"Our lil Annie is all growns up"
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Since her teens, she spent many days & nights playing pool at a local billiard parlor. Since then, her inate skills caught much attention from onlookers. Being underage, Ray "Boogie" Greene waited patiently until she turned 21 when he quickly drafted her to join his APA team at Castle Billiards. Thanks Ray.
In the APA, females start as a skill level of a 3, a S/L she did not stay at. She quickly climbed the ranks and is now a solid 7., the highest skill level one can achieve in 8-Ball. Her team, with her help, even won their way to Vegas for the Nationals.
She began to take the sport more seriously and began practicing drills every chance she gets (with her busy schedule).
It was when she joined the Tri-State that put her name on the map. Heads turned, eyes widen... "Who is this lil girl that can shoot." Her first few times ever playing in the Tri-State, she ranked in the top 5, landing 2nd placce, 3rd, and finally first, all within her inagural year with the tri-state.
She stepped it up, trained hard with Scotty Simonetti and was well prepared to play in the US Amateur Championships. She battled her way through and came in 2nd Place.
TOP AMATEURS CROWNED U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONS
Winner of Men’s and Women’s Divisions Advance to ‘09 Pro Event
LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (December 2, 2008) — The top amateur players in the country came to Mr. Cues II in Atlanta in early November to compete for the coveted U.S. Amateur Champion title.
Amy Chen of Norcross, Ga., is the 2008 U.S. Amateur Women’s Champion after defeating Rhio Anne Flores of Jersey City, N.J. Chen went undefeated in her first U.S. Amateur Championship appearance, defeating Flores in the finals 9-5.
The finals featured a see-saw battle at the outset in the 8-Ball set. Flores got on the board first, with Chen taking the next two games. Flores followed by winning consecutive games herself. Chen closed out the 8-Ball set with a win and the score tied at 3 games apiece.
In the 9-Ball set the two players again traded wins before Chen went on a run that saw her win three consecutive games. Now trailing by three games, Flores won the sixth game, but it was all Chen from there. She took the next two games for a 9-5 win.
Finals Set in the Women’s Division
The stage is set for the finals of the Women’s Division. Rhio Anne Flores defeated Betty Sessions 5-4. It was Flores second victory over Sessions on the afternoon. Sessions finishes tied for 3rd Place – she has finished 3rd or higher for three consecutive years in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Flores will have a chance to avenge her only tournament loss which came at the hands of Chen.
Larsen Suffers Early Round Setback
Defending Women’s champion Tina Larsen suffered a 1st Round loss to Rhio Anne Flores of Jersey City, N.J. The match began in the 8-Ball set with Larsen getting on the board first, but it was all Flores from there on out as she closed out the 8-Ball set with consecutive wins to take a 2-1 lead. Flores maintained the momentum when the ladies switched to the 9-Ball set, winning the first three games, and taking the match 5-1. Larsen receives a 2nd bye and will face the loser of the match between Trinh Lu and Elizabeth Zingale. Flores moves on to face Gina Mashburn.
Chen Punches Her Ticket to the Finals
Amy Chen secured herself a spot in the finals with a strong 5-2 win over Rhio Anne Flores. The ladies began the match in the 8-Ball set, with Flores striking first. Chen took the next two games, and a 2-1 lead heading in to the 9-Ball set.
The player traded wins in the first two games of 9-Ball before Chen finished off Flores by winning the next two games. Chen will face the winner of the rematch between Flores and Betty Sessions. Flores defeated Sessions earlier in the day.
OCT 6, 2008 TRI-STATE: Twenty-six billiard players entered Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, with one goal in mind: to win this Tri State Tour C-D event. Anne came in 4th place.
OCT. 11, 2008 TRI-STATE B-C-D STOP AT CASTLE BILLIARDS: Anne came in 5th Place out of 34 after a defeat in a hill-hill match against James DeGiosafatto.
Tri-State Player Of The Year Results:
2006-2007, after only participating in 4 events, she ranked top as the 6th top female players and ranked 9th amongst the C- class
2007-2008, she was awarded as the 3rd ranked top females & 14th amongst the C-class players
2008-2009, she is currently ranked as the 1st top ranked females players within5 events and 13th amongst the C+ players
Rhio Anne Flores played strong all day at the Tri-State Tour stop October 25 and finished undefeated at the top of the 32-entrant field. She withstood a strong, one-loss side challenge by Duane Toney in the finals of the $500-added, C-D handicapped event, hosted by Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.
Earlier in the day, among the winners’ side final four, Flores sent Toby Clemens west with a 6-1 victory, as Joe Varvaro defeated Tony Arroyo 6-4 to meet her in the hot seat match. Varvaro mounted the toughest challenge of Flores’ final three matches, taking the hot seat match to hill-hill before being sent to the semifinals.
In the true double-elimination finals, Flores, with a C handicap, started the race to six up by one game over the C+ handicapped Toney. It was a game in hand that she didn’t ultimately need, as she went on to defeat Toney in the first set 6-3, capturing the first-place prize.
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