Sophomore to play in international billiards tournament

11:49 a.m., March 23, 2006--Sophomore Stephanie Parker made a New Year's resolution as a freshman to try something new. So, at Student Activities Night in February 2005, she signed up for the UD Billiard Club.

Parker began going to meetings and playing with club members in the Hen Zone in the basement of the Perkins Student Center. One of six females out of 25 club members, she also took private lessons from Nolan Sullivan, club treasurer, who told her to slow down her shots and relax. She said she lost in the first round of her first two club tournaments.

In February, Parker qualified to play for UD at the International Nine-Ball Championships to be held from July 5-9 in Tucson, Ariz. She is the only student to represent UD in the tournament.

On Feb. 18, Parker placed second out of four females in the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Region 3 tournament at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J., qualifying her for the international tournament. The ACUI tournament hosted players from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Sophomore Christina Rodriguez and senior Liz Mayforth also played in the competition.

Parker said she never expected to go to any tournaments outside of the club and had a great time at the ACUI competition.

“We had a ton of people watching our games because we were enjoying ourselves, and we were not so high-stressed,” she said. “We talked the whole time and had so much fun.”

Parker began playing at 9:30 a.m. and played in the afternoon from 2-6:30 p.m. She said she was surprised at how exhausted she was at the end of the day.

“I had no idea pool could be so tiring because it does not seem like it would be physically draining,” she said. “But by 6:30 p.m., I could not go on anymore.”

Mike Rusch, building supervisor for Perkins Student Center and Trabant University Center and billiards club supervisor, said Parker's achievements should help raise interest in the club.

“I think it's fantastic,” he said. “I hope she will be able to bring a lot more attention to not only the billiard club but the Hen Zone, as well.”

Rusch said the Hen Zone hosted a tournament to rank players for the ACUI competition and said he hopes to get more UD representation in tournaments and get sponsorships for the players.

Parker said she plays pool more for fun than for competition.

“I like to win but I'm not stressed about it,” she said. “It's one of the rare things where I'm not competitive.”

Article by Julia Parmley, AS '07
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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