Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 23, 1994                   TAG: 9405230090
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOLLMAN POCKETS WIN

Dave Bollman, a 52-year-old house professional from Norfolk, shot his way through a field that included some of billiards' biggest names to score his biggest one-pocket victory Sunday night at Guys & Dolls Billiards on Williamson Road.

In a marathon 3 1/2-hour final, Bollman edged Billy Incardona of Chicago 5-4 to pick up the $2,800 prize.

"I'm very surprised to win this thing," said Bollman, who advanced to the final out of the winner's bracket, never losing a match.

"I was ranked No. 3 in the country in 9-ball in 1989, but one-pocket is an entirely different story," he said.

Bollman, who stunned heavily favored Grady Mathews in the semifinals, was down 4-3 in the race to five games in the final before rallying against Incardona.

Incardona earned $1,800 for second place.

Mathews finished third, Howard Bickery of Columbus, Ohio, was fourth, Billy Stephens of Richmond was fifth and Tennessean Wade Crane took sixth.

The four-day tournament attracted a field of 49 players. The entries included such nationally recognized players as Nick Varner, Allen Hopkins, Mike Massey, Steve Mizerak, Buddy Hall, Crane, Steve Cook and Mathews.

Bollman's name was never mentioned among the pretournament favorites.

"I don't think anybody in the house would have picked Bollman in a field with this kind of talent," said Julian Robertson, the tournament organizer. "It just shows that anything can happen in this game."

The event, billed by organizers as the first professional pool tournament ever held in Roanoke, was well received by area billiards buffs, drawing a sizable number of spectators each day.

"We had great crowds, better than we ever expected," said Robertson, manager of the billiards parlor. "I didn't hear anybody say a bad word about the tournament in its four days. Believe me, I've been around the game a long time and that's really saying something."