THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409220563
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
There's a guaranted crowd-pleasing second-round match set today in the 19th annual U. S. Open 9-Ball Tournament.
Local favorite Dave Bollman of Virginia Beach chalked up a 13-5 victory over Avery Adkins of Columbus, Ohio in opening action Wednesday at the Holiday Inn-Chesapeake.
He draws 1992 Open champion Tom Kennedy of Lakeland, Fla. in a second-round feature at 3:30 p.m. Kennedy, a surprise winner in this tournament two years ago, received a first-round bye.
Bollman, fresh from a second-place finish in a tournament at Raleigh that included many of these players a week ago, started slowly against Adkins.
The 52-year-old Bollman, a one-time professional golfer who is now the house pro at Q-Master Billiards, lost his first three games.
Bollman, towering about a foot over his opponent, then won six in a row.
``Until last week I really hadn't played any tournaments since February,'' said Bollman. ``I just played badly in the beginning. But then I turned it around and played pretty well.''
Bollman won't be imtimidated by facing one of the former Open champions. ``The last time we played I beat him, 13-5,'' he recalled.
Kennedy made a host of friends in his longshot win in 1992. ``But I'm going to have a lot of folks in my corner, too,'' said Bollman.
Dave's daughter, Maryann, led a large rooting section Wednesday.
Bollman was pleased with the afternoon pairing in the second round.
``I don't like those midnight matches,'' he said.
Other winners Wednesday included Steve Mizerak and defending champion Earl Strickland, a 13-8 winner over Junior Harris.
Play resumes today at 11:30 a.m. Evening matches start at 7 p.m. by CNB