 Liz Lovely |
Bankshot Billiards in Hilliard, Ohio played host to the Jacoby Cues Great Lakes Tour on February 17th & 18th for stop #6 of the 06-07 season. Twenty-eight players braved the winter weather to gather in competitive spirit for the WPBA Florida Classic Qualifier and $500.00-added event.
From the beginning, it looked it as though tour points leader and St Charles, MO native Julia Gabriel was on the way to her third win of the season as she rolled over her first four opponents. Those four victories took her to the winner's side final to face Bristol TN's Dawn Fox, who was on a roll of her own as she bested Shannon Crosthwaite 7-1, Nicole Palescuk 7-4, Liz Lovely 7-4, and Sunny Ulrich 7-2. In the winner's side finals, Fox would prevail over Gabriel by a score of 7-4 to secure her spot in the title match.
Meanwhile, on the one-loss side, the 15-year-old Liz Lovely, whom I have labeled “The tiny terror from Dayton,” was plucking off opponents. Mizz Liz was in gear and in luck; with great play and a couple close calls, she would post wins over WPBA touring pro Janet Atwell 7-4, Tina Hess 7-6, Irene Henry 7-3, Sunny Ulrich 7-6, and Julia Gabriel in the semi final 7-4, to earn the right to face Fox for all the marbles. The final match exemplified the cliché of “the cold seat,” as the already-rolling Lovely would cruise to 9-3 victory over Fox, who was unable to get it going against the fast-shooting teenager.
The tour staff would like to thank room owners Don and Sue Reed for providing such a fantastic venue for a tournament and doing a great job in promoting the sport. Bankshot has become one of the tour's long-running stops and we look forward to our return next season. As always many thanks to our sponsors Jacoby Custom Cues, Aramith Billiard Balls, Championship cloth, Cue Cube, Bebob Publishing, Nick Varner Cues, Tweeten Fibre Co., Midwest Amusement, and all our media sponsors Inside English, Pool & Billiard, Billiard Digest, Inside Pool, Professor Q Ball, Az Billiards
