior National Qualifier / Houston, TX
by InsidePOOL Staff
Eleven-year-old Joey Torres, pool-playing prodigy, made his way through a 22-player field at Bogies Billiards in Houston, TX, to earn a ticket to the Junior Nationals in Tucson, AZ.
In the quarterfinals, Torres wreaked revenge upon Brandon Turner, who had sent him to the one-loss side earlier, in a hill-hill match that ended in a tough loss for Turner. Torres moved on to play Aaron Hughey in an all-Texas shootout, with Torres capturing the win.
The final round saw the undefeated Eric Calhoun, who traveled all the way from Albany, GA, and Torres dueling in a final race to 7. Torres took an early lead and maintained it throughout, besting Calhoun 7-4.
The players not only receive a spot for Nationals, they also take home certificates and trophies, most of which are donated by the South East Texas APA League. South Texas Junior Pool Tour (stjpt.com) is a nonprofit organization that holds 22 junior events per year, holds qualifiers for Nationals, and raises money to make sure they get there. When a junior wins a qualifier, they want them to accept that spot and will help provide them with the financial means to make that dream a reality. Each of the six players who qualified at Bogies received $50 each for travel expenses. All 14 of the juniors will benefit from BBQ fundraisers being held throughout May. If you would like to help make a youngster’s pool dream come true, you can make a donation by visiting stjpt.com.

Results:
1st Joey Torres
2nd Eric Calhoun
3rd Aaron Hughey
4th Brandon Turner

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