BLOOMINGTON - There was one person who needed to be shown that the top-ranked player on the Women's Professional Billiards Asso-ciation Tour could be beaten.

That person was Bloomington 25-year-old Sarah Rousey, who upset Allison Fisher in the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships Aug. 1 at Norman, Okla.

"It kind of proved a point to myself that I could do it," said the 2003 WPBA Rookie of the Year, still a decade younger than the average Tour player. "It's something that every one of the girls wants to do. They want to beat the best player."

Rousey is the 15th player to beat a No. 1 in WPBA history. It's a task that is more mental than physical.

"When you play pool, the same shots come up over and over," Rousey said. "The key is keeping yourself together mentally. You have to quit shaking."

Rousey didn't get shook after losing her U.S. Open opener to Aileen Dimmick, 9-6.

"It was really ugly," Rousey said. "I had not been practicing. It got worse when I saw I had to play Allison just to get a paycheck."

Fisher took a 7-3 lead in their first-round consolation match before Rousey tied it at 7-7.

"It looked like I would go ahead, 8-7, then I missed an easy shot," said Rousey, who used a long run to make it 8-8 before running out the last rack.

Friends told Rousey she looked cool and confident, but she felt anything but. Still, she managed to overcome her nerves to post the biggest victory of her career.

Rousey had fun phoning her parents, Kate and Larry. She joked to her mom that she hated pool and was going to quit before telling the truth.

"She screamed she was so happy," Rousey said. "Everyone was just happy because I had come close to beating her (10 times) before."

Rousey's boyfriend, Toronto-based pool player Jason Klatt, was thrilled as were her friends on the WPBA Tour, who saw Fisher's seven-year reign as the No. 1 player come to an end.

Fisher fell to No. 6 while England's Kelly Fisher climbed to No. 1 ahead of Northern Ireland's Karen Corr, China's Xiaoting Pan and South Ko-rea's Ga Young Kim.

"I kind of helped some other people out by moving them up in the rankings," said Rousey, who is ranked 25th after going 2-2 in the U.S. Open.

Rousey, who has been ranked as high as 15th, has gone 8-6 this season while earning $5,000. Her best finish was ninth. She has placed fifth several times in her career, one round from playing on ESPN.

"The goal is always to make it to TV and win a tournament," Rousey said. "It's something an American has not done in a very long time."

Rousey has beaten other stars during her career including No. 8 Gerda "G-Force" Hofstatter, No. 9 Vivian "The Texas Tornado" Villarreal, No. 10 Monica "The Assassin" Webb and No. 12 Jeanette "The Black Widow" Lee.

The 5-foot-1 Rousey, nicknamed the Heartbreaker, makes up for her lack of reach by shooting ambidextrously.

"If I didn't know how to do that, I'd be in a lot of trouble," she said. "I still have one of the strongest breaks."

Determination is another asset.

"I never give up on a match," Rousey said, "even if I'm losing by a lot."

The former No. 1 player in the world can attest to that.

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Sarah Rousey profile

Hometown: Bloomington

Age: 25

School: 2000 BHS grad

Sport: 9 ball billiards

World ranking: No. 25