By Michael Kinney
Scrolling through the WPBA media guide, she is nowhere to be found. Even on the list of the top-40 players on tour Iris Ranola’s name is missing.
Yet, this weekend, Ranola is on the verge of doing something the WPBA tour has never seen. She enters today’s semifinal matches two wins away from taking home the coveted U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship.
In a field that includes the superstars of the sport, Ranola has emerged as the fan favorite of the tournament. With a gallery of more than 500 spectators and ESPN taping the event at Riverwind Casino, Ranola is ready to burst onto the WPBA scene — if she can stay calm.
“I am so nervous right now,” she said. “I am still catching my breath. It’s my second pro tournament and it’s my first TV appearance. I can’t believe I made it to the semifinals.”
En route to her semifinal match today against Yu Ram Cha, Ranola has rolled through some of the toughest competition the WPBA has to offer. That includes handing top-ranked Allison Fisher her first defeat in the tournament. She then knocked second-ranked Ga Young Kim out Friday in a match that went past midnight.
In the quarterfinals Saturday, Ranola didn’t let up. She dispatched Sarah Ellerby 7-2. Ellerby is ranked eighth.
“I think she is typically Filipino in the sense that she looks very relaxed around the table,” said Fisher, a three-time champion of the Open. “It doesn’t surprise me that we see another possible champion coming through from there. I think it’s only a matter of time.”
It’s hard for the 31-year-old Ranola to believe she is in the position that she is. A relative unknown outside of the Philippines the past few years, she just started making a name for herself on the amateur circuits.
“I think it is very difficult for some players from the Philippines to maybe find the support and money to help them come over to this country,” Fisher said. “She has had a great year on the amateur circuit.”
Now that she is playing in only her second WPBA tour event and her first U.S. Open, Ranola is just trying to stay in the moment.
“I don’t want to think about that,” she said. “I get more pressure if I think about expectations. I just say to myself, ‘One game at a time.’”
Even though this is Ranola’s first year on the WPBA tour, she has been playing the game for a while. She learned it from her father while growing up.
But it wasn’t until three years ago that Ranola got the chance to see what professional billiards was like when she traveled outside of her home country for the first time.
Since then she has built her resume the old-fashioned way. This year she won three regional tournaments, which earned her a spot in the Open.
If Ranola continues playing at the level she has the last three days, she won’t have to worry about the amateur circuit anymore. A $15,000 check will be her prize. But her reward has been just to make it this far.
“It’s hard to get on the WPBA tour,” Ranola said. “You have to qualify. You have to win a regional tour in order to play. I am really striving hard to practice to win regional tours so I will be able to play. This is my dream to be in the WPBA.”
Final four set
In other quarterfinal action, Cha upset former U.S. Open champion Karen Corr 7-5. This is her first trip to the semifinals.
Jeanette Lee beat Pam Cimarelli 7-4 to earn her spot in the final four. Lee has not won a major tournament since 2004 and will be seeking her first tournament victory of the year.
The semifinals will take place at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The championship is set for 5 p.m.
Michael Kinney
366-3537
mkinney@normantranscript.com
