Shlemperis takes last 2009 Tri-State Stop

Dave Shlemperis came back from a defeat in the hot seat match versus Wilson Cruz to capture the first place prize in the final Tri-State Tour stop of 2009. The $500-added, A-D handicapped event drew 41 entrants to Castle Billiards in Edison, NJ.

From among the winners' side final four, Shlemperis sent Pete Brennan west 6-2, as Cruz was busy surviving a hill-hill struggle against Jacob Schwartz. In the first of their two matches, Cruz gained the hot seat, sending Shlemperis to the semifinals with a 7-4 win.

Scott Simonetti, who'd defeated Paul Johnson 7-3 and Jerry Tarrantola 7-5, was waiting for Schwartz on the one-loss side. Ra Hanna, after 6-2 victories over Ron Mason and Rhio Anne-Flores was there for Brennan. Simonetti defeated Schwartz 7-5, as Brennan laid the groundwork for a second matchup versus Shlemperis with a 6-4 win over Hanna. Brennan got his second shot at Shlemperis with a 7-4 win over Simonetti in the quarterfinals.

Over the next 15 games, Shlemperis gave up only a single rack; to Brennan in the 6-1 semifinals. He moved into the ‘extended finals' match and reached the extension goal of eight games without allowing Cruz a single win. With the match now extended to 10 games, Cruz fought back to eventually win four of the final six, but Shlemperis closed it out at 10-4 to take home the first place prize in the final 2009 stop of the Tri-State tour.