Fitchburg State Senior Makes National Championship

By Meghan Ennes

When asked about her favorite part of billiards, Kristine Landry unabashedly answers, “I like to win!” On the pool table, this Fitchburg State College senior is a force to be reckoned with, even in a game dominated by men. “People underestimate me, because I’m a girl,” she says. “But if I’m shooting well, you’re not going to stop me.” Put it to you this way: she’s a 5 in 8-ball billiards, which means ~ in pool speak ~ that she plays better than most women, and even shows up many of her male competitors.

This past February, Kristine met with a worthy challenge when the best in billiards flocked to the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) regional collegiate tournament at Fitchburg State. Out of about 100 women competing for the honor of 9-ball billiards champion, Kristine came out on top. In July, she will go on to represent all of New England in the ACUI national championships in Bloomington, Illinois. But this whirlwind hasn’t gone to her head ~ she’s still in love with the game: “I’m really passionate about pool,” she says. “It helps me keep my sanity.”

Kristine started playing pool as a hobby while recovering from knee surgery, and the game proved therapeutic for both body and mind. “I’m not a drinker and I don’t go out usually, so it was a great stress-reliever.” She still regularly visits Saint Joseph’s Club of Fitchburg, a private club for billiards, where she started playing. “It’s mostly guys, older guys anyway,” she comments, but lets it slip that she still beats them more than half the time. Kristine still had much to learn from these sages of billiard wisdom at St. Joe’s ~ in fact, in just the five years she’s been playing, she’s participated in quite a few prestigious billiards tournaments, and even competed in Las Vegas… twice! In last year’s Vegas tournament, she and her team scored 33rd place out of more than 250 others.

Even though pool seems pretty simple to the casual observer, there’s more to it than shooting those little numbered balls into pockets. Kristine is going on to play 9-ball in the ACUI nationals, in which there are (surprise!) nine balls to work with; the point is to pocket the ninth ball as quickly as possible while striking the other balls in numerical order. Of course, this all may be a little confusing to the billiards layperson. Kristine’s best advice? “Play smart, and never underestimate your opponent.” Billiards allows for opponents to play mind games with each other, and players become especially susceptible if they’ve had a run of even a few bad shots. One bad game could lead to a month of lost confidence. Kristine’s had a few of these “batting-slump” situations herself. “You get frustrated, but you have to play through it ~ you’ll be a stronger player.”

So what’s in the future for this confident pool shark? After she graduates this year, she hopes to have more time to practice and eventually go pro. She’ll graduate this May with a B.A. in Communications and hopes to go into broadcasting until she can play professional pool full-time. Cue the next great female billiards star!