If you’ve never been to Michael’s Billiards, then you’re missing a real treat. Michael has a fondness for neon, the old-school, and smooth jazz, and that shows in the amazingly dynamic and bright decor throughout this historic pool hall. And the icing on the cake is the well-cared-for 9-foot Diamond tables. 

 

The field was smaller than usual, with only 12 shooters, but the competition was just as strong as we’ve come to expect from the Midwest Ladies’ Regional Tour. Starting out strong, Angela Williams beat Connie O’Heron 7-6, Monica Hill beat Tabitha Carmack 7-1, Adina Pelletier beat Stephanie Goens 7-6 and Christy Dickerson defeated Charlotte Alford 7-5. Second round winners included Julie Skripac-Cooper over Williams (7-5), Hill over Debbie Cervantes (7-5), Amee Schmidt over Pelletier (7-6) and Dickerson over Lupe Harpster (7-2).

 

O’Heron and Williams rocked the b-side. Williams defeated Alford (6-4); Goens (6-4), and Hill (6-2) who had lost her quarter-finals match to Skripac-Cooper (7-1). O’Heron showed her dedication and skill, beating out Harpster (6-4), Carmack (6-4), and Schmidt (6-4), who was defeated in the quarter-finals by Dickerson (7-1). Schmidt and Hill finished 5th. 

 

 

O’Heron and Williams met again in the semi-finals of the B-side. The stakes were high; both women fighting for points and prestige. A great match ensued, with table play, strong form, and wicked defense. Williams started strong, leading the match 5-2 early on. But O’Heron is a real pro, and she pulled out 3 in a row to tie it on the hill. A fierce safety game proved to be a nail-biter for all those watching, and Williams skillfully—and surprisingly—locked O’Heron up tight. O’Heron three-fouled on the two-ball, and Williams took the win! O’Heron finished 4th.

 

 

On the winner’s side, Dickerson and Skripac-Cooper played for the chair. Both women proving why they were there, shooting clean, straight and strong, but in the end, Dickerson’s superior technique came out on top 7-4. 

 

After being defeated in the semi-finals, Skripac-Cooper came on strong in her match against Williams. Williams, determined to win the second set against the local gal, played hard, pulling out some amazing shots, and keeping pace with her opponent to the end. The final game saw both ladies struggling, not surprising for the time of night, but it was Williams who made the last error, and Skripac-Cooper finished the set, 6-5. Williams finished 3rd. 

 

 

Once again, Dickerson annihilated in the finals. The smooth-stroking, exceptionally consistent shooter just hit everything right. Skripac-Cooper stole a game mid-match, but there wasn’t much else she could do against the powerhouse from Indy. Dickerson finished her back-to-back win 7-1 over Skripac-Cooper, for ANOTHER undefeated victory!

 

 

MLRT Stop #8 will take place on November 14, 2015 at Billiard Club of Louisville, KY. 

 

MLRT will hold a WPBA Masters qualifier on December 5, 2015 at Michael’s in Fairfield. Adina and Marc Pelletier have sponsored the event, so the winner will get paid entry into the WPBA Masters, to be held February 3-7, 2016 at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. Additionally, Michael’s will add $1000 (based on 32 players)!

 

For more info, see their website at www.midwestladiestour.com and/or contact the tour directors at director@midwestladiestour.com.

A gorgeous, modern backdrop, European Global 9-footers, and big screen TVs set the stage for MLRT Stop #6 where 18 of the area’s top talents battled at Plush Pocket in Warren, MI. Coming out strong, and making it to the quarter finals were Debbie Cervantes v Connie O’Heron, Trish Vermule v Rebecca Venson, Curtisha Alford v Christy Dickerson, and Angela Mears v Jaki Lovrince. 

 

Surprisingly, Rae “Young Gun” Norgaard struggled in the first round, losing to Vermule 4-7. Competitors who also didn’t play their best in the early day were Sherrlyrodaka Latterel, Angela Williams, Lupe Harpster, Shari Ross, Julie Hunter, Adina Pelletier, Janice Kumagai, and Ali Seattle. 

 

However, Harpster and Pelletier showed great stamina and skill, blasting through the B-side. Harpster defeated Kelly O’Heron (6-3); Cervantes (6-4), and Williams (6-4) before losing her match against Mears 3-6. Lovrince showed her experience, beating out Norgaard 6-5. Pelletier beat out Kumagai (6-2) and Alford (6-4), but then lost to Lovrince 2-6. 

 

On the winner’s side, Christy Dickerson gave nothing away as she barreled through the competition, beating Mears 7-4 and Connie O’Heron 7-1. 

 

Rebecca Venson showed up, too, beating Vermule 4-7 in the quarter finals, and put up a valiant fight against O’Heron, who came out on top 7-4.

 

After being defeated in the semi-finals, Venson beat Lovrince 6-2, then ferociously battled Mears, winning the set 6-4, for her chance to get back to O’Heron. The second meeting of these two powerhouses was extraordinary. Subtlety and sheer willfulness beamed from both women, each going tit-for-tat during the semi-finals on the B-side. In the end, tied 5-5, O’Heron made a fatal error, and Venson swooped in for the kill! 

 

The finals match was simply an annihilation. Dickerson hit every stroke perfectly, pocketing each ball dead-center. Venson started strong, but her confidence faltered in the second game, giving the lead 2-1 to Dickerson. Dickerson then broke and ran the next game, only to scratch on the 9, tying the match 2-2. That was the last game Venson got. Dickerson cleaned table after table, Venson only getting up to break on her turn. Each miss by Venson was a victory for Dickerson, who finished the set 7-2, undefeated the entire day!

 

Special thanks go to Kevin Ross for taking action shots! For more of Kevin’s work, find him on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/k_c_ross/. 

 

MLRT Stop #7 will take place on October 17, 2015 at Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH. For more info, see their website at www.midwestladiestour.com and/or contact the tour directors at director@midwestladiestour.com.

 

Sixteen women competed in the Midwest Ladies’ Regional Tour Stop #4 at 8 Ball Sports Bar & Billiards in Columbus, Ohio.  

 

The first round competitors put up the best fight against the two young stars of MLRT Stop #5: Midwest favorite 23-year-old Liz Lovely, who beat Julie Skripac-Cooper 7-6, and newcomer 21-year-old “Young Gun” Rae Norgaard, who beat Curtisha Alford 7-6. However, these two young women delivered astonishing knock-out punches in the second and third rounds: Lovely defeated Rosanna Jarvis Ramirez (7-1) and Trish Vermule (7-0), and Norgaard won against Julie Hunter (7-3) and Connie O’Heron (7-3).

 

Spectators and fellow players alike were in awe of the ferocity and focus delivered by Lovely, as she smooth-stroked her way to a victory over Norgaard in the semi-finals (7-3). Young Gun begrudgingly took her seat in the B-side chair and awaited her chance to get back to Lovely. 

 

Meanwhile on the B-side, Columbus native and local legend Shannon Dunn (who struggled in the first round against Hunter, tore through the competition. The quarter finals saw Dunn victorious over Vermule (6-5) and O’Heron won against Hunter (6-4). Dunn then defeated O’Heron in a wicked B-side semi-final round (6-4); O’Heron finished 4th.

 

Not hitting a great stride, but proving great competition, the first players out were Curtisha Alford, Adina Pelletier, Tabitha Carmack, and Chelsea Richert. Ramirez, Angela Williams, Monica Hill, and Cooper finished 9th. Angela Mears and Debbie Cervantes went out in 7th place. 

 

In the finals of the B-side Norgaard and Dunn met again. Young Gun was ready this time, and came out of the gate swinging! The battle was fast and furious, each player running balls, hitting straight as they went tit-for-tat with a mid-match score of 4-3. However, a fatal error on Dunn’s part gave the lead to Norgaard 5-3, who broke and ran the last rack. Dunn finished 3rd.

 

Fresh off her victory, and determined to redeem her earlier defeat, Norgaard was in dead-stroke, pulling out a 9-ball break and two break-n-runs, defeating Lovely in the first set 7-2! 

 

Lovely wasted no time, took no breaks before approaching the table to flip for the next set. You could see the sheer focus from the seasoned player, known across the Midwest for her stunning juniors record and major achievements since moving up to semi-professional play. Norgaard missed a total of 3 shots in the second set against Lovely, and that was all it took. Lovely returned the favor, defeating Norgaard 6-2 for the win!

 

MLRT Stop #6 will take place on September 12, 2015 at Plush Pockets in Warren, MI. For more info, see their website at www.midwestladiestour.com and/or contact the tour directors at director@midwestladiestour.com.

 

Eighteen women came to compete in the 3rd stop of the Midwest Ladies’ Regional Tour at Snookers’ Pool & Pub in Livonia, Michigan. 

 

The tour added 12 new, enthusiastic members: Shannon Dunn, Lupe Harpster, Melissa Kipp, Sherrylrodaka Latterell, Jaki Lovrince, April Martin-Frederick, Connie O’Heron, Jen Polik, Shari Ross, Ali Seattle, Rebecca Venson, and Rosetta Wood. These ladies certainly proved their place among the intense competition. 

 

However, a few favorites left the tournament earlier than expected: Kipp, Latterell, Goens, Carmack, Polik, and Wood lost out in just a couple of rounds. Dunn, an early favorite to win the tourney finished 9th along with heavy-hitters Harpster, Ross, and Mears.

 

In an intermission, MLRT gave out various pool accessories courtesy of Ozone Billiards to 5 ladies in a free raffle for players only. Also, McDermott sponsored the event with a cue; MLRT players received a free raffle ticket. Jason “The Michigan Kid” Lynch ironically won the cue—McDermott is Lynch’s sponsor!

 

After the surprising upsets in the early rounds, the quarter finals were a real treat to watch! Debbie Cervantes beat out local lady “Crazy” Jaki Lovrince 7-1, and Connie O’Heron defeated her dear friend Angela Williams 7-4. On the B-side, Seattle dominatEd Martin-Frederick 6-2, and Venson squeaked out a victory over Monica Hill 6-5. 

 

After her first loss, Williams was adamant to get back to the finals. The fight between Williams and Venson was intense, going tit-for-tat until the end, Williams finishing 6-5 over Venson, who subsequently finished 4th in the tourney. 

 

The surprise came when Cervantes defeated O’Heron, another of the favorites to win it—both women having played in the WPBA Masters numerous times. However, Cervantes’s relentlessness and consistency served her well! She defeated O’Heron by the skin of her teeth, 7-6.

 

Semi-finals of the B-side saw O’Heron up against Williams again. But, Williams wasn’t going down this time—she needed to get revenge on Cervantes. Williams came out on top 6-4, and O’Heron finished 3rd.

 

With great determination in her eyes, Williams had to return the double-tap to Cervantes after the upset of Stop #2. Williams came out swinging a big stick, firing in shots, banking like a pro to take the first set 7-4! You could see the disappointment in Cervantes’s eyes, as the women took a break to regroup. 

 

The second set began, and no one could deny the well-oiled machine that is Cervantes. The woman didn’t miss! Williams fought hard, playing defense, pulling shots out of nowhere, and trying to keep Cervantes off the table. But she missed a few times, and Cervantes swooped in to kill, every… single… time. The match was quick, Cervantes ran 4 solid racks, snapped the 9 to put her on the hill, and came out victorious again, 6-1 over Williams. Ouch! 

 

No one can doubt the skill and consistency of this little lady from Ohio: Cervantes has a solid pre-shot routine, smooth stroke, and an eagle-eye for safeties. Watch out, though, Debbie—you’ve got a target on your back now! 

 

MLRT Stop #4 will take place on July 11, 2015 at Brickyard Billiards in Indianapolis, IN. For more info, see their website at www.midwestladiestour.com and/or contact the tour directors at director@midwestladiestour.com.