THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510010199
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DWIGHT FOXX, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
It's getting down to crunch time in the 20th annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament.
The Final Four of the event will be held today at the Holiday Inn Chesapeake with semifinal matches beginning at 3 p.m. and the finals starting at 6:30 p.m.
At press time, Johnny Archer was the lone person guaranteed a spot in today's semifinals. Archer defeated Rodney Morris 11-5 in a winner's bracket match.
Another spot was to be determined between the other two unbeaten contenders, defending champion Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.
The loser of the Reyes-Bustamante match would have to win a late loser's bracket match to advance to today's final action.
Earl Strickland, the only three-time winner of the U.S. Open, was having a tremendous run through the loser's bracket round Saturday.
Strickland, a Greensboro, N.C., resident, defeated David Smith 11-4 and Leonardo Andam 11-8 during the afternoon session.
In his first evening match, he defeated the only back-to-back champion in the event's history, Nick Varner, 11-3.
Strickland and Rodolfo Luat were meeting in a late loser's bracket match. The winner had to win another match on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals.
Varner's elimination ended his hopes of making the finals for the fourth time in seven years.
The 47-year-old is proud of his consecutive titles but he was hoping to avenge his finals loss to Reyes in last year's Open.
``It was a pretty nice feeling,'' the Owensboro, Ky., native said. ``To win it back-to-back (1989-90) was quite a thrill. But I finished second last year and that's the one I tend to remember the most.''
Varner said staying consistent throughout the week is one of the keys to winning the tournament. He expects today's winner to emerge from the person who commits the fewest mistakes.
Namely, that means which players do not scratch on the breaks and commit the fewest mistakes under today's tremendous pressure.
``That's what separates the guys who are winning out here and those that don't,'' the 47-year-old said.
The other two players left were Danny Harriman and Reed Pierce. Harriman defeated Jayme Goodwin, 11-7, and Pierce eliminated Kunihiko Takahashi, 11-3. The two met in a late loser's bracket match.
For more information on today's finals, call the Holiday Inn Chesapeake after 11 a.m. at 523-1500. by CNB