BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Dozens of collegiate billiards and table tennis players from across the country are at Indiana University this weekend, when the Bloomington campus hosts the ACUI’s first combined Collegiate 9-Ball and Table Tennis Championships. These events are sponsored by the Association of College Unions International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to enhancing campus life.

The Indiana Memorial Union will host the 9-Ball championship games in the Back Alley, while the table tennis competition will take place at University Gym. With 40 men and 23 women registered for the tournament, this year marks the largest field in the nearly 80-year history of the ACUI Billiards Program.  

 “It’s an honor to be able to host the national championships for collegiate billiards and table tennis, and we welcome these athletes to the university,” IU assistant coordinator of games John Bower said. “These events can be a great way to learn more about the sport, or to watch a talented player performing at the top of their game.” 

To prepare to host the championships, the IMU purchased new billiard balls and recovered its 10 pool tables with a high-grade Simonis 860 fabric — in tournament blue, as opposed to its usual green felt. 

Players representing more than 50 colleges and universities — ranging from University of Hawaii to the New Jersey Institute of Technology — will battle for the national title in a three-day competition. All players qualified at one of a dozen regional competitions to attend the event.

“These tournaments are a great display of student learning and community building,” said Marsha Herman-Betzen, executive director of the Bloomington-based ACUI. “Both of these are at our core as an organization and we are proud to continue this tradition as the sport grows and thrilled to host here in our home town.”

Competition games are open to the public, and free of charge. However, there is limited public seating space at the IMU for the billiards games. For additional information, visit www.acui.org/billiards.

Competition is underway as of 4:30PM Friday, June 29.  

The men’s chart, with 40 players, from top to bottom, is as follows:

Dillon Scheive, California State University-Sacramento vs. Lee Nathanson, University of Maryland

Jason Hoag, Purdue University vs. Greg Marinelli, College of William and Mary (winner advances to play Will Stem, University of Maryland)

Corbin Coe, Appalachian State University vs. Will Hill, East Texas Baptist University

Corey Sykes, Virginia Tech vs. Eric Miranda, New Jersey Institute of Technology (Winner advances to play Jordan Baker, University of Texas-Tyler)

Jonathan Beehary, Nassau Community College vs. Nate Sweitzer, West Virginia University

Stephen Skvarka, Virginia Tech vs. Mack Harrell, East Carolina University (winner advances to play Jason Burns, The Ohio State University)

Brian Myung, Indiana University vs. Matt Shilinski, University of Maryland-University College

Eric McClure, University of Illinois-Chicago vs. James Gomes, DeVry University (winner advances to play George Mansour, University of Akron)

Wenjie Wu, Purdue University vs. Cody Broadway, University of Texas-Tyler

Yu-han Yang, University of Maryland College Park vs. Bo Jin, Purdue University (winner advances to play Ryan Baez, Radford University)

Jose Galvez, Florida International University vs. Anthony Sato, University of Hawaii-Manoa

Jamyang Tamashi, Macalester College vs. Ryan Kuhlmann, University of Minnesota-Duluth (winner advances to play Scott Maloney, University of Wyoming)

Chad Roahrig, Indiana University vs. Raymond Linares, Miami Dade College-Kendall Campus

Steve Holbrook, Ivy Tech Community College vs. Curtis Sawdon, University of Michigan (winner advances to play Juan Sanchez, University of Texas-Pan American)

Josh Keys, Virginia Tech vs. Thomas Smith, James Madison University

DavidVuong, University of Maryland-College Park vs. Cody Terry, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Winner advances to play Charles Barker, Weber State University

The women’s chart of 20 players, from top to bottom, is as follows:

Delia Mocanu, Northeastern University vs. Angelica Rudow, University of Arizona

Jessica Jahn, Spokane Falls Community College vs. Jennifer McCandless, Radford University (winner advances to play Melissa Chesky, University of Minnesota-Duluth)

Giovanni Aviles, University of Illinois-Chicago vs. Amanda Neal, Indiana University

Tam Do, Illinois Institute of Technology vs. Angie Braeutiam, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (winner advances to play Heather Platter, University of Florida)

Brittany Breedlove, University of Akron vs. Kayla Randall, California University of Pennsylvania

Sam Tsang, University of Maryland-Baltimore County vs. Cindy Ho, California State University-Sacramento (winner advances to play Jennifer Acierto, Virginia Commonwealth University

Miranda Blazek, Northern Wyoming CC District vs. Elizabeth Haas, University of Akron

Michelle Yim, University of Houston vs. Jackie Sanchez, Barry University (winner advances to play Morgan Bowles, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Raymond Linares and Delia Mocanu were the 2011 winners and are both present to defend their title.  Competition continues through Sunday afternoon.  Match results will be posted on the Facebook group “ACUI 9-ball.”