It was more banquet than billiards. At an end-of season Bay Area Amateur Tour gathering on Saturday, December 10, which featured the banquet, a gift exchange, and prizes for the tour’s top 10 players, a round robin tournament with eight players was held. Won by Deanna Foster in a final battle against Kelly Cavanaugh, the tournament did not add ranking points toward the tour championship, which was won by Cavanaugh. In addition to the $75 second prize, Cavanaugh went home with a trophy as the tour champion, a $500 Tiger cue, and other cash and prizes.

The round robin 9-ball tournament drew only eight entrants, who were divided up into two groups – Foster, Mitchell, Terry Cockrell, and Tracey Mullen in one, and Cavanaugh, Tammy Gillis, Heather Pulford and Sabra MacArthur-Beahn in the other. Foster won all three of her matches to enter the finals. Each of the other members of the first group won a single match. Cavanaugh won all three of her matches among the second group, while MacArthur-Beahn won two of her matches to finish in third place, overall. Foster faced Cavanaugh in a final race-to-6 and defeated her 6-2 to take home the top tournament prize.

Cavanaugh finished the BAAT season as the tour’s champion, in spite of the fact that she failed to win any of the tour’s eight stops. Each of those eight stops, though, featured a different winner, which spread the ranking points out in a way that ultimately benefited Cavanaugh, who finished second once, third three times, and fourth twice. Second place in the rankings went to Chris Field, who also did not win any of the eight events, though she placed second twice, third once and fourth twice. 

MacArthur-Beahn, who finished third in the rankings, won the tour’s opening stop in January, placed second in September, and finished fourth in March.  Tour director Stephanie Mitchell, finishing fourth, won the tour stop in June and placed third twice (both participated in all eight of the tour’s stops). The other six winners (and their finishing rank) were Alice Parnell (8th), Leslee Davis-Blaikie (tie for 11th), Brenda Anderson (13th), Cassidy Mulligan (tie for 11th),  Jamie Toennies (6th), and Jessica Barnes (7th). 

According to MacArthur-Beahn, the 2012 BAAT Tour will commence in January and feature what she described as some ‘structural changes.’ The complete schedule for the 2012 tour is expected to be ready and posted here by Christmas.