Zinnie Panju went undefeated to win JPNEWT's opener at Comet Billiards on February 18th. This was Zinnie's first WPBA Qualifier and event win. Zinnie posted wins over Carol Clark 7-4, Cyndi Haefner 7-2, and Annette Carroll 7-6. Zinnie then matched up with Gina Lipsky for the hot seat.
The match for the hot seat was a see-saw battle with Gina reaching the hill first. But a position error left Gina hooked behind the 9-ball for the 7 and Zinnie pulled out the game. Gina posted wins over Irene Liao 7-3, Kathy Friend, and Ellen Yu 7-5, before meeting up with NEWC Tour Champion Morgan Steinman for 3rd place.
Morgan went up 4-2 on Gina, but Gina came back with 3 unanswered games to make it 5-4. Morgan then tied it up at 5-5, and then Gina reached the hill first. Morgan took the next game and Gina would have another hill-hill match on her hands. This time though, Gina successfully ran out the game to rematch with Zinnie in the finals and go for her third event in a row.
The finals were a "modified" race to 9. If Zinnie reached 7 games before Gina did, the match would be over. If Gina reached 7 games first, they had to play it out to 9. Zinnie took control and surged ahead to a 6-1 lead and it looked like it would be over soon. But Gina found another gear and came back with 5 unanswered games. In the 12th rack Gina unfortunately hung up the 9-ball giving Zinnie her first win at 7-5.
JPNEWT thanks Pechauer Cues for their continued support and Bill and Marcia Haley of Comet Billiards for hosting the Tour. JPNEWT's next event will be a $1000-added, BCA Qualifying event at Prime Time Billiards on April 8th and 9th. Go to www.newt9ball.com for more event information.
Final Results:
1st - $400 + Qualifier - Zinnie Panju
2nd - $275 - Gina Lipsky
3rd - $200 - Morgan Steinman
4th - $125 - Ellen Yu
5/6th - $70 - Annette Carroll
Carol Clark
