Billy-Aardds Club Members Do Well at Regional Tournament

[Bottom row, left to right: Billy Aardds Club members Nick Tarasenko, Dave Byrd, Neil Barnas, staff advisor Ray Piworunas, John Dietrich, Kelly Watson, and Tammy Oldfield. Top, left to right: Jeremy Manning and Will Thomson.]

by George Zamora

SOCORRO, N.M., February 20, 2002 -- Maybe it's the fact that all New Mexico Tech students are required to take General Physics, regardless of their intended majors. Or it could be that science and engineering students at the research university are more attuned to Newton's Laws of Motion. . . . Then again, just chalk it up to New Mexico Tech having some darn good pool shooters on campus.

Several members of New Mexico Tech's "Billy Aardds" Club recently proved their mettle as pocket billiards players by placing well in the 9-ball competition at a regional pool tournament at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, which was sponsored and sanctioned by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI).

Out of the 29 players competing in the men's division of the 9-ball competition, Tech student John Dietrich placed second overall by winning six out of his eight matches, losing only twice to Addis Chauestia, the eventual 9-ball champion of Region 13's double-elimination pocket billiards tournament. Chauestia will now advance to ACUI's national pool tournament.

New Mexico Tech students Nick Tarasenko placed fifth/sixth; Neil Barnas placed seventh/eighth; Dave Byrd and Will Thomson placed 13th through 16th; and Jeremy Manning ended up in the 17th through 24th position. (In double-elimination pool tournaments, resultant placings lower than fourth are typically posted as a range rather than an exact ranking.)

In women's 9-ball, Tech students Tammy Oldfield and Kelly Watson placed seventh and eighth and ninth through 12th, respectively, out of a field of 16 competitors.

"All of the people we sent have played in several Tech tournaments, so tournament play was not new to them," says Ray Piworunas, staff advisor to the Billy Aardds Club. "I think that helped them to do so well.

"I also think playing straight pool has helped them," Piworunas adds. "All but one of the players has played on the Billy Aardds Club handicapped straight pool ladder, and playing on the ladder lets people learn about safety play and managing game stress, in addition to providing an opportunity to learn from the better players. . . . Considering the number of good players the other schools brought to the tournament, we did rather well."

New Mexico Tech is an institutional member of ACUI, Region 13, which comprises college unions located throughout New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming.