McCreesh and Meraglio Win on Tiger Pool Stop

McCreesh and Meraglio Win on Tiger Pool Stop
Tiger Pool 9-Ball Tour / Winchester, VA

by Skip Maloney

Ryan McCreesh took the long road to the title at the Tiger Planet Pool held at Blue Fox Billiards in Winchester, VA.

Ryan McCreesh took two from Brandon Shuff to go undefeated in the open division of the Tiger Pool Tour stop the weekend of October 4-5, while Tina Meraglio bested Ming Ng in the finals of the women’s event. The $1,500-added open event drew 35 entrants, and 9 competed in the $500-added women’s event, hosted by Blue Fox Billiards in Winchester, VA.

McCreesh took more of a labored road to the hot seat match against Shuff, giving up 19 racks over the 4 matches it took to get there. Shuff, on the other hand, playing 5 matches, gave up only 12 racks. Among the final four on the winners’ side, McCreesh sent Manny Chau west 9-7, as Shuff sent Chris Bruner over 9-5. In what turned out to be the easiest match of his weekend, McCreesh sent Shuff to the semifinals with a 9-2 victory.

On the one-loss side, a father and son battled for the right to meet Chau, as Matt Clatterbuck and Scott Tollefson fought to meet Bruner. Brian Deska defeated his dad 7-4, with Tollefson ending Clatterbuck’s tournament bid 7-5. Deska then eliminated Chau in a double-hill struggle as Tollefson shut out Bruner. It was Tollefson moving on to the semifinals with a 7-4 victory over Deska. He met a determined Shuff, who dropped him into third place for a second chance at McCreesh.

Shuff opened the finals by jumping out to a 3-0 lead. McCreesh fought back to tie it. They battled back and forth to a tie at 8, when McCreesh took two in a row to reach the hill first. Shuff matched him with two games of his own to knot it at 10. Breaking the final rack, Shuff came up empty. McCreesh sunk the first two balls and then lined up a 3-9 combination that finished the tournament.

In the women’s final, Tina Meraglio defeated Ming Ng to capture the first-place prize. Rachel Eliazar and Pauline Mattes finished third and fourth, respectively.

Open Results:
1st Ryan McCreesh $900
2nd Brandon Shuff $550
3rd Scott Tollefson $380
4th Brian Deska $225
5/6th Manny Chau $150
5/6th Chris Bruner $150
7/8th Ed Deska $100
7/8th Matt Clatterbuck $100
9-12th Richard Barney $55
9-12th Kent Pipkin $55
9-12th Phil Kearns $55
9-12th Danny Bell $55

Women’s Results:
1st Tina Mergalio $380
2nd Ming Ng $240
3rd Rachel Eliazar $125
4th Pauline Mattes  $70