Allison Fisher has begun the WPBA season with a win for the third consecutive year. By claiming the Mueller Recreation Products Carolina Classic, Ms. Fisher has strengthened her position as the world's number one player and sent the message to all that she is serious in her pursuit of her 9th player of the year award.
After a lengthy absence from North Carolina, the WPBA Classic Tour returned with the help and promotion of Prime Quest, Inc. and staged one of the most successful tour events in history. Significant participation from many Rocky Mount, NC businesses and business leaders and a large contingent of volunteers added to the huge success and resulted in great crowds and a sold out Sunday with almost 1000 in attendance.
As Saturday's matches ended, Monica Webb, Karen Corr, Helena Thornfeldt, Allison Fisher remained from the original field of 64, with Fisher waiting in the hot seat, undefeated. The Sunday matches began with Webb vs. Corr, and resulted in a 7-4 win for Ms. Corr. Although the play was not as good as we are accustomed to seeing, the match was tied at 3-3 before Corr pulled away to claim the win and a match with Ms. Thornfeldt. Match #2 was much of the same, with a different outcome. The players stayed even through the early games, and Thornfeldt took charge to post a 7-4 win.
Before the final, a unique promotion set the tone for the exciting evening to come. A drawing was held to allow one fan to come forward and select a WPBA player to break a rack of nine-ball, and if the nine pockets the fan would receive $100,000. Tiffany Nelson was the chosen player and to provided a heart stopping moment when her break sent the 9-ball screaming toward the side pocket, only to miss by the narrowest of margins. The tension and excitement in the air was enormous and the stage was set for a great final.
The final was a rematch of the winner's bracket final, which had been won by Ms. Fisher 9-7, and would eventually end with the same match score as matches 1 & 2. Fisher came out strong and took a 2-0 lead and held the lead throughout to post the win. Ms. Fisher won $10,000 for her victory, and added to her record setting lifetime earnings lead.
Once again, congratulations to Tony Davis from Prime Quest and his entire staff for a tremendous effort and success. It seems the WPBA Classic Tour has found a home in Rocky Mount, NC. To all our new friends; THANKS FROM ALL THE PLAYERS AND STAFF.
Tournament Results:
1st Allison Fisher $10,000
2nd Helena Thornfeldt $7,000
3rd Karen Corr $5,500
4th Monica Webb $4,500
5th/6th Tiffany Nelson, Kelly Fisher $3,000
7th/8th Jeanette Lee, Ga-young Kim $2,400
9th/12th Julie Kelly, Gerda Hofstatter, Melissa Herndon, Sarah Ellerby $2,000
13th/16th Ramona Biddle, Angel Paglia, Jennifer Chen, Kim Shaw $1,700
17th/24th Jeannie Seaver, Gail Grecar, Romana Dokovic, Jennifer Barretta, Rachael Abbink, Laura Smith, Darlene Stinson, Ikumi Ushiroda $1,400
25/32nd Candi Rego, Hsin Huang, Tracie Hines, Ewa Laurance, Tara McCracken, Vivian Villarreal, Christy Norris, Dawn Hopkins $1,000
33rd/48th Janet Atwell, Ellen Van Buren, Kim White, Alice Rim, Jennifer Page, Vicki Paski, Cathy Metzinger, Belinda Calhoun, Melissa Little, Debbie Schjodt, Melissa Morris, Sarah Rousey, Susan Mello, Miyuki Sakai, Lisa Brannen, Stacey Lantz $550
