The last time Liz Lovely and Nicole Keeney squared off in a final match, during the third stop on the Midwest Ladies Regional Tour (MLRT) in April, Keeney came out on top, defeating Lovely twice to claim the title. On Saturday, June 18, they met again, only this time, it was Lovely who came out on top, stopping a loss-side bid by Keeney in their only meeting, in the finals. The $500-added event drew 13 entrants to Miss Cue North in Toledo, OH.
With Keeney already at work on the loss side, thanks to a double hill defeat at the hands of Charlotte Ashley, Liz Lovely advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Cathy McDaniel. Adina Pelletier, in the meantime, faced Toni Tucker. Lovely moved into the hot seat match 7-3 over McDaniel, and was joined by Pelletier, who'd sent Tucker to the loss side 7-5. Lovely shut Pelletier out and sat in the hot seat, waiting on Keeney.
Keeney opened her loss-side run against Carla Herevia. A 6-1 victory over Herevia was followed by a double hill win over Angela Mears, which set Keeney up to face McDaniel. Tucker picked up Stephanie Goens, who'd completed two straight double hill wins over Charlotte Ashley and Lupe Harpster.
Keeney eliminated McDaniel 6-2, and in the quarterfinals, met with Tucker, who'd defeated Goens 6-3. Keeney took the quarterfinal match over Tucker 6-4, and, as Lovely had done in the hot seat match, shut Pelletier out in the semifinals.
Lovely ended Keeney's run in the finals, but not without a double hill fight. As winner, Lovely qualified for the North American Pool Tour's next stop in August. A scheduling conflict led Lovely to pass the qualification prize on to Keeney.
The next stop on the MLRT, scheduled for August 13, will be hosted by 8-Ball Sports Bar in Columbus, OH.
In a field considerably diminished by snow and ice, still dogging quite a few Northern regions of the country, Nicole Keeney and Liz Lovely showed up to play at the third stop on the Midwest Ladies Regional Tour on Saturday, April 9. They played twice, in the hot seat and finals, with Keeney winning them both to complete an undefeated, short run at the $250-added event that drew 12 entrants to Snookers, in Livonia, MI.
Keeney faced Carla Herevia in one winners' side semifinal, as Lovely (for unspecified reasons, playing with a house cue throughout the tournament), squared off against Charlotte Ashley. Keeney gave up only one rack to Herevia. Lovely gave up three to Ashley. In the hot seat match that followed, Lovely chalked up four against Keeney and moved to the semifinals.
Herevia picked up Ali Seatle on the loss side, who'd gotten by Cathy McDaniel 6-4 and Jaki Lovrince 6-3. Ashley ran into Joset Seltz, who'd defeated Michelle Barth, double hill, and tour director Angela Williams 6-4. Angela Mears, who'd lost to Williams, and Lupe Harpster, who'd lost to Lovrince rounded out the field of 12.
Ashley eliminated Seltz 6-2, while Herevia ended Seatle's bid 6-4. Ashley defeated Herevia 6-3 in the quarterfinal match that followed, and had her own bid ended by Lovely 6-1 in the semifinals. As one might have expected from the finals combination of Keeney and Lovely, the match went double hill, before Keeney finished it at 7-6 to claim the event title.
Cathy McDaniel sat in the hot seat during Stop #2 on the Midwest Ladies Regional Tour, held on the weekend of March 19-20, as Julie Cooper worked her way through the loss side for an eventual matchup in the finals. McDaniel prevailed in that final match to complete an undefeated run through a field of 16 that had gathered for the $500-added event, hosted by Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH.
McDaniel got into the hot seat match with a 7-5 victory over Amee Schmidt in a winners’ side semifinal, as Charlotte Ashley was defeating Erin Glenn 7-3 to join her. McDaniel claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Ashley and waited on Cooper.
It was Glenn who drew Cooper on the loss side; Cooper, having eliminated Christy Dickerson 6-1 and Connie O’Heron 6-4 to reach her. Schmidt picked up Deborah Cervantes, who’d defeated Kathy Quass 6-1 and Angela Mears, double hill.
Cooper’s loss-side run continued with a 6-2 victory over Glenn. Schmidt downed Cervantes 6-4 to join Cooper in the quarterfinals. Cooper then eliminated Schmidt 6-4, and earned her spot in the finals with a 6-2 victory over Ashley in the semifinals.
Cooper’s run ended in those finals. McDaniel completed her undefeated run with a 7-4 finals victory to claim the title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Michael’s Billiards, as well as sponsors McDermott Cues, Poison by Predator, Simonis Cloth, Ozone Billiards and Inside English. The next stop on the Midwest Ladies Regional Tour, scheduled for April 9-10, will be hosted by Snookers’ Pool & Pub in Livonia, MI.
The numbers may have been few, but they came from far and wide to compete in the second stop on the North Star Ladies Pool Tour (NSLPT), a $130-added event, hosted by CR's Sports Bar in Coon Rapids, MN on Saturday, May 2. Drawing 13 competitors from Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, this second stop on the tour was won for the second straight time by 16-year-old Taylor Hansen, who, along with 15-year-old, fourth place finisher April Larson have recently been announced as members of the Atlantic Cup Challenge 2015, scheduled for July in Austria.
Hansen, who would give up only two racks in her final three matches, got by Cathy Tschumper twice to claim the title. They met first in the hot seat match, once Hansen had sent Mary Ulmer to the loss side, 7-1 and Tschumper had survived a double hill match versus June Maiers. Hansen shut Tschumper out to claim the hot seat.
Moving over, Ulmer ran into Larson, who'd squeaked by Connie O'Heron 7-6 and defeated Molly Nistler 7-3 to reach her. Maiers picked up Beth Fondell, who'd gotten by Cathy McDaniel 7-5 and Brandy Eklof 7-1. Larson advanced to the quarterfinals 7-4 over Ulmer, as Maiers moved to join her with a 7-3 win over Fondell.
Maiers and Larson came within a game of double hill in those quarterfinals, but Maiers edged out in front and took it 7-5 for a shot against Tschumper in the semifinals. A double hill battle there sent Tschumper back for a second chance against Hansen.
Hansen eased up a bit in the finals. She allowed Tschumper a rack before closing out her second undefeated run on the NSLPT.
Dana Aft and Julie Cone met three times during the fourth stop on the Sport 9 Tour, held on the weekend of November 24-25. Aft took two out of the three matches, coming back from the loss side to double dip Cone (no pun intended) in the finals. The $350-added event drew 20 entrants to 6 Pockets Bar and Billiards in Decatur, AL.
They met first among the winners' side final four, when Cone's 7-3 win sent Aft west and Cone into the hot seat match. Facing Cone in the match was Rhonda Moses, who defeated tour director Janeen Lee 7-2. Cone got into the hot seat by the same score over Moses.
Aft's trip back to the finals began against Sonya Hurst, who'd defeated Linda Osborn 7-2 and just survived a double hill match against Cathy McDaniel. Lee faced Kristen Tidwell, who'd gotten by Patty Dietz 7-4 and Keely Tatum 7-3. Aft would win her next three matches by the same 7-2 score, beginning with a victory over Hurst, as Lee was downing Tidwell 7-4.
Aft dropped Lee into fourth place, and Moses into third to earn a second, double-elimination shot against Cone. Aft, who'd won the Women's Division of the 2013 US Amateur Championships two weeks earlier by defeating Melinda Huang in the finals, chalked up her third victory of the year (she'd won a stop on the Simonis Cloth Classic Tour in March) by double dipping Cone in the finals, 7-5 both times.
Tour director Lee thanked Paul McClain and his staff at 6 Pockets Bar and Billiards for their hospitality, as well as tour sponsors Robbie Patel and Professor Q-Ball.
