Forced to forfeit an opening round match because she was late in arriving, Karen Corr started her August 10-11 weekend on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour on the loss side of the bracket. This was good news/bad news for some of the tour regulars. For a few of the tour’s top competitors who would potentially have faced her in one of the four winners’ side matches and possibly, the hot seat match, it was likely a comfort to have her toiling away on the loss side, early. For those competitors who would normally toil away on the loss side, not having to worry about facing Corr until an undefined ‘later,’ which could be the event final, it was more of a bad news scenario. It meant that any hope that a competitor had of reaching the final was likely to necessitate facing Corr first, although at least some of the loss-side women could look forward to a few matches before that became an issue.

 

In any event, Corr ended up winning seven on the loss side, three of which entailed giving up a total of only two racks. She then defeated Lai Li in the finals to claim her second 2019 JPNEWT title. It was the second JPNEWT stop in a row which featured a winner who’d won seven on the loss side to defeat a hot seat occupant; Caroline Pao defeated TD Linda Shea in the finals last month. The $1,400-added (by Coins of the Realm) event this past weekend drew 22 entrants to Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD.

 

In an expression usually employed to introduce loss-side action . . . . meanwhile, on the winners’ side, 21 other competitors wended their way towards the hot seat match, including eight of the tour’s top ten players in the tour standings. Kathleen Lawless (#6) and Lai Li (#3) would emerge to do battle for the hot seat. After an opening round bye, Lawless opened with a double hill win over Nicole Christ and a 7-2 win over Teri Thomas to face Elaine Wilson (#11) in one of the winners’ side semfinals.  Li would face the tour’s #1, Linda Shea, in the opening round and defeat her 7-4. She went on to down Sharon O’Hanlon 7-1 and Leslie Furr 7-2 to face Nicole King (#2) in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Lawless moved on to the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Wilson and was joined by Li, who’d sent King to the loss side 7-5. Li claimed the hot seat 7-5 to wait on the arrival of Corr.

 

Over her first 23 loss-side games, Corr gave up only two racks; one each to Kim McKenna and Leslie Furr, while, in the middle, she gave up none at all Noel Rima. Then she came up against Linda Shea, who, like her, was riding a three-game, loss-side winning streak. Shea would chalk up more racks against Corr (5) than anyone in the tournament and move on to pick up Elaine Wilson. King drew Kelly Wyatt, who was making her second appearance on the tour, having finished in the tie for 9th place in May and was in the midst of a four-match, loss-side winning streak. She’d recently defeated Teri Thomas and Ceci Strain, both 7-3 to draw King.

 

Wyatt made it five in a row with a 7-5 victory over King, as Corr was busy eliminating Elaine Wilson 7-3. Corr ended Wyatt’s loss-side run 7-1 in the quarterfinals. She then downed Lawless in the semifinals 7-2, bringing her loss-side (and as it happened, event) aggregate score to 49-13. She the defeated Li in the finals 7-3 to claim her second 2019 JPNEWT title.

 

Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines and Coins of the Realm, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, angle aim Art (Britanya Rapp), The Turtle Rack, Baltimore City Cues, and Billy Ray Bunn Cue Repair. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for September 14-15, will be hosted by First Break Bar & Grill in Sterling, VA.

Going into the finals of the July 27-28 stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT), Caroline Pao had something of a dismal record on the winners’ side of the bracket. Of course, she’d only played twice, downing C.C. Strain 7-1 and then, falling to tour director Linda Shea 4-7 (11-8; 57%). Over the next seven matches on the loss side of the bracket, Pao gave up an average of less than two racks per match (1.43) and chalked up a remarkable aggregate score of 49-10 (83%), that included back-to-back shutouts in the quarter and semifinals. She capped the loss-side performance with a 9-4 victory over Shea in the finals to claim the event title. The $1,600-added event drew 28 entrants to Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick, MD.

 

Shea and Pao had distinctly different opening rounds, which may have contributed to their first matchup in the second round. Pao gave up only a single rack to Ceci Strain, while Shea locked up in a double hill fight that did eventually send Melissa Mason to the loss side. Odds were likely to have been good that Shea and Pao would have a double hill fight, but they didn’t. Shea prevailed 7-4, adding two matches to Pao’s event total.

 

With Pao at work on the loss side, Shea, the tour’s current #1-ranked player, advanced through Teri Thomas 7-2 and arrived at a winners’ side semifinal against the tour’s current #2-ranked player, Nicole King. Lai Li, in the meantime, the tour’s #3-ranked competitor, having dispatched Sharon O’Hanlon, Judie Wilson and Elaine Wilson to the loss side, faced Kia Sidbury (#7) in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Shea and Li advanced to the hot seat match 7-5 over King and Sidbury. Shea downed Li 7-2 to claim the hot seat, and waited on the fateful return of Pao.

 

On the loss side, it was King who drew Pao, four matches into her winning streak. At that point in time, Pao had given up only seven racks; one each to Noel Rima, Sharon O’Hanlon and Christie Hurdel and four to Anita Sowers. Sidbury drew Thomas, who, following her defeat at the hands of Shea, had eliminated Eugenia Gyftopoulos 7-5 and survived a double hill fight against Kathleen Lawless.

 

Thomas and Sidbury locked up in a double hill fight for advancement to the quarterfinals. Thomas, who’d already improved on her two previous appearances on the 2019 tour (finishing 17th in March and May), downed Sidbury to meet Pao, who’d defeated King 7-3.

 

Pao then chalked up two straight shutouts, against Thomas in the quarterfinals and Lai Li in the semifinals, to earn a shot against the so-far undefeated hot seat occupant, Shea, who came into the finals with a 72% game-winning percentage. Thanks to her 83% loss-side performance and her two winners’ side matches, Pao entered the finals at 76%. Pao completed her run with a 9-4 victory over Shea in the finals.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Champion Billiards and Sports Bar and Coins of the Realm, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, angle aim Art (Britanya Rapp), The Turtle Rack, Baltimore City Cues, and Billy Ray Bunn Cue Repair. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for August 10-11, will be hosted by Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD. 

In her first appearance on the 2019 J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour on the weekend of May 18-19, Karen Corr went undefeated to claim her first 2019 JPNEWT title. The $500-added (by Coins of the Realm) event drew 23 entrants to First Break Bar & Grill in Sterling, VA.

 

As usual, in a way that makes other competitors think in terms of ‘second place,’ Corr not only went undefeated, but until the final match, didn’t give up more than a single rack in each of the four matches that put her in the hot seat. After being awarded an opening round bye, Corr chalked up 7-1 victories over Jenn Sylvester and Elaine Wilson to draw Bethany Sykes in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Nicole King, in the meantime, had to do some work to get to the same place. King defeated Leslie Furr and Ceci Strain 7-5, and gave up only three racks to Kathleen Lawless, to draw Kia Sidbury in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Corr chalked up her third straight 7-1 victory, over Sykes, while King and Sidbury locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent King to the hot seat match versus Corr. Corr then chalked up her fourth 7-1 victory, over King, to claim the hot seat and await her return from the semifinals.

 

On the loss side, Sidbury picked up Elaine Wilson, who, following her defeat at the hands of Corr in a winners’ side quarterfinal, defeated Sharon O’Hanlon 7-5 and Anita Sowers 7-4. Sykes drew a re-match against tour director Linda Shea, last month’s winner at Markley Billiards in PA, who had been sent to the loss side by Sykes in the 2nd round and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take her as far as the semifinals. She had most recently eliminated Kathleen Lawless 7-4 and Lai Li 7-3.

 

Wilson downed Sidbury 7-4 and in the quarterfinals, met Shea, who’d advanced in a successful 7-3 rematch against Sykes. Shea then chalked up what proved to be her final loss-side win with a 7-4 victory over Wilson in those quarterfinals.

 

From the standpoint of what was expected to happen after the semifinals (although no guarantees), it was no surprise that the semifinals became a struggle for (however it turned out) second place. It was thus, a predictable double hill fight that eventually ended Shea’s loss-side winning streak and gave King a second shot at Corr in the hot seat. Although King would chalk up as many racks in the finals as all four of Corr’s previous opponents combined (herself included), to no one’s surprise, Corr won 7-4 to claim the title.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at First Break Bar & Grill, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, event sponsor Coins of the Realm, angle aim Art (Britanya E Rapp), The Turtle Rack Combo (Mezzusa.com), Baltimore City Cues and Billy Ray Bunn Cue Repair. The next stop (#4) on the JPNEWT, scheduled for the weekend of July 27-28, will be hosted by Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick, MD.

Of the 22 women who competed on the March 2-3 season opener of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, three of them had just returned from Phoenix, Arizona where they, and five others from the tour, had competed in the North American Pool Tour’s 3rd Annual Division II Championships, held from February 21-24. Two of the eight, having advanced out of an initial round robin phase of the event, came home with cash in their pockets. Judie Wilson had been among the eight competitors who finished in the tie for 17th place. The other JPNEWT competitor, Bethany Sykes, won 12 matches and lost two (six each, in the round robin and double elimination phases of the event) to capture her first major tournament win.

 

Unfortunately, or fortunately, dependent on your viewpoint, pool careers tend to follow a twisted path that features a relentless series of hills and valleys. From the hill and confidence glow of her first major tournament win, Sykes hit an immediate valley in the JPNEWT’s season opener, drawing tour director, and Division I NAPT competitor, Linda Shea, in the opening round of play. Sykes moved to the loss side, where after two wins, including a double hill victory over fellow NAPT Div. II competitor Judie Wilson, she was eliminated by JPNEWT veteran, Sharon O’Hanlon.

 

The season opening event of the 2019 JPNEWT season saw Kim Whitman and Lisa Cossette battle twice to claim the title. They battled to double hill in the hot seat match before Cossette won it Whitman came back from the semifinals to down Cossette in the finals and claim the season-opening title. The $500-added event drew its 22 entrants to Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD.

 

Whitman’s path to the winners’ circle went through Linda Tunmatip, Judie Wilson, and Kathleen Lawless before arriving at a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Lai Li. Cossette, in the meantime, got by Melissas Mason and Jenkins, and survived a double hill meetup with Linda Shea, to face Nicole Christ in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Whitman and Li locked up in a double hill fight for advancement to the hot seat match, eventually won by Whitman. Cossette downed Christ 7-3 to join her. Whitman, in her second straight double hill match, watched Cossette down the last 9-Ball and claim the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Christ picked up Ada Lio, one of the participants in the Div. II Championships, who was on a six-match, loss-side winning streak and had most recently defeated Leslie Furr 7-3 and Lawless 7-4 to reach her. Li drew Cheryl Sporleder, who was on her own six-match, loss-side winning streak, had just eliminated Shea and O’Hanlon, both 7-1.

 

Lio and Christ locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Lio to the quarterfinals. She was joined by Sporleder, who’d defeated Li 7-4. Sporleder stopped Lio’s loss-side streak 7-4 in those quarterfinals. Whitman then ended Sporleder’s loss-side streak 7-5 in the semifinals.

 

Whitman got her second shot at Cossette in the hot seat, and took advantage. She downed Cossette 9-7 to claim the JPNEWT’s 2019 season opener. As a qualifier for the upcoming Super Billiards Expo, Whitman received a paid entry to the Ladies Pro event.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, Livestream sponsor Britanya E. Rapp (angle aim Art), Turtle Rack and Baltimore City Cues. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for the weekend of April 27-28, will be hosted by Markley Billiards in Norristown, PA. 

Just back from an appearance in the North American Pool Tour's (NAPT) third Division I Pro tournament in Greyslake, IL, where she finished fourth on the weekend of August 18-20, Jia Li returned to the familiar confines of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour (JPNEWT) to compete in their fifth stop of the year on the weekend of August 26-27. Li came back from a loss to Caroline Pao in a winners' side semifinal of the event to meet and defeat her in the finals. The event, which drew 21 entrants to Classic Billiards in Phoenixville, PA, was a qualifier for the next NAPT Division I Pro event, scheduled for September 28-October 1 at Eagle Billiards in Dickson City, PA, and with Li already qualified, Pao picked up the invitation that will allow her to compete in that event.

 

Following a 7-5 win over Carol V. Clark in the event's opening round, Li met up with fellow NAPT competitor, Kia Sidbury, who had come within a match of meeting Li in the quarterfinals of the recent NAPT event (Sidbury was eliminated by Eleanor Callado, just prior to those quarterfinals). Li shut Sidbury out, and then defeated Jenn Keeney 7-2, to draw Pao in the winners' side semifinal. Elaine Wilson, in the meantime, who, following an opening round bye, had survived two straight double hill matches against Kathy Friend and Tina Marinelli, squared off against Tina Malm.

 

In their first of two, Pao downed Li 7-4 and advanced to the hot seat match. She was joined by Wilson, who'd sent Malm to the loss side 7-2. Pao gave up only a single rack in the hot seat match against Wilson, which proved to be her last match victory of the weekend.

 

Li moved to the loss side and picked up Marinelli, who, following her defeat by Elaine Wilson, had chalked up two straight double hill matches against Kathleen Lawless and Sidbury. Malm drew Friend, who, following her defeat by Wilson had, after a loss-side bye, chalked up three straight 7-5 wins, over Clark, Nicole King and Sharon O'Hanlon.

 

Li eliminated Marinelli 7-3, and in the quarterfinals, faced Malm, who'd defeated Friend, double hill. Li defeated Malm 7-5, and then, heating up, allowed Elaine Wilson only one rack in the semifinals, to earn her a second shot against Pao.

 

In the single race-to-9 final, Li defeated Pao 9-6 to claim her first JPNEWT victory of the year. The two could conceivably meet again, in two weeks, at the sixth stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for September 16-17 at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA or in a month, when they travel to Dickson City, PA for the next NAPT Division I Pro event

Regional pool tour rankings are generally based on a point system that takes both performance and participation into account. In 2016, Linda Shea, tour director of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour (JPNEWT), ended up at the top of the tour's end-of-year rankings, in part because she participated in all 13 stops on the tour, accumulating 1,660 tour points (two wins and among the top four finishers in nine more). By comparison, Karen Corr, who won all three of the tour's events in which she competed last year, finished in eighth place in the tour rankings.

 

On the weekend of April 29-30, Shea chalked up her first victory of the 2017 JPNEWT season, coming from the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Jenn Keeney. The victory moved Shea into the 2017 tour's #1 ranking slot. The event drew a short field of 15 entrants to Markley's Billiards in Norristown, PA.

 

Shea opened her bid against 2016's #2-ranked player, Kia Sidbury, who, though she failed to chalk up a tour win last year, participated in 12 of the tour's 13 stops, and accumulated the second highest number of total points (835). Shea downed Sidbury in this event's opening round 8-4, before being sent to the loss side by Carol Clark 7-5. Clark advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Keeney, while Sharon O'Hanlon (#3 in 2016) squared off against Boye Lu. Keeny moved into the hot seat match with an 8-6 win over Clark, and was joined by Lu, who'd moved O'Hanlon to the loss side 7-5. By the same score, Keeney sent Lu to the semifinals, and waited on Shea's return.

 

On the loss side, Shea got by Melissa Jenkins 9-4 and Nicole King 9-6 to pick up O'Hanlon. Elaine Wilson, who'd been sent to the loss side by O'Hanlon, eliminated Suzanne Sellet 7-2 and Kathleen Lawless 7-3 to pick up Clark.

 

Shea advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-5 win over O'Hanlon. Clark joined her by squeaking past Wilson in a double hill battle. Shea flexed her muscles in that quarterfinal match, shutting Clark out in their re-match, and then downed Lu in the semifinals 7-5. Shea completed her first title run with a 9-6 victory over Keeney in the extended-race-to-9 finals.

 

In addition to the second place prize money, Keeney's finish afforded her a paid slot in a North American Pool Tour event, scheduled for August at Shooter's in Grayslake, IL. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for the weekend of May 20-21, will be hosted by First Break Cafe and Billiards in Sterling, VA.

About five weeks after chalking up a victory at the Virginia State Women's 10-Ball Championships, Meredith Lynch, after being defeated by Caroline Pao, came back from the loss side to down Pao in the finals and win the season opener on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour. The $1,000-added event ($500 from Coins of the Realm) drew 34 entrants to Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD.

 

Lynch and Pao met first in a winners' side semifinal. After being awarded an opening round bye, Lynch defeated Kia Sidbury, Denise Reeve and Jenn Keeney by an aggregate score of 24-10 (70%), to draw Pao. Pao, who'd also picked up an opening round bye, had defeated Tina Malm, Nicole Fleming and Tina Scott and came into the winners' side semifinal versus Lynch with a 24-7 record (77%). Nicole Monaco, in the meantime, faced Carol V. Clark in the other winners' side semifinal.

 

Pao gave up a single rack to Lynch, and in the hot seat match, faced Monaco, who'd sent Clark to the loss side 7-4. Pao downed Monaco 8-3 to claim the hot seat, chalking up what would prove to be her last match win. 

 

On the loss side, Lynch drew Kathleen Lawless, who'd defeated Nicole King 7-4 and Tina Castillo 7-3 to reach her. Clark drew the 2016 tour's #1 player and tour director, Linda Shea, who'd gotten by Jenn Keeney 7-4 and Kathy Friend 9-7. 

 

Lynch and Shea advanced to the quarterfinals; Lynch 8-3 over Lawless and Shea 9-5 over Clark. Lynch ended Shea's weekend 8-6 in those quarterfinals, and then, by the same score, defeated Monaco for a second shot at Pao in the hot seat.

 

Lynch came into the finals looking for her second victory on the JPNEWT. She'd competed seven times in 2016, winning once in October. Pao, according to our records, first cashed on the JPNEWT in 2003, and though she'd been runner-up numerous times, had never won. Their mutual search for a milestone in their separate careers led to a double hill fight that Lynch eventually won to claim her second JPNEWT title, and temporarily at least, place herself at the top of the 2017 tour rankings.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines, as well as Coins of the Realm for the $500 money-added to the first ($300), second and third ($100 each) place payouts. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for April 29-30, will be hosted by Markley Billiards in Norristown, PA.

 

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.

There were some new names among the top finishers at the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, Stop # 8, on the weekend of August 27-28. While these new names jumped up on the tour's ranking list, they didn't disturb the tour's top three (Linda Shea, Karen Corr and Kia Sidbury), nor did they, themselves, break into the Top 10. They (winner, Joy McFeaters and runner-up Alexandra Calabrese), in consort with a host of other competitors, did, however, cause a little shakeup in the rankings that saw Janet Atwell and Jia Li drop out of the Top 10 (each has only competed twice this year). The $500-added event drew 20 entrants to Classic Billiards in Phoenixville, PA.

 

It was Joy McFeaters first win on the tour, in only her second appearance this year (she finished in the tie for ninth back in late April, and had finished third behind Corr and Shea in April 2015). Runner-up Alexandra Calabrese was making her first appearance of the year, though not her first on the tour (she played in all of the tour's events in 2013, and finished in 12th place on the tour rankings). The draw helped McFeaters in that, until the semifinals, she never had to face a tour opponent ranked higher than 18. Calabrese, on the other hand, to get to the hot seat, had to get by two of the tour's top 10 players; Judie Wilson, who entered the tournament at #8, and Kia Sidbury, the tour's #3 player.

 

McFeaters and Calabrese met twice in this one; hot seat and finals. Following an opening round bye, McFeaters defeated Sandy Raber and Carol Clark, to draw Kathleen Lawless in a winners' side semifinal. Calabrese, recipient of a bye as well, defeated Judie Wilson and Kia Sidbury to get Colleen Shoop in the other winners' side semifinal. McFeaters downed Lawless 7-4, as Calabrese was sending Shoop to the loss side 7-2. In their first of two, Calabrese defeated McFeaters 7-4, to claim her first hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Lawless picked up Linda Shea, who, after being sent to the loss side by Shoop, defeated Jen Keeney 7-4 and Sharon O'Hanlon 7-5, to draw Lawless. Shoop drew Nicole King, who'd shut out Carol Clark and defeated Judie Wilson 7-5 to reach her.

 

Shea and Shoop advanced for a re-match; Shoop downing King 7-2, Shea defeating Lawless 7-3. Shea exacted her revenge on Shoop in the quarterfinals, defeating her 7-3, and then locked up in a tense, double hill fight against McFeaters. McFeaters was playing in her first semifinal, and in the absence of a gender equivalency, was playing David to the tour's top-ranked Goliath. The 9-ball in game 13 took the place of David's rock, and McFeaters advanced for a second shot against Calabrese.

 

In the modified race to 9, McFeaters had to win seven to trigger an extension to nine games. She did so, and completed her first win on the JPNEWT with a 9-5 win over Calabrese. They both advanced from ranking obscurity to a spot among the tour's Top 20 competitors.

The Press Box in Charlotte, NC, one of the most beautiful pool rooms in the country, was host of the Charlotte 9-Ball Classic September 12-13, 2015.  Tiger SMART kicked off its Fall season in style.  Owner, Chris Babilonia and family, again showed utmost hospitality as they continue to add features designed for functionality and aesthetic.

 

During the players meeting, Tiger SMART members paid homage to Emma Stewart Davis, OB Cues Tour member, with a moment of silence to honor our dear sister in pool who was unexpectedly taken last Wednesday.  Our prayers go out to the family.

 

The field may have been the toughest thus far.  Day 1 saw Tiffany Finnan and Kathleen Lawless make it to the final four on the winner’s side with wins over Marianne Merrill 7-5 and Lisa Cossette 7-3 for Tiffany and wins over Caitlin Elie 7-1 and Buffy Jolie 7-2 for Kathleen.  Joining Finnan and Lawless in the final four in the winner’s bracket were Belinda Calhoun and Dana Aft with wins over Holly Sholes 7-6 and Teresa Moore 7-0 for Belinda and wins over Cheryl Pritchard 7-4 and Christy Norris 7-4 for Dana.  This left two matches which were won by Finnan over Lawless 7-3 and Calhoun over Aft 7-4.

 

It would be Norris and Cossette who would make it back for Sunday with wins over Merrill 7-3; Teresa Moore 7-3; and Kathleen Lawless 7-2 for Christy and wins over Pritchard 7-6; Sholes 7-6; and Dana Aft 7-6 for the trifecta of hill-hill matches for Lisa.

 

The first round saw Norris defeat Cossette 7-0 leaving Cossette in fourth place. In the hot seat match, Calhoun defeated Finnan 7-3 setting up the semi-final match between Norris and Finnan won by Norris 7-2.

 

The final is one set, race to 9.  Norris got off to a quick start and led 3-0.  Calhoun tied it at 3. Racks were exchanged for 4-4. Norris then went in the lead by two 6-4 and Belinda cut it to one 5-6.  It was Norris all the way from there for a 9-5 victory and a successful defense of her Charlotte 9-Ball Classic title. 

 

The final in the second chance event final was played by Buffy Jolie and Marianne Merrill.  Jolie won 5-1 over Merrill.

 

Congratulations to all the players for such fine performances.  Tiger SMARTs next tour stop will be October 24-25 in Hickory, NC at Randolph’s Billiards.

 

Many thanks to The Press Box, Tiger Products, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Ozone Billiards, and Quick-Clean for your continued support and for allowing Tiger SMART to grow.