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.

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.