Bernie Store returned to the AWBT’s winners circle, with an undefeated run through a field of 28 players to capture the second stop of the season at Skip & Jan’s in Gilbert Arizona on April 30th – May 1st.
Store dominated day one of the event, with wins over Kim Kauffman, Amanda Pulley and Becky Onnembo. Store finished the day with 21 game wins and 7 game losses.
The one loss side saw a couple surprises as stop 1 winner Amanda Pulley, and Susan Williams both failed to make it to two day. Pulley dropped a left side match to Tami Hathcock, and Williams lost the last match of the night on Saturday to Leadrea Gaff.
Sunday play on the winner’s side saw Store defeat Cortez 7-3 and Miller send Geoghan to the one loss side 7-4. Store would then go on to defeat Miller in a hill-hill match for the hot-seat.
On the one loss side, Onnembo defeated Gaff and Jaye Succo eliminated Susan Mello. Both players coming over from the winner’s side then won matches, as Geoghan defeated Onnembo, and Cortez defeated Succo.
A 7-4 win by Cortez over Geoghan, kept Cortez’s tournament hopes alive, but Miller quickly snuffed those hopes out with a 7-2 win in the semi-finals.
Store jumped on Miller right out of the gate in the finals, and quickly held a 5-1 lead in the extended race to 9. Miller would fight back, but it was Store scoring a 9-5 win in the end.
Store’s win, combined with her runner up finish at stop 1, moves her to the top of the AWBT points list. Miller moves into second place on the list. With their first and second place finishes, Store and Miller also won invites to the North American Pool Tour’s 10-Ball Invitational in Herndon, Va this June.
Eleven players returned to Skip and Jan’s on Sunday to compete in the second chance tournament. That event saw Susan Williams go undefeated for first place, with Jessica Derezinski taking second.
Tour staff expressed their thanks to Natalie and her great staff at Skip and Jan’s for hosting their season opener. Thanks were also given to the “friends of the AWBT” who added $100 to the main event and $50 to the second chance tournament, as well as Las Gloria Grille for adding $100 to the main event.
The AWBT will be at Stingers on June 25th – 26th, for their next stop.
The Arizona Women’s Billiard Tour kicked off their 2014 season with a field of thirty one players at Skip & Jan’s in Tempe, Az. The tournament drew players from as far away as New Mexico, California and Nevada. In the end, it was the players from Nevada that dominated the weekend.
Saturday saw it’s fair share of upsets and marquee match ups. Susan Wilbur dropped back-to-back matches to Marcy Thomas and Cathy Kelley to finish in a surprising 25th place. Sara Miller and Amanda Pulley were also victims of first round losses and found themselves on the left side of the board much sooner than they had hoped. Miller would score four left side wins on Saturday, but Pulley would fall to Tina Feliciano and finish in a disappointing 17th place.
Sunday play brought back eight players to fight it out for the tournament win.
Winner’s side matches saw Las Vegas’ Rebecca Wagner score a 7-0 win over Becky Onnembo. In the other winners side match, Bernie Store defeated Vegas’ Tina Larson 7-2. The hot-seat match saw Wagner grind out a 7-3 win over Store.
The one loss side saw Sara Miller send Tracie Hamman back to Tucson with a 7-5 scoreline, and Stacy Allsup eliminate Susan Williams 7-5. Miller and Allsup would continue their winning ways and defeat Tina Larson and Becky Onnembo in the next round.
The final four players would feature two of Arizona’s best along with two of Nevada’s best. Bernie Store would soon become the final hope for Arizona, after Stacy Allsup’s 7-1 win over Sara Miller. Bernie would avenge that loss for Arizona though, with a 7-5 win over Allsup to earn a rematch with Wagner in the finals.
The extended final match saw Wagner come out of the gate strong and take a quick 3-0 lead. Store would stop the bleeding at 3-1, but Wagner continued to cruise and soon held a 7-1 lead. Store is not one to just give up though, and she fought back with three wins to get back within three games at 7-4, before Wagner won the final two games for the 9-4 win and first place.
The second chance tournament on Sunday saw Las Vegas’ Katy Moore complete the Vegas sweep with a win over Donna Taylor in the finals.
Main event winner Rebecca Wagner commented after the event, “Las Vegas came as a team and represented well. We had a blast. Our goal was to have lots of fun and for one of us to win. So, mission accomplished!”
AWBT Staff send their thanks to all of the ladies who travelled from out of town to make this a great event.
They also sent thanks to Natalie Poyner and the staff at Skip & Jan’s for hosting the event and adding $300 to the main event and $50 to the second chance tournament.
Thanks to Jose Gonzales of Las Glorias Grille for adding $100, and the friends of the AWBT for adding another $100.
Thanks for Kristie and Scott for running another great tournament.
