Another brilliant trip to the Junior VNEA World Pool Championships! The Junior Team have impressed everybody with their skills and have done themselves, their parents, Massé, VNEA and New Zealand extremely proud!
The tournament started with the 8-Ball Singles Championships on day 1 which ran through to the first half of day 2. The tournament is split into the following age categories; Under 14s, Under 18s and Under 21s. Day 2 saw the finals of the singles championships which was a nail-biting experience for our New Zealand team as we had many players make it through to the top 4 of their category.
Final results from the Singles 8-Ball Championships are as follows:
SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
UNDER 14 FEMALE 8 BALL SINGLES
1st Place – Alyxandra Jones (13)
4th Place – Alexandria Endres (12)
5th Place – Shontelle Shepp (11)
17th Place – Emilee Jones (11)
UNDER 14 MALE 8 BALL SINGLES
2nd Place – Zabian Jeram (13)
25th Place – Flynn Beetham (13)
UNDER 18 FEMALE 8 BALL SINGLES
5th Place – Jojo Coleman (17)
7th Place – Geffrina Harwood (17)
UNDER 18 MALE 8 BALL SINGLES
3rd Place – Deon Rawlings (16)
9th Place – Jakob Merson (16)
17th Place – Jason Allen (16)
UNDER 21 MALE 8 BALL SINGLES
2nd Place – Joseph Tialata (20)
5th Place – Miguel Raman (21)
9th Place – Danny Kerkhoven (20)
25th Place – Hone Tito (19)
Day 3 kicked off with the VNEA Junior World Pool Championships Opening Ceremony and Singles Awards.
Following the Opening Ceremony and Awards, the Team Tournaments began.
The teams final results were as follows:
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
UNDER 14S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
McDermott Triple Threat – 2nd Place
Players: Zabian Jeram (13), Alexandria Endres (12) and Alyxandra Jones (13)
Delta 13 Breakers – 7th Place
Players: Emilee Jones (11), Shontelle Shepp (11) and Flynn Beetham (13).
UNDER 18S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
OB Cues Southern Stars – 1st Place
Players: Jojo Coleman (17), Deon Rawlings (16) and Geffrina Harwood (17)
UNDER 21S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Predator Prowlers – 9th Place
Players: Joseph Tialata (20), Miguel Raman (21) and Danny Kerkhoven (20)
Mindgames – 13th Place
Players: Jason Allen (16), Jakob Merson (16) and Hone Tito (19)
UNDER 21S HARD-LUCK CHAMPIONSHIPS
Predator Prowlers – 1st Place
Players: Danny Kerkhoven (20), Joseph Tialata (20) and Miguel Raman (21)
Following this was the Scotch Doubles Championships
The final results were as follows:
SCOTCH DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
UNDER 14S SCOTCH DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
9th Place – Emilee Jones (11) & Shontelle Shepp (11)
3rd Place – Flynn Beetham (13) & Alyxandra Jones (13)
9th Place – Zabian Jeram (13) & Alexandria Endres (12)
UNDER 18S SCOTCH DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
5th Place – Danny Kerkhoven (20) & Jojo Coleman (17)
9th Place – Geffrina Harwood (17) & Deon Rawlings (16)
17th – Jakob Merson (16) & Jason Allen (16)
UNDER 21S SCOTCH DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
5th Place – Joseph Tialata (20) & Miguel Raman (21)
9th Place – Hone Tito (19) & Taylor Hansen (Taylor plays for D&R Star Rochester from Minnesota)
New Zealand Junior Team also won the following awards
SPEED POOL CHALLENGE
UNDER 14S SPEED POOL CHALLENGE
2nd Place – Zabian Jeram (13)
UNDER 18S SPEED POOL CHALLENGE
1st Place – Deon Rawlings
MINI TOURNAMENTS
Jason Allen (16) won 2 mini tournaments, placing 1st and 2nd
Alexandria Endres (12) won a mini tournament placing 2nd
Deon Rawlings (16) won a mini tournament placing 1st
Jakob Merson (16) won a mini tournament placing 2nd
AWARDS
BEST UNIFORM AWARD
Massé New Zealand Junior Pool Team
27TH ANNUAL VNEA INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Shontelle Shepp (11)
THE TEAM CAME HOME WITH A TOTAL OF ELEVEN TROPHIES
There’s no doubt that the multiple flights, 8-hour time difference, jet lag, long days and late nights were tough on the players but they managed to push through all barriers and come back with phenomenal results. Throughout the trip, the team impressed everyone with their skills, dedication, commitment and not to mention excellent behaviour. They have each shown an amazing amount of support to each other, made friends with other players and shown great sportsmanship throughout the tournaments. The team have come home with 11 well deserved trophies 🏆 and should be extremely proud of themselves.
