Bergman, Kostanian, Lovely & Murphy Win 2006 Titles
Tucson, Arizona: The 2006 Junior & Intercollegiate 9-Ball Championships wrapped up its competition at the University of Arizona in Tucson, with a series of exciting victories for BCA juniors on July 8. Age division playoffs shaped up to include all four defending champions in each of their respective finals, with only one upset. [ brackets ]

Leading off the day's rounds were the 14 and under finals, with a successful title defense by Austin Murphy (Folsom, Calif.) with his win over Ryan Dunn (Hillsboro, Tenn.), 7-5, and an upset victory by Elizabeth Lovely (Centerville, Ohio) over Chelsea Hardwick (Evansville, Ind.), 5-3. [ more ]

Closing out the BCA portion of the tournament, the 19 and under finals ended with the re-crowning of winners Justin Bergman (Fairview Heights, Ill.) and Anna Kostanian (Albuquerque, N.M.), following decisive victories by both defending champs. As reported by AZBilliards.com, each ran away with their division; Kostanian with a 7-2 win over Mary Rakin (Daly City, Calif.) and Bergman with a 9-1 rout over Chad Palmer (Battle Creek, Mich.).

The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) once again combined and hosted its Junior National event with the ACUI Collegiate 9-Ball National Championships. The second Junior & Collegiate 9-Ball Championships took place at the Student Union Memorial Center Billiards & Games Room, at the University of Arizona in Tucson, July 5-9, 2006.

Age rules: To conform with WPA age rules, players must be 18 on December 31 of the year preceding competition (2005) in order to be eligible to play in the new year (2006). If the player turns 19 on or before December 31, 2005 they would not be eligible to compete in the following year's 2006 Junior Nationals.

Double-qualifying: A player only needs to qualify once for the Junior Nationals. Attending more than one qualifier - and winning a spot in each - does not secure two spots for the player. Once that player has qualified, the next highest finisher will be selected at any subsequent qualifiers played.

Sponsorship   In support of the event, the BCA offers entitlement rights for premiere table, cloth, cue, ball, case, rack and chalk product sponsors. Bid packages were issued to current BCA Voting and Associate business members, and this year's sponsors are displayed at right. Prospective sponsors are invited to join the BCA in order to present future bids. For more information about these, as well as supplemental sponsor programs, refer to online details, send an email or call 719-264-8300, ext.110.