Ray Toro, Caitlyn Harkins and Patrick Meyers
It had been a while for the winner. And never-before for the runner-up.
Prior to this past weekend (Sunday, April 23), Ray Toro had not recorded (with us) a cash finish since 2018, when he finished third at a stop on the 2017-2018 Tri-State Tour. As circumstance would have it, Toro had battled and lost the hot seat match to Allison LaFleur who was, at the time, the top-ranked female on the tour. Toro was denied a rematch when he was defeated in the semifinals by Frank Scorsonelli. LaFleur defeated Scorsonelli in the final to chalk up her first Tri-State win.
Fast forward five years and Mr. Toro found himself facing two women in two of his final three matches at a stop on the Garden State Tour; (in order) Jennifer Pedutem in a winners’ side semifinal and Caitlyn Harkins in the finals. He defeated both of them to finish undefeated and claim his first regional tour title at the $200-added, Fargo Rated 550 and lower event that drew 32 entrants to a new room for the tour; Whiskey Hideaway in Staten Island, NY.
One doesn’t tend to hear a lot about pool rooms in published event reports because generally speaking, no one has a lot to say about the rooms themselves, other than “Thank you” from the tour director. Not so in this case, with tour director Dave Fitzpatrick passing along non-specific comments from the players.
“The players were very impressed with the set-up and space inside the location, as well as some of the dishes that came out from the kitchen,” noted Fitzpatrick. “The Whiskey Hideaway was so impressed with how well the event went, that they requested more dates in the future.”
It is likely to be a room that Caitlyn Harkins will include in any tale she might tell her grandchildren some day.
“She was so excited,” said Fitzpatrick, “not just for finishing as runner-up, but winning her first pool trophy.”
It was a ‘first’ in one way or another for all of the event’s final three – Ray Toro, Caitlyn Harkins and Patrick Meyers – because they were all newcomers to the Garden State Pool Tour. It also became a ‘first’ for Susan Durling, who finished in the tie for 5th and went home with her first cash payout on the tour.
By the time Ray Toro got to the winners’ side semifinals, he’d given up only four racks to his first three opponents; Delby Calderon (2), Richard Racioppi (1) and Qian Y Chen (1). This set him up to face the first of his two female opponents, Jennifer Pedutem, in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Myers, in the meantime, who’d given up nine racks to his first three, including four in a double-hill battle against Eddie Conklin, Jr. in a winners’ side quarterfinal, drew Harkins (seven racks scored against her first three, including a shutout over Durling) in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Meyers sent Harkins to the loss side 8-2 and advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Toro, who was ending a five-year, cash-payout gap in his pool career and as he’d done in 2018, made it to the hot seat match, this time with a 6-2 victory over Pedutem. He claimed his first hot seat with a double hill victory over Meyers.
On the loss side, Harkins picked up a rematch against Durling, who’d followed her loss to Harkins with four straight wins, including, most recently, a double hill win over Pat Mareno and a 4-5 victory over Qian Y Chen (racing to 7). Pedutem drew Gil Costello, who, following his loss against Harkins in a winners’ side quarterfinal, had defeated Will Dsentas 5-1 and Conklin, Jr. 4-3 (Conklin racing to 6).
Harkins dropped Durling into the tie for 5th 4-2. She was joined in the quarterfinals by Costello, who’d eliminated Pedutem 5-1. Harkins got “three on the wire,” racing to 7, that she didn’t end up needing against Costello. She won their quarterfinal matchup 4-3.
Harkins then got “four on the wire” in a race to 8 that she didn’t need in the semifinals against Myers, either. She won that 4-3, advancing to her first final.
She got “four on the wire” in a race to 8 against Toro in the finals as well, and ended up using three of them to battle Toro to a double-hill final game. Toro survived the challenge and claimed the event title.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked the ownership and staff at Whiskey Hideaway, as well as sponsors Digital Pool, Billiard Engineering, In The Box Sports, John Bender Custom Cues, JFlowers Cues & Cases, Kamui, Outsville templates, and Off the Rail. The next stop on the Garden State Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of May 6-7, will be a 9-Ball, Fargo Rated 675 and lower event, hosted by Player Billiards in Eatontown, NJ.
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