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Kim Shaw wins 2001 Amateur Nationals.
61 brave, beautiful, proud girls gathered together in Athens, GA last weekend to participate in the yearly WPBA Amateur Nationals, in spite of the fears that many were feeling thanks to the tragedies of 2 weeks ago. There were a few last minute drop-outs, due to flight complications, but the 61 girls who did attend made it an event to remember. Sometimes, when tragedy strikes, people need to be with their friends, and there was lots of camaraderie and laughter and new friends to be made at Murphy’s Brass Rail in Athens, GA. First and foremost, there was Murphy himself, affectionately called ‘Pops” by everyone who knows and loves him. He is the proprietor of this wonderful establishment, and he did his very best to make each and every player feel at home. He opened the event with a lovely speech and a huge patriotically decorated cake to be shared by all. Next, there was Peg Ledman, the tournament coordinator and director for the event. She did a great job of keeping everything running smoothly. Finally, I know I speak for all the players when I give a big “thank you” to the entire staff of the Brass Rail. They were always quick to respond and very friendly, which makes spending 3 straight days in a pool room very enjoyable. In case there are some of you who aren’t familiar with the Amateur Nationals, let me give a brief background. This is an annual event which is open to any and all amateur female players. It is a double elimination event, with the winner and runner-up both taking home invitations (paid entries) to the WPBA Nationals, as well as prize monies. This is the premier event for amateur women, currently being the highest title an amateur player can win. Many winners of this event go on to have successful careers on the WPBA Classic Tour. Recent Amateur National champions/runners-up include Monica Webb (1998 winner) who is presently ranked #11 in the WPBA standings, as well as Line Kjoersvik (1998 RU), Melissa Little (1999 winner), and Romana Dokovic (1999 RU), all current WPBA Touring Professionals. This year, the field was particularly tough. There were players from all over the country, and a few of the attendees were even from other countries. The play started Friday morning at 11:00 am and the players were off and running. It would be impossible to give you a play by play of every match, so I will highlight some matches featuring some the girls who were speculated as “favorites” coming into the tourney.
Jeannie Seaver, a Florida player, won 2 matches on the winner’s side before losing to Penny Swann in the third round. She then started running through opponents on the loser’s side, and to some it looked like she might go all the way. Jeannie sent some great players home from the one-loss bracket. Among them: Kelly Willis, last year’s Amateur National champion; Ikumi Ushiroda, a terrific player from Japan; Melissa Herndon, the current California State Champion and 2-time Southern CA Regional Tour Champion; and the eventual 4th place finisher Melanie Koger, a Texas gal who recently made a big splash with her WPBA debut in the WPBA Fall Classic in Albuquerque. All in all, she won 6 rounds in the one-loss bracket before finally succumbing to Kim Shaw in the semi-finals. It was a tight match, with players switching racks for the first couple games. Tied at 3 games a piece, it looked like it was going to be one of those matches that went all the way, but Kim Shaw started playing a tight game with lots of safeties, and she went on to win the semi-final match 7-4, leaving Jeannie to take home a third place check for $900 and the respect of all the spectators in the room. Of course, this set up the final match…Kim Shaw was headed back to the finals and looking for a little revenge after her initial loss to Sarah Ellerby. Kim jumped out to early 4-0 lead, and to this spectator, it looked like she was a force to be reckoned with. As in her earlier matches, Kim’s safeties were right on target, and she was capitalizing on every opportunity that was given to her (or that she created for herself). During those first games, it seemed that Sarah was never going to get a chance at an open shot. But anyone who knows Sarah knows that she doesn’t give up easily. Sarah took 2 of the next four games, which left the score at 6-2 in Kim’s favor. And then Sarah showed everyone in that room why she had earned her spot in the finals. She won the next 3 games by turning the tables and playing terrific safeties back on Kim, creating opportunities for her to get open shots and run the tables out. With the score standing at 6-5 in Kim’s favor, everyone started thinking that this was going to end up a real shoot-out, possibly even one of those hill-hill matches that grind both players down until only one is left standing. But Kim Shaw had other plans. She quickly won the next three games, cutting Sarah’s comeback effort short, and earning herself the title of 2001 WPBA Amateur National Champion. Congratulations to both Kim and Sarah for an excellent tournament!! As for me, I could make all sorts of excuses as to why I didn’t win the tournament. I cut my foot at the airport so my right heel hurt all weekend, I got stung on the arm by a bee before my second round match, and I almost missed a match due to a misunderstanding of when my match time was….but here is the truth plain and simple. The two players I lost to, Melanie Koger and Jeannie Seaver, both played better than I did in those matches. It is that simple. And I congratulate them as well for their strong finishes in this extremely tough event. And once again, I would like to take a moment to salute each and every girl who played in the event. It took a lot of strength and courage to travel in the face of such devastation and to stand up and prove that it’s hard to keep a good girl down!!!!
Tournament Results
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