ACUI Championship Day Two

Lars Vardaman is sitting pretty in the hot seat after day two of competition in the ACUI Collegiate 9-ball Championships at Illinois State University.  Vardaman returns for his final year of eligibility, attempting to be the first man in ACUI history to win the ACUI national title four times.  A Pharmacy student at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, he won in 2004, 2005, and 2006.  Eleanor Callado, now the ACUI 9-ball Director, also won the ACUI title four times during her college tenure at San Francisco State University.  In this race-to-8 double elimination event, Vardaman's road to victory tracks as follows:  Andrew Parry (Nassau Community College) 8-4, David Fitzgerald (Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville) 8-1, Tommy Najar (New Mexico State University) 8-3, Quentin Weir (University of Michigan) 8-3, and Adam Maloney (Texas A&M University) 8-4.  Maloney and Sam Gilmer (Mississippi State University) will play at 10AM on Thursday in the Finals of the One-loss side.  The winner of that match will play a single race to 13 against Vardaman for the 2009 ACUI title and $1,000 scholarship.
 
In the Women's division, Shari Cui of the University of Illinois - Chicago has been virtually unchallenged on her road to the hot seat.  An early-round dress code violation nearly cost Cui her spot on the east side of the chart, when her opponent, trailing 5-2 in a race to 7, reported the dress code violation to tournament directors.  After some scrambling and negotiating, Cui was able to correct the violation within 15 minutes and went on to win the match.  She defeated Melanie Gilmer (Mississippi State University) 7-3, Monica Fox (University of Florida) 7-2, Kris Landry (Fitchburg State College) 7-4, and Stephanie Sevigny (North Dakota State University) 7-2.  Sevigny faces Karla Yates (Morgan State University) Thursday morning in the finals of the One-loss side to see who earns the shot at dethroning Cui in a single race to 11.