Jacqui Schroeder
On April 9, The Ball Room in Portage, Wisconsin, hosted the second stop for the North Central Pool Tour (NCPT) (Facebook.com/northcentralpooltour).
In a small but tough field of 12 women, Jacqui Schroeder claimed the very close win over Katrina Lyman in a double hill-hill finals match. Schroeder sported a black hoody with the the words “Today will be great”–and great it was! Not only did she win the event, but she also secured a paid qualifier spot in the North American Pool Tour’s upcoming Division I pro tournament in Herndon, Virginia, on June 3-5. The qualifier spot was graciously co-sponsored by Tom Lubus of Tom’s Foolery, West Allis, Wisconsin and the NCPT.
Schroeder cruised to the finals with wins over April Larson (6-3), Taylor Hansen (6-4), and Laura Semko (6-2). From there, she waited as the rest of the field fought to meet her in the finals. Katrina Lyman lost early to Semko (6-4). But clawed her way back through the B side. She played a grueling hill-hill match against Kelly Nickl (6-5), who posted a strong fourth-place finish. To reach the finals, Lyman had to face Semko again. This time she finished the deal 6-3.
Lyman needed to beat Schroeder twice to claim the cash and qualifier spot. The first set went her way. But it wasn’t easy. In the hill-hill game, Schroeder made an uncharacteristic cue ball foul, giving Lyman the win 6-5. The second set proved to be just as arduous for both players. But in the end, Schroeder prevailed with her own hill-hill win of 6-5 over Lyman.
The overall tournament results were:
1st $270 Jacqui Schroeder (IL)
2nd $145 Katrina Lyman (WI)
3rd $80 Laura Semko (IL)
4th $45 Kelly Nickl (WI)
A special thank-you to Tom Lubus of Tom’s Foolery, West Allis, Wisconsin for co-sponsoring the paid qualifier spot and to Mike Ganz of The Ball Room, Portage, Wisconsin, for adding $120 to the final prize purse.
The NCPT is a regional women’s 9-ball tour sanctioned through the North American Pool Tour (www.playnapt.com), with stops scheduled throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northern Illinois. Players earn points at every stop toward invites to NAPT Division I pro tournaments and the Division II regional tour championships.
Upcoming NCPT stops:
April 16, 2016 – NAPT DIVISION I PRO TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER EVENT, Shooters, Grayslake, IL
July 9, 2016 – UP TO $2,000 ADDED!, Big Dog Billiards, Des Moines, IA
September 17, 2016 – The Rock Sports Bar & Grill, Sun Prairie, WI
For more information about the NCPT, visit Facebook.com/northcentralpooltour, email northcentralpooltour@gmail.com, or call Kelly Nickl at 715-451-8901.
