Allison LaFleur & Frank Scorsonelli
Allison LaFleur is currently the top-ranked female player on the Tri-State Tour, more as a result of consistent, persistent competition, than any record of multiple victories. As a D+ player, she’s competed in 18 events on the tour’s current season, which began last summer and will continue until this summer. On Sunday, March 11, she broke through to win her first Tri-State event, and you can tell from the accompanying photo that her smile is a lot more than the result of someone asking her to say “Cheese!” The $1,000-added event drew 31 entrants to a new room for the Tri-State – Black Diamond Billiards in Union, NJ.
LaFleur’s six opponents were evenly split between men and women. She opened with victories over Irene Kim and Suzzie Wong, before downing her first male opponent, Nick Quaglia. She faced her third female opponent, Ada Lio, in one of the winners’ side semifinals, as Ray Toro squared off against Mike Mele in the other one. LaFleur got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 victory over Lio, and faced Toro, who’d sent Mele to the loss side 7-3. LaFleur downed Toro 10-7 to sit in her first hot seat.
As LaFleur waited (no doubt somewhat anxiously for an opponent in her first-ever finals), Frank Scorsonelli was working on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would make him LaFleur’s opponent in the finals. Scorsonelli, defeated by Quaglia in the second round of winners’ side play, got by Anthony Palmisano, and Suzzie Wong on the loss side, before running into Quaglia a second time. He defeated Quaglia 7-2, and then, Joe Rubino, double hill, to pick up Lio. Mele drew Max Watanabe, who, after a defeat at the hands of Ray Toro, had defeated Raj Vannalla and Matt Klein, both 7-5, to reach him.
Mele and Watanabe battled to double hill before Mele finished the match and advanced to the quarterfinals. Scorsonelli downed Lio 6-4 to join him. Scorsonelli ended Mele’s short, loss-side trip 7-4 in those quarterfinals, and then, defeated Toro 8-5 in the semifinals.
La Fleur, however, was not to be denied. She defeated Scorsonelli 5-3 in the finals to capture her first Tri-State title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Black Diamond Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, March 18, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
