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.

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. 

Having given up only a total of three racks over four matches to sit in the hot seat, Karen Corr found herself engaged in a bit of a fight in the finals of the September 29-30 stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour. Kia Sidbury had been one of Corr’s earlier victims, but came back through three matches on the loss side to challenge her in the finals. The match went double hill before Corr won that battle to claim the event title, her third straight on the tour. The $500-added (by Coins of the Realm) event drew 13 entrants to First Break Café in Sterling, VA.

 

With two stops left on the tour, the results on this weekend caused a shake-up among the tour’s top four players. Going into the event, tour director Linda Shea was at the top of the tour’s rankings, followed by Nicole King, Kia Sidbury and Karen Corr. Shea and King had competed in all five previous stops on the tour, Sidbury in four of the five. This was Corr’s third appearance. When it was over, Sidbury had become the tour’s top player, with King remaining in second place, Shea in third and Corr holding position in fourth place.

 

In a customary random draw, Corr drew Shea in the opening round, defeating her 7-1. Corr followed up with a 7-1 victory over Judie Wilson (#5 on the tour’s ranking list). This set Corr up in her first of two against Sidbury in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Nicole King, in the meantime, had her hands full with, first, Leslie Furr, whom she defeated 7-5. Bethany Sykes battled King to a deciding 13th game, before King finished it, advancing to the other winners’ side semifinal against Elaine Wilson.

 

Corr sent Sidbury to the loss side with her third straight 7-1 victory, as King sent Elaine Wilson over 7-5. Corr capped the winners’ side portion of her undefeated run with a shutout over King in the winners’ side final and sat in the hot seat, waiting on Sidbury.

 

On the loss side, Sidbury had run into Shea, who, following her opening round defeat at the hands of Corr had defeated Sharon O’Hanlon 7-3, and Bethany Sykes 7-5. Elaine Wilson picked up Judie Wilson (no relation), who, following her defeat at the hands of Corr had eliminated Chari Slater and Leslie Furr, both 7-4.

 

Sidbury downed Shea 7-5, and in the quarterfinals, met Elaine Wilson, who’d defeated Judie Wilson 7-4. Sidbury took the quarterfinal match over Elaine Wilson 7-3, and then, in her first of two double hill matches, downed King in the semifinals.

 

The last time Corr and Sidbury had matched up on the JPNEWT was in the semifinals of stop #5 in August. Corr had uncharacteristically been sent to the loss side in that event by Caroline Pao in the battle for the hot seat. Sidbury had won six on the loss side, including double hill wins over Nicole King, and in the quarterfinals, Linda Shea, to meet Corr in the semifinals. Corr downed Sidbury a second time to earn a second shot at Pao, whom she eventually defeated in the finals.

 

In the finals of this one, Sidbury chalked up double the number of racks that all of Corr’s previous opponents combined had managed, but it fell short by one. Corr finished it to chalk up her third straight JPNEWT title.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Sterling Café, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, ‘live stream’ sponsor Britanya E Rapp (angle aim Art), Turtle Rack, and Baltimore City Cues. The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for October 13-14, will include an Amateur event on Sunday, and will be hosted by Eagle Billiards in Dickson City, PA.

 

In an uncharacteristic path to the winners’ circle, Karen Corr had to come from the loss side to win the August 11-12 stop (#5) on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour. It was Corr’s second straight appearance and win on the tour since it began in March. Though she would advance to the hot seat match, she was sent to the loss side by Caroline Pao (making her first appearance on the 2018 tour). Corr came back from the semifinals to win a nail-biting, double hill match against Pao to claim the event title. The $500-added (by Coins of the Realm) event drew 23 entrants to Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD.

 

In addition to Pao, Corr had to face the tour’s #3-ranked player (coming into this event), Kia Sidbury, twice. Corr opened her campaign against Sidbury, downing her 7-1, and would meet her again in the semifinals. Corr then defeated Eugenia Gyftopoulos 7-3 and Kathy Friend 7-2 to draw the tour’s #2-ranked player, Linda Shea, in a winners’ side semifinal. Pao, in the meantime, opened her bid for the event title with a 7-3 victory over the tour’s top-ranked competitor, Nicole King. She sent King to the loss side 7-3 and then shut out Leslie Furr to draw Nicole Monaco in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

Corr and Shea came within a game of going double hill, before Corr edged out in front to win 7-5 and advance to the hot seat match. Pao defeated Monaco 7-3 to join her. Pao sent Corr to the semifinals 7-4 to claim the hot seat.

 

Following her loss to Corr, Sidbury embarked on a six-match, loss-side bid for a rematch. She got by Valerie Nolan, Sharon O’Hanlon, Bethany Sykes, and won a double hill match against King to draw Monaco. Shea picked up Elaine Wilson, who’d defeated Lynn Richard 7-5 and Gyftopoulos 7-3 to reach her.

 

Sidbury and Shea advanced to the quarterfinals; Sidbury 7-1 over Monaco and Shea 7-3 over Wilson. Sidbury and Shea fought a double hill match that eventually earned Sidbury her rematch against Corr in the semifinals. Corr gave up only two racks in that semifinal to earn her own rematch against Pao in the finals.

 

In the extended race-to-9 format of the finals, Corr had to (and did) reach seven racks before Pao. They traded racks to an 8-8 tie before Corr broke and ran to capture the event title.

 

The event was a North American Pool Tour (NAPT) Qualifier for the upcoming Desert Challenge, to be hosted by Griff’s Billiards in Las Vegas. With Corr already qualified, Pao picked up the qualifying spot.

 

The results led to a bit of a shakeup among the tour’s top competitors going into the 6th stop on the tour, scheduled for September 15-16, to be hosted by First Break Café and Billiards in Sterling, VA. Tour director Linda Shea and Nicole King switched places; Shea moving into 1st and King, dropping to 2nd. Kia Sidbury, previously tied with Erica Testa (who did not compete), stayed right where she was. Corr, with her second straight win, moved up to 4th place, as Judie Wilson maintained her hold on 5th place in the tour rankings.

 

Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, live stream sponsor – angle aim Art, Mezz USA, and Baltimore City Cues.