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Couvrette comes from the loss side, claims first regional tour title on the Garden State Pool Tour

Michel Couvrette and Robert Calton

As Yogi Berra was famous for saying about the game of baseball, a pool match “ain’t over ‘til it’s over” either. Just ask Michael Couvrette, who, this past weekend (April 2-3), not only had to win five on the loss side, but in a two-set final, was a single game away from defeat, twice; down by nine racks in a race to 10, with his opponent (Marc Lamberti) on the hill. He fought back to win them both, claiming his first recorded regional tour title and his first recorded cash payout since he was runner-up to Borana Andoni at a stop on the Mezz Pro Am Tour, eight years ago.

Overall, it was a strongly competitive weekend at the Garden State Pool Tour’s $450-added, B/C/D Class 9-ball event that drew 53 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ. One-third of the event’s 105 matches went double hill, three of them in a row recorded by Couvrette, on the loss side of the double elimination bracket.

Couvrette started out with three winners’ side victories over Tony Robles (not the pro) and Gary Barnish, both 7-4, and downed Paul Raval 7-2, before running into Joe Valania in a winners’ side quarterfinal. Knotted at 5 in that match, Valania chalked up three in a row to send Couvrette to the loss-side portion of his title-winning run. Valania moved on to face Robert Calton in a winners’ side semifinal, as Lamberti and Rich Cardillo squared off in the other one. 

Lamberti and Cardillo recorded one of the event’s 35 double hill matches, which eventually advanced Lamberti to the hot seat match. He was joined by Calton, who’d defeated Valania 7-4. Lamberti claimed the hot seat 8-4, blissfully unaware of the “victory from the jaws of defeat” battle he’d be fighting before the night was over.

On the loss side, Couvrette worked his way through two straight double hill matches against Nelson Tran and C.J. Chey, before drawing a rematch against Valania. Cardillo, in the meantime, in his first loss-side match, drew Jay Pass.

Pass downed Cardillo to advance to the quarterfinals, as Couvrette chalked up his third straight double hill win in a successful rematch against Valania to join him. Couvrette took down Pass 8-4 in those quarterfinals and then, eliminated Calton 7-5 in the semifinals.

At the start of the two-set finals, needing to win them both, Couvrette began with ‘five on the wire’ in a race to 10. Lamberti took Couvrette’s handicap advantage out of the equation when he jumped out in front 6-1. In the now-race-to-4, Lamberti won the next three to reach the hill. Couvrette went on his first serious run of the opening set, chalking up the next eight matches. With both of them on the hill, Lamberti opted out of playing safe to go for a risky combination that failed. Couvrette stepped to the table and completed the rack to force a second set. 

In the second set, Lamberti once again got out in front by eight racks and was on the hill, one game from claiming the title. Couvrette came back again, knotting things at 9-9 and finished with a flourish; breaking and running the final rack to claim the event title.

Tour representatives thanked room owners, Paul and Gary, and their Rockaway Billiards staff for hosting the tour. The next stop on the Garden City Tour, scheduled for Sunday, April 10, will be and A through D-class 9-ball event, hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.

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Kazakis Makes It Three In A Row At The Spot

Ruslan Chinakhov and Alex Kazakis (Photo courtesy of Erwin Dionisio)

Alex Kazakis made it “three in a row” with another undefeated run through the field at The Perfect Storm Open event at The Spot Billiards in Nanuet, NY on November 9th – 11th. 
 
After his undefeated run and victory over Tony Robles in the Grand Master’s division of the NYC 8-Ball Championship at Steinway Billiards on November 3rd – 4th, Kazakis then came from the one loss side to double dip James Aranas at the Sandcastle Billiards’ Player Relief Open 9-Ball event on November 8th. Kazakis kept up his winning ways over the weekend of November 9th – 11th with another undefeated run, this time in the Men’s Pro 10-Ball division at The Spot. 
 
Kazakis had wins over Ryan McCreesh, Mike Dechaine, RYan Lineham and then Ruslan Chinakhov for the hot-seat. On the one loss side, Chinakhov had a rematch with Casper Matikainen who had lost to Chinakhov in the first round. Chinakhov was successful again in the rematch, but still couldn’t get by Kazakis in the finals. 
 
The Men’s Pro event was only one of four events that took place at The Spot over the long weekend. A six player round robin Women’s Pro event saw Chezka Centeno come out on top of the field, with Kyoko Sone taking second. The Women’s Amateur division was won by Jia Li, who defeated Borana Andoni for the hot-seat and again in the finals. Finally, the Men’s Amateur division was won by Ryan Lineham, who defeated Mark Nanashee for the hot-seat and then Mhet Vergara in the finals. 
 
The Spot added $1000 to each Pro event and co-owner Lenore Donovan-Chen was appreciative of everyone for their help managing the different divisions and players on this weekend. She thanked event sponsors Pro Vapes Liquid and Clutch Shot Apparel, Upstate Al for streaming the event and Ariel Roy Francisco from Roy’s Basement for bringing his players out to support the event. 

Van Boening chalks up his 6th SBE 10-Ball title

Shane Van Boening

Appleton wins One-Pocket event, while veteran Loree Jon Hasson wins the Ladies 9-Ball Open

 

Last year, at Allen Hopkins' 24th Annual Super Billiards Expo, John Morra denied Shane Van Boening his sixth Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship title, defeating him 13-10 in the finals. At the time, Van Boening had won five of his seven attempts at the title, including three in a row between 2102-2014. On the weekend of March 30-April 2, at what was the 25th anniversary of the Super Billiards Expo, held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks, PA, Van Boening chalked up that sixth win (in eight attempts), downing Johann Chua from the Phillipines 13-10 in the finals. The 10-Ball Championships drew 64 entrants.

 
Over at the One Pocket tables that drew 32 entrants, Darren Appleton emerged as the winner, downing Derek Schwager in the finals. In the Diamond Women's Open 9-Ball Professional Players Championships that also drew 32, a familiar name, Loree Jon Hasson (formerly Loree Jon Jones), bested Jennifer Baretta in the finals to claim her first title. 
 
The total fields of the above three Pro events (128) were but a fraction of the nearly 2,000 entrants (1,856) in seven different tournaments, not including a couple of junior tournaments, held for the 17 & under and 12 & under crowd of relative newcomers to the sport. Making up just over 55% of the total number of competitors at this year's event was an Open Division Amateur event, which drew 1,024 entrants, broken up, initially, into 16 brackets of 64 entrants each (a tip of the hat to C.C. Strain for her tournament directing job of coordinating this massive tournament). Each original, double-elimination bracket yielded a single winner, who advanced to a single elimination field of 16. Christopher Byers won five matches to emerge from his individual bracket, and won four more in the single elimination phase of the tournament, including a 5-1, 4-5, 5-3 victory over Larry Kressel in the finals to win his first major Amateur title.
 
By the time the Open 10-Ball Championships (the fifth of 15 Mosconi Cup Qualification Events in 2017) had boiled down to its final 16 players and its single elimination phase, the field was like a 'dream team' for any promoter looking to draw spectator crowds to an event. Half of them were former members of either the European or USA Mosconi Cup teams, including two members of the 2016 USA Mosconi Cup team (Skyler Woodward and Van Boening), and three members of earlier Mosconi Cup teams (Dennis Hatch, Earl Strickland, and Oscar Dominguez). The 'Sweet 16' also featured two members of the 2016 European Mosconi Cup team (Darren Appleton and Jayson Shaw) and one member of an earlier European Mosconi Cup team; twice MVP Mika Immonen
 
Half of those eight were gone after the single elimination phase's opening round was over. The Iceman, Mika Immonen, had been defeated by eventual finalist Johann Chua in a double hill match, Hatch downed Strickland 13-7, Kevin Cheng defeated Sky Woodward 13-10, and Carlo Biado eliminated Appleton 13-6. Also advancing to the final eight were Van Boening (13-9 over Lee Van Corteza), Jayson Shaw (13-4 over Hunter Lombardo), Jeffrey DeLuna (13-10 over Dennis Orcullo), and Oscar Dominguez (13-4 over Sergio Rivas).
 
In the event quarterfinals, Johann Chua and Jayson Shaw locked up in a double hill match that eventually sent Shaw packing. Hatch downed DeLuna 13-8, Biado eliminated Kevin Cheng 13-10 and Van Boening kept on trucking, 13-5 over Oscar Dominguez. Fighting for an appearance in the finals, Chua bested Dennis Hatch 13-7, as Van Boening took care of Biado 13-8. Van Boening closed it out to claim his sixth SBE title with a 13-9 victory over Chua in the finals.
 
Hasson returns to the playing field to claim Women's Open 9-Ball title
 
The 32-entrant Women's Open 9-Ball event was not without its marquee names. Karen Corr was the most prominent among them, but the field also included The Texas Tornado, Vivian Villareal, and Jennifer Baretta, who advanced to the finals. There was also a contingent of outstanding (and long-standing) regional tour competitors, like Linda Shea, Kia Sibury, Emily Duddy, Borana Andoni, Caroline Pao, and Rhio Anne Flores (to name just a few). The field also featured former junior champions, Brittany Bryant and the teenager, April Larson. It also contained a name that people hadn't heard in a while; 8X BCA Champion and Hall of Fame inductee, Loree Jon Hasson, who would emerge from the loss side, and eventually claim the title.
 
The double elimination phase of the event advanced until there were four left on the winners' side (Corr, Bryant, Duddy, and Heather Cortez) and four on the loss side (Hasson, Baretta, Villareal, and Flores). Hasson, who'd lost in the event's opening round to Villareal 9-2, worked her way through four loss-side opponents, eventually defeating Erin McManus to earn her right in to the Final Eight. Baretta, who'd been defeated by Corr in a winners' side final eight battle, played only one loss-side match, ending a four-match, loss-side run by April Larson. Villareal, who'd also been downed by Corr in a winners' side final 16 matchup, got through three loss-side opponents (Andoni, Shea and in the final loss-side win, Sidbury). In her only loss-side match, Annie Flores, who'd been defeated by Duddy in a winners' side final eight match, defeated her only loss-side opponent, Dawn Fox, to join the event's final eight competitors.
 
Loree Jon Hasson's credentials as a champion showed up in her first two, single elimination matches, in which she defeated, first, Karen Corr, and then, in a re-match, Vivian Villareal. Both matches went double hill to put Hasson into the finals. As Hasson was busy with Corr, Villareal was eliminating Brittany Bryant 11-6, Annie Flores was downing Emily Duddy 11-9 and Jennifer Baretta was ending Heather Cortez' weekend 11-4.
 
Hasson advanced to the finals with the aforementioned double hill defeat over Villareal, while Baretta ended what was a remarkable overall performance by Rhio Anne Flores 11-9. After two double hill matches against the best in the business, Hasson got out in front of Baretta in the finals and stayed there, winning the Women's Open 9-Ball title 11-5.
 
Appleton claims SBE One Pocket title
 
The 32-entrant Diamond Open One-Pocket Professional Players Championship advanced through initial double elimination brackets to produce eight, single elimination opponents, who were three matches away from the title. In the opening round of this final phase (best of three matches, with ties after two, decided by a single, sudden death game), Adam Kielar defeated Phillip Wines 2-3, 3-0, and 1-0 (sudden death), Appleton shut Corey Eulas out twice, Derek Schwager eliminated Eddie Crespo 3-1, 3-1, and Vincent Cimarelli downed Jonathan Ailstock 3-0, 3-1.
 
Appleton and Schwager advanced to the finals with identical 3-1, 3-1 victories over Kielar and Cimarelli, respectively. Appleton completed his title run with a 3-1, 3-0 victory over Schwager in the finals.
 
While the winners of the varied events of this 25th Annual Super Billiards Expo, held under the auspices of Allen Hopkins productions, got to bring home both cash and bragging rights, the unsung heroes of the event were Doug Ennis (assisted by Frank Del Pizzo), who coordinated the Pro events, and C.C. Strain, who kept the Amateur events, including the massive, 1,024-entrant  Amateur Open running. They did it all in four days, thanks in no small measure to the facility that hosted the event – The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks. Also on hand to keep those who couldn't attend in person entertained were Upstate Al (and a variety of guest commentators) and the production crew of AZBTv.

Lang goes undefeated to join growing ranks of female winners on the Tri-State Tour

Rachel Lang

Given the number of years that the Tri-State Tour has existed, the number of female competitors to have won a stop on the tour is relatively small, and includes the names of Kim Meyer-Gabia, Rhio Anne Flores, Yomaylin Feliz, Borana Andoni, and Sandie Paterino (to name just a few). Rachel Lang joined their ranks on Saturday, March 4, with an undefeated run through a field of 20 entrants, on-hand for a $1,000-added event, hosted by Shooter's Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ. 
 
Lang was one of two females among the event's final 12 competitors (Allison LaFleur was the other). Lang squared off against Mike Strassberg in one winners' side semifinal, as Brian Jeziorski met up with Brian Cap in the other. Lang got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 win over Strassberg. Jeziorski joined her for the first of two, following his 7-5 win over Cap. Lang claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Jeziorski and waited on his return.
 
On the loss side, Strassberg picked up Erick Carrasco, who'd defeated LaFleur 7-6, and Frank Sieczka 6-4 to reach him. Cap drew "The Warrior" (Carl Yusuf Khan), who'd gotten by Jan Mierzwa and Kevin Scalzitti, both double hill. It was Khan and Carrasco who advanced to the quarterfinals; Khan 7-5 over Cap, and Carrasco 7-6 over Strassberg.
 
Khan chalked up his third double hill win over his last four matches with a win over Carrasco in those quarterfinals. He then had his loss-side run ended by Jeziorski 7-4 in the semifinals. Lang completed her undefeated run with an 8-6 second victory over Jeziorski in the finals to claim the event title.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter's Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, March 12, will be a $1,000-added, 'double points' event, hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ. 
 

Albergaria comes from the loss side to chalk up her second 2016 win on the JPNEWT

Nicole Albergaria has won both stops on the 2016 J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour (JPNEWT) in which she has appeared. She went undefeated to win the tour's sixth stop back in July at Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY and on the weekend of October 22-23, she won five on the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant Emily Duddy in the finals of the tour's most recent stop. The $1,100-added event (which included a donation by Billy Bunn, made in memory of Florence Fuller), drew 20 entrants to a new venue for the JPNEWT – Eagle Billiards in Dickson City, PA.
 
 
The recipient of an opening round bye, Albergaria advanced to a double hill struggle she eventually won against Jenn Keeney, and then fell 7-4 to tour director, Linda Shea, who entered and finished the tournament as the tour's top-ranked competitor. Duddy, in the meantime, appearing in her first stop on the 2016 tour, got by some heavy hitters, like Kia Sidbury (#3 on the tour) and Borana Andoni, who, though making her first appearance on the 2016 JPNEWT,  stepped to the table with an established reputation (10th on the tour in 2015, which included a victory in the season finale last year). Duddy downed them both and her 7-5 win over Andoni put her into the hot seat match against Dawn Fox (winner of the last JPNEWT stop), who'd sent Shea to the loss side 7-5 in the other winners' side semifinal. Duddy claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Fox and waited on Albergaria's return.
 
 
Albergaria started her loss-side campaign with a bang, shutting out Suzanne Sellet. She then downed Kathleen Lawless 7-3 to draw Andoni. Shea picked up Kidbury, who, following her defeat at the hands of Duddy, got by Melissa Jenkins 7-3 and Jenn Keeney 7-1.
 
 
Albergaria defeated Andoni 7-5, and was joined in the quarterfinal match by Shea, who'd eliminated Sidbury 7-1. The rematch went Albergaria's way 7-3, and by the same score, she eliminated Fox in the semifinals.
 
 
The modified race-to-9 format of the finals required Albergaria to reach seven games ahead of Duddy in the hot seat to extend the match to nine games. Early on, it didn't look as though that was going to happen, as Duddy took a moderately significant 4-0 lead right out of the gate. Albergaria, though, responded by first, making a very good bank shot on the 9-ball to win game five, and then winning six more to reach her 'seven' goal and the hill. 
 
 
But it wasn't over yet. Duddy rallied to pull within one at 8-7. In rack #16, Duddy was at the table, shooting at the 6-ball; looking down table at it, where it rested closer to the lower right corner than it was to the lower left. Intervening balls, however, precluded a shot into the lower right corner, and she opted for the deep, right-side cut to put it in the lower left. The 6-ball dropped quickly, but the cue ball, moving to the lower right corner, did a double hit off two rails, angled up to the long rail, then bounced off the short rail and with speed to spare, dropped into the side pocket. Albergaria picked up the cue ball, connected the dots, and sunk the remaining three balls to claim the event title.
 
 
Regardless of the outcome of the tour's season finale, scheduled for November 12-13 at Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD, the 2016 top competitor award will go to tour director Linda Shea, who has appeared in all 12 stops on the tour, to date. She won the season opener, back in March and has won 70% of her matches, finishing, on average, in fourth place.
 
 
Tour representatives had high praise for the tour's new venue, Eagle Billiards. Newly renovated, it features 10 Brunswick, two bar box and three Diamond tables. Tour director Linda Shea thanked owner Chris Wilson for his hospitality, while players articulated their anticipation of a return to the venue in the season to come.

Andoni comes back from semifinals to defeat Sidbury in JPNEWT season finale

Borana Andoni (Photo courtesy of Johnny Sturgis)

Six years ago, Borana Andoni became the first female to record a victory on the 2008/2009 Tri-State Tour. Two months later, she became the first female to record a victory on the 2009/2010 Tri-State tour. In 2013, her best recorded earnings year to date, though she failed to chalk up an event victory, she cashed in nine events, including stops on the Planet Pool, Predator, Tri-State, and JPNEWT tours, as well as the WPBA Masters and the Women's Division of the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in Tunica, MS. Producers of the recent TRUtv series, The Hustlers, failed to take any of this into account, when throughout the 10 episodes of the series, she was referred to only as the girlfriend of Scott Simonetti.
 
On the weekend of November 7-8, in the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour's season finale, Andoni once again proved that she has independent pool credibility by taking the $1,000-added ($500 from Coins of the Realm) event that drew 28 entrants to Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD. She worked her way through a field intent on maintaining their position within the tour's rankings for a chance to compete in the WPBA's Regional Tour Championships in January. Andoni entered the event at #19, and before it was over, she'd defeated numbers 1 (Karen Corr), 2 (Linda Shea), and 3 (Nicole Monaco).
 
Andoni opened her winning campaign with double hill wins over #11, Dawn Fox, and #2, Shea. She then sent Corr to the loss side 7-2, from whence she would not return, making it the first 2015 JPNEWT event in which Corr competed that she failed to win. The win over Corr set Andoni up in a winners' side semifinal versus #14, Meredith Lynch. In the meantime, Kia Sidbury (#6) squared off against Lai Li. Andoni advanced to the hot seat match 7-3 over Lynch, and faced Sidbury, who'd sent Lai Li west 7-4. Just being in the hot seat match guaranteed Andoni her best finish, of six attempts, on the 2015 JPNEWT tour. Sidbury took the hot seat match 7-5 and waited on Andoni's return.
 
On the loss side, Lynch drew Kim Whitman, who'd defeated Kathy Friend 7-4 and Nicole Fleming 7-3 to reach her. Li picked up Monaco, who'd survived a double hill battle against Amanda Soucy and defeated Sharon O'Hanlon 7-2. Whitman and Monaco advanced to the quarterfinals; both 7-4, over Lynch and Li.
 
Monaco took the quarterfinal match over Whitman 7-2, before having her four-match, loss-side streak ended by Andoni 7-5 in the semifinals. Andoni took the extended race-to-9 finals over Sidbury 9-4 to claim the title. The victory moved Andoni to among the 2015 tour's top 10 players; from #19 to #9.

Friend goes undefeated to take Stop 10 on the JPNEWT

Over the last few months, as the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour has been closing in on its final 2015 event (Stop # 11; November 7-8 at Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD), the battle for any individual event title has almost been less significant than the jockeying for position on the tour rankings.  These standings are important because of their significance in determining who, from the tour, will be selected to compete in the WPBA Regional Tour Championship in January. Though the number of women to be selected for that RTC has yet to be determined, the women of the JPNEWT know, as the season draws to a close, that the closer they are to the top, the better their chances. 
 
Following tour stop # 10, held on the weekend of October 17-18, all ten of the tour's Top 10 players remained in the Top 10, although some of them were in different positions than they'd occupied prior to the event. Kathy Friend, for example, who won the $1,000-added event that drew 19 entrants to Pro Shot Billiards in Dickson City, PA, moved from her #7 slot to #5.
 
The runner-up, tour director Linda Shea, remained in the #2 spot, as did Karen Corr in the #1 spot, even though she didn't compete in this event (her eight straight wins through September made her #1 tour ranking unapproachable). Nicole Monaco, who finished in the tie for 9th place at this most recent event, maintained her position at #3, although she was joined (tied) by Jia Li, who came in at #4, and finished in the tie for 5th place. Kia Sidbury stayed put in the #6 ranking slot, while Briana Miller, who didn't compete, dropped from #5 to Friend's previous spot at #7. Tina Scott stayed where she was at #9. Kim Whitman, who didn't compete, and Nicole Fleming, who did, switched positions; Whitman dropped from # 8 to #10, while Fleming moved up from #10 to #8.
 
In addition to its significance in the overall tour rankings, this most recent event was a qualifier for the WPBA Masters Tournament, set for February 3-7 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, MI. It was a good time for Friend to return to the JPNEWT winners' circle, where she hasn't been in nine years. The last time she took a JPNEWT title, at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, on June 25, 2006, was also the first time she took a JPNEWT title.  In that earlier event, she lost her first match and won six on the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Barbara Stock.
 
At this most recent event, Friend opted out of the loss-side run, in favor of the undefeated route, which, after an opening round bye, took her through victories over Tina Scott, Sharon O'Hanlon, and Boye Lu, before meeting up with Linda Shea in a winners' side semifinal. Kia Sidbury, in the meantime, had gotten by Meredith Lynch and Judie Wilson, to pick up Dawn Fox in the other winners' side semifinal. Friend and Shea locked up in a double hill fight, their first of two, before Friend advanced to the hot seat match. She was joined by Sidbury, who sent Fox west 7-1. Friend claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Sidbury and waited in the hot seat for what turned out to be Shea's return.
 
On the loss side, Shea picked up Jia Li, who'd been defeated by Dawn Fox in the opening round, and embarked on a four-match, loss-side streak that included victories over Judie Wilson 7-5 and Borana Andoni 7-1. Fox drew Nicole Fleming, who'd gotten by Lynch 7-3 and Boye Lu 7-4 to reach her.
 
Shea eliminated Li 7-3 and in the quarterfinals, met up with Fox, who'd ousted Fleming 7-2. Shea took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Fox, and then downed Sidbury 7-5, for a second shot at Friend. 
 
Technically, their second meeting, in the finals, was not a double hill match. Friend took rack #13 to finish ahead of Shea at 7-6, but had Shea, coming from the loss side, won that rack, the match would have been extended to nine games. Friend chalked up the win to claim the title, win $600 and qualify for the WPBA Masters tournament in February. 

Corr elevates her game another step on the JPNEWT

Karen Corr

Reporting that Karen Corr has won a stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour is getting to be a little like informing people that the sun came up. On the weekend of September 19-20,  Corr not only won her eighth straight stop on the tour, she did so by giving up only two racks in 44 games. She shut out four of her opponents, one of whom, runner-up Nicole Monaco, was also one of the two players who chalked up a single rack against her (Carol Clark, second round, was the other).  The $1,000-added ($500-added by Coins of the Realm) event drew 27 entrants to the Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, MD.
 
 Two shutouts and the middle 7-1 win over Clark put Corr in a winners' side semifinal against Kia Sidbury. Monaco and Meredith Lynch squared off in the other one. Corr chalked up her third shutout, versus Sidbury, and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Monaco, who'd sent Lynch to the loss side 7-4. Corr gave up her second and last rack of the tournament defeating Monaco to claim the hot seat. 
 
Over on the loss side, where a total of 24 matches were played, only two of those resulted in either a shutout or 7-1 score. Sidbury came over and met up with Borana Andoni, who'd chalked up the loss side's only 7-1 victory, over Eugenia Gyftopoulos, and defeated Judie Wilson and Nicole King, both 7-2. Lynch drew Kim Whitman, recent winner over Jacki Duggan and Dawn Fox, both 7-4. 
 
Lynch and Andoni advanced to the quarterfinals; Lynch 7-3 over Whitman, and Andoni 7-2 over Sidbury. Lynch downed Andoni 7-4 in the quarterfinals, providing her the opportunity to meet the opponent who'd sent her to the loss side, Monaco, in the semifinals. Monaco defeated her a second time 7-4 and got a second shot at Corr. Corr shut her out to claim her eighth straight JPNEWT title.
 

Corr chalks up another one on the JPNEWT

Karen Corr

They've come at her from every angle; the hot seat/final route, where Karen Corr gets challenged twice by the same player; the three-match, loss-side route, in which a player loses a winners' side semifinal and wins three on the loss side to get a second chance at her, and most recently, the deep-from-the-loss-side route, in which a player comes from deep on the loss side (say, five matches or more) to challenge her in the finals.  
 
The occasion this time around, on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, was the Q Masters Mid-Atlantic Women's 9-Ball Open, held on the weekend of August 15-16, offering a $6,000 prize fund, and hosted by the US Open's Barry Behrman at his Q Master Billiards facility in Virginia Beach, VA. Pretty much everyone on the 47-entrant roster was looking to deny Karen Corr her seventh straight win on the JPNEWT. Corr responded with a six-match, 35-8 performance that secured that seventh straight win, and for the third time this year, Briana Miller challenged her in the finals, choosing the only method of the three noted above that she hadn’t tried yet; the ‘deep from the loss side’ (seven wins) route.
 
Four matches in, with victories over Connie Eddins, Barb Yeager, Nicole Monaco, and Shanna Lewis, Corr had given up only three racks; one each to Eddins, Yeager and Lewis. At this point, in a winners’ side semifinal, she ran into a familiar nemesis, who’d challenged her three times in the finals this year – Tour director Linda Shea. In the meantime, Jia Li, who’d been runner-up to Corr earlier in the month, faced Kim Whitman, who would finish third for the third time this year.
 
Shea became the first player to chalk up more than a single rack against Corr, but moved to the loss side 7-2. Whitman, in the meantime, sent Li packing 7-4. Corr, apparently not happy with Shea’s second rack against her, gave up only one to Whitman, and sat in the hot seat waiting for Miller to complete her seven-match, loss-side run.
 
Following victories over Nicole Fleming and Borana Andoni, Miller had been sent to the loss side, by TruTV Hustler, Emily Duddy 7-4. She began her loss-side run with 7-4 victories over Kassandra Bein and Belinda Calhoun, and followed them with a 7-1 win over Iris Cabatit, and a 7-4 victory over Nicole Monaco. This set her up against Shea. Li, in the meantime, picked up Duddy, who’d survived a double hill match against Jacki Duggan and defeated Colleen Shoop 7-2. 
 
Miller downed Shea 7-2 and was denied a rematch against Duddy, when Li defeated her 7-4. Miller took the quarterfinal match against Li 7-4, and gave up only a single rack to Whitman in the semifinals. Corr completed her (yet again) undefeated run with a 7-2 win in the finals.
 

Corr wins sixth straight on the JPNEWT

Karen Corr

Since March, Karen Corr has allowed opponents on the J. Pechauer Northeast 9-Ball an (unscientific) average of between two and three racks in match races to seven. Until two weeks ago, and on the weekend of August 1-2, only one opponent had chalked up more than four against her. China's Jia Li, the two-year reigning champion of the WPBA's Regional Tour Championships,  pushed Corr to the double hill limit in the second round of the tour's fifth stop (July 18-19). Though she would go on to win six on the loss side, Li was defeated by tour director Linda Shea and denied a second shot at Corr. 
 
On the weekend of August 1-2, in a $2,000-added event, hosted by Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY (24 entrants), Li fought back through five matches on the loss side to face Corr in the finals. Corr won it to chalk up her sixth straight on the tour, but not before Li had brought her to the brink in their race to nine.
 
Corr gave up only seven racks over four games to get into the hot seat; starting with Borana Andoni (2), Fran Crimi (1), and, in a winners' side semifinal, Kia Sidbury (3). Briana Miller, in the meantime, having sent Jia Li to the loss side, double hill, in the third round, was giving up an average of three racks per game, and gave up just that many to Morgan Steinman in the other winners' side semifinal. Corr then sent Miller packing 7-1 and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Jia Li.
 
Li, in the meantime, started out in cruise control on the loss side, defeating Borana Andoni and Linda Shea by an aggregate score of 14-3 (all three to Andoni). She drew Sidbury, while Steinman drew Fran Crimi, who was coming off her own loss-side, cruise control performance 14-2 against Tina Scott and Nancy Kim (with the two).
 
Li's cruise control continued with a 7-1 victory over Sidbury. Crimi's came to a stop with a shutout by Steinman. Li's final two loss-side opponents tightened the screws a little bit. She gave up five racks to Steinman in the quarterfinals that followed,  and then, Miller, for the second time this season, challenged her in the semifinals. Back in June, Miller had defeated Li 7-5 in the semifinals. This time, they hit double hill before Li prevailed for a shot at Corr.
 
It was the closest anybody had come to dethroning the undisputed 'queen' of the JPNEWT. But Corr held off a double hill challenge by Li to lock up her 6th win on the tour, her 11th, overall in two years.