Forty players showed up the weekend of May 2 & 3rd at Clicks Billiards in San Antonio, TX to play in the third stop of 2015 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour.  Top players from throughout the Texas area and one player from San Diego were vying for the $775 first place prize in this event.  

 

On Saturday, forty players were reduced to twelve ladies that would be returning on returning on Sunday morning. The final four in the winners bracket returning were Sophia Lopez vs Tara Williams and Belinda Lee vs Tina Malm.  The eight ladies returning on the one loss side were Jennifer Kraber vs Barbara Wisdom, Helen Hayes vs Tracie Voelkering, Natalie Mans vs Gail Roles, and Kim Pierce vs Michelle Yim. 

 

9th-12th finishers were Barbara Wisdom, Tracie Voelkering, Natalie Mans, and Kim Pierce. 7th-8th place went to Jennifer Kraber and Gail Roles (her highest finish to date!); 5th-6th places went to Sophia Lopez and Belinda Lee. 4th place went to Helen Hayes and 3rd place went to Michelle Yim. 

 

Tara Williams made her way through Saturday with wins over Krystal West (7-6), Terry Petrosino (7-2), and Michelle Yim (7-1).  On Sunday, she continued her undefeated run and to earn a spot at the hot seat with another win over Sophia Lopez (7-4).  On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Tina Malm was making her way through her Saturday matches without much opposition.  She posted wins over Angela Garza (7-1), Monica Anderson (7-0), Natalie Mans (7-1) and Tracie Voelkering (7-3).  On Sunday morning, she continued her run besting Belinda Lee (7-2) for her spot in the hot seat match.   In the hot seat match, both players showed the reason that they made it through their brackets with the tough field that was in attendance this May weekend.  After trading racks until tied a four games apiece, a missed safety by Tina after the break allowed Tara a run out to pull ahead 5-4.  With the alternate break format, Tara broke and ran the next rack to reach the hill, and then Tina answered back with her own break and run to set the score at 6-5.  On the final rack, Tara once again broke and ran to take the hot seat and wait for her opponent.

 

For the 3rd place match, Tina quickly got a lead over Michelle Yim and didn’t look back, earning a spot in the finals with a 7-1 win.  In the finals, in the true double elimination format, Tina would need to beat Tara twice in order to win the event.  It was not to be though; both players struggled early on to find the level of play that had allowed them to make their finals appearance.  After a few back and forth racks, there nerves settled down, but Tina was already down 4 games by the time she was able to make it on the board.  Tara was able to finish out a few racks when up 5-2 to win the event in one set with a final score of 7-2.  Congratulations to both ladies for a great tournament!  With this third win in 2015 for Tara, she makes only the third player to ever win three consecutive events; Lisa Marr was the first player to complete this feat in 2002 and Leslie Anne Rogers completed this feat in 2004.  Congratulations on an awesome accomplishment Tara!

 

OB Cues Ladies 9-Ball Tour held their 8th and final tour stop December 6th – 7th at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, Texas.  The owner and manager, Jeff Pitts and Tim Gildon and all the bar and wait staff did a wonderful job taking care of all the ladies, a full field of 32 players ready to rack and roll!

 

At the players meeting, board member Monica Anderson announced yearly awards and a special celebration of the birthday of a beloved and long-time tour member who passed last year, Becky Jones.  Becky’s daughter was in attendance and a cake was prepared in Becky’s honor.  On the awards side, the sportswomanship award went to Jackie Forster, with a special mention to her travel buddies – four ladies who add a lot of good company and good play to the tour.  The most improved player was the “tiny giant killer” Angie Payne, who was last year’s sportswoman of the year.  The tour champion was undecided at the outset, but all Tara McCracken Williams needed to do was finish better than 5th/6th and she accomplished more than that, getting second this tournament.  Tara also won the qualifier for the WPBA event at Soaring Eagle and will go represent in February!  

 

With exactly 32 players, no one got a bye, and there were some tough matches early on, including past tour stop winners Orietta Strickland and Lisa Marr.  Lisa won the match 7-6 but then had to contend with Jennifer Kraber, who’s had a great year, and put Lisa on the loser’s side with a resounding 7-2 win.  But Jennifer’s winning ways were short-lived, when she ran into Amanda Lampert, past champion many times over and this year’s outgoing tour champion.  The loser’s side quickly became littered with great players, and at the end of Saturday, only four women were left standing on the winner’s side: Amanda Lampert, who would play Julie Stephenson on Sunday, and Michelle Cortez, who would be up against Chris Fields, who came all the way from Florida.

 

Sunday’s B-side matches were Jennifer Kraber vs. Jennifer Pavlovick and Tara McCracken Williams vs. Angie Payne.  Pavlovick and Payne came in 7th/8th.  Amanda Lampert and Michelle Cortez won their Sunday winner’s side matches to compete for the hot seat.  Michelle, a long time player and always a threat, has had a fantastic year, finishing third in Austin, which was her highest finish to date.  She overcame that finish with this tournament’s hill-hill match with Amanda, securing herself the hotseat and a guaranteed second place.  It was eventually Tara who attempted to double-dip her, but without success.  In another hill-hill battle, Michelle Cortez didn’t let Tara to the table in the final game, breaking and running her way to first place and $750!  Congratulations to her for a fantastic tournament and to all the ladies for some awesome shooting.

 

Thanks again to Rusty’s for our first and last tournament this year, and to all our board members who do a fantastic job all year around.  A special year-end thank you to the man behind the tour, always supporting the ladies and feeding us Godiva chocolate, a great friend and wonderful person, Carter, we love you. 

 

It may have been Super Bowl Weekend February 1st-2nd but that didn’t stop the 52 ladies who showed up at Rusty’s in Arlington, TX to play in the first stop of 2014 on the OB Cues Ladies Tour. There were lots of new faces, lot of veterans, travelers from afar, as well as players who took off for a while but glad to see they are starting back up again. It was an awesome event to say the least and many, many strong match lineups all weekend long from champions all around. Additionally since it was Super Bowl Weekend, players were allowed to wear their favorite professional sports jerseys and here’s a snapshot of some of the ladies all dressed up: 

 

January 28th-29th weekend was the 1st Tour stop for the OB Cues Ladies Tour and 51 ladies were anxious to start the New Year with some high spirited competition, fun and as some players call it, OBCLT therapy.  It was great to see many, many new faces as well as familiar OBCLT family faces.  A special welcome to Shar Vanderstyne who came to play on our tour all the way from San Diego, California.  Thank You Ladies for keeping our tour #1 in the country.

Rusty’s in Arlington, Texas was our host site for this weekend and it was indeed a welcome to have their fantastic staff and management host us once again.  Special thanks to Hutch, Jeff, Tracie, and all the other Rusty’s staff and organization for a job well done.

Special Thanks to our main tour sponsor OB Cues and new co-sponsor Pool300.  The tour is now starting our 18th year in existence and we are proud to claim the status as the largest women’s amateur regional tour in the world.  Thank you OB Cues and Pool300 for all that you do for us.  Thank you for allowing us to continue to pursue our pool dreams and seeing our tour friends, fans, supporters and sharing in our journey along the way.  Be sure to check out our sponsors at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com 

Many top ranked players from 2011 were part of the action.  Some marquee names included Lisa Marr, Amanda Lampert, Tara Williams, Ming Ng and Orietta Strickland, to name a few.  And by the end of play on Saturday, only one of these marquee players was still on the winner’s side of the bracket.  Top 12 players continuing in the Main Event on Sunday were winner side matches featuring Kim Pierce vs. Melinda Bailey and Ming Ng vs. Terry Petrosino.  On the one loss side, it was Lisa Marr vs. Jennifer Kraber, Amanda Lampert vs. Angie Payne, Michelle Cortez vs. Julie Stephenson, and Monica Anderson vs. Orietta Strickland. 

Finishing 9th/12th was Jennifer, Angie, Michelle and Monica.  In 7th/8th it was Amanda and Orietta, and 5th/6th was Julie and Melinda.  Great shooting and awesome tournament, ladies!

4-time OBCLT Regional Tour Champion Lisa Marr finished 4th.  The semi-finals matchup was between Terry Petrosino and Kim Pierce.  Terry always a contender with her playing consistency and strong shooting skills finished 3rd giving Kim a rematch with Ming who won the hot seat match between herself and Kim earlier in the day.  Kim, having an awesome tournament, had some extra special motivation as she was celebrating her birthday weekend, as well as achieving her highest tour stop finish ever.  Although Kim was shooting strong in the finals match, Ming, always a tough opponent and champion through and through, emerged as the victor in the one-set finals match with a score of 7-5.  Fantastic finish to both ladies! 

Main Event Tournament Payouts – $2000 added monies

1st – Ming Ng – $750

2nd – Kim Pierce – $570

3rd – Terry Petrosino – $410

4th – Lisa Marr – $275

5th/6th – Julie Stephenson, Melinda Bailey – $160

7th/8th – Amanda Lampert, Orietta Strickland – $105

9th/12th – Monica Anderson, Jennifer Kraber, Angie Payne, Michelle Cortez – $85 

13th/16th – Teresa Garland, Deedra Trammell, Shar Vanderstyne, Diana Cardona – $50

17th/24th – Tara Williams, Janea Taylor, Kim Nguyen, Mindy Williams, Snowy Belt, Belinda Lee, Yvette Reyes, Tera Saunders – $25

Second Chance Event – 19 players – $200 added monies – $390 total

1st – Shar Vanderstyne – $130

2nd – Teresa Garland – $90

3rd – Janea Taylor – $60

4th – Yvette Reyes – $40

5th/6th – Tracie Voelkering, Robyn Petrosino – $25

7th/8th – Kathy Knuth, Snowy Belt – $10

Other tournament winners:

The Monk DVD – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Samiel) – Teresa Garland

(2) Free tournament entry – $30 refund (1 courtesy of the OBCLT & the other courtesy of long-time supporter Samiel – Deedra Trammell & Terry Petrosino

(3) Mobile Gas Cards – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Carter) – Tracie Voelkering, Kim Nguyen, Kim Pierce

(3) Starbucks Gift Cards – (courtesy of OBCLT long-time supporter Carter) – Rebecca Arcangeli, Veronica Perez, Snowy Belt

Magic Rack – (courtesy of long-time OBCLT supporter Samiel) – Julie Enzensperger

Stroke – Novel by OBCLT long-time supporter Carl Miller – Monica Anderson

PoolDawg 9-ball Key Chain – Yvette Reyes

Reindeer Games Pool Rack Christmas Ornament – Tina Koester

OB Cues Raffle Winners – Rusty’s customer Buddy Beggs & Mike Voelkering

Next Tour Stop:  St. Patrick’s Day Weekend – March 17th/18th – The Billiard Den, Richardson, Texas

Visit www.obcuestour.com for more information.                 Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times!!!

The final stop of the OB Cues Ladies Tour for 2011 was more exciting than ever based on three important factors.  For the 1st time in the tour’s history, the last event of the year was $3,000 added monies, $1K more than the normal added dollars.  Secondly, the OB Cues Tour Champion spot was up for grabs as several contenders were vying to unseat 3-time Tour Champion Lisa Marr.   And finally a new award of Best Sportsman would be voted by the players out of four nominated players.  

As this last stop was $3000 added monies, a special player’s eligibility requirement was needed to play in this event at one of our favorite host site, Casper’s in San Leon, Texas.  Players had to play in at least 3 events throughout this tour year and 28 ladies ventured down south Texas way to participate in all the year end festivities.  First and foremost, we would like to thank Don Owen and Royce Bunnell, as our main tour sponsors.  Year after year they have provided customer service, pool products and unwavering support and friendship for both tour players and host site partners.  Thank you for all that you do and believing in us and keeping our dreams alive.  Be sure to check out our sponsor at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com 

Also special thanks to Kathy and Roy Robinson, who are frequent hosts on the ladies tour.  They have one of the most fabulous and unique pool and restaurant establishments on our tour calendar and we greatly appreciate your down home hospitality displayed by your staff, customers and fans everywhere.  Casper’s is a must see pool establishment.  If you are ever down south Texas, be sure to look them up. 

Four players were chosen by the board for the 2011 Sportsmanship Award.  Becky Jones from Arkansas, Kathy Knuth from Dallas, Shirley Fields from Arkansas, and Tracie Voelkering from Fort Worth were nominated by players over the course of 2011 and picked by the board members for their exemplary behavior both on and off the table.  It was a close race between the nominees as players submitted their votes and it came down to a tie between Shirley and Tracie.  The players were asked to re-vote for only these 2 players and it was one vote away from a tie again, with Tracie edging out Shirley for the award.  Congratulations Tracie!  Your display of sportsmanship both on and off the table makes you very deserving of this award.

The 2011 Most Improved player was voted on by the board based on player performance and ranking for 2011 against prior years.  One player really stood out from the pack in the increase in rankings for the past two years, but based on her position on the board, she asked to be removed from contention.   After review of her movement from 20th in 2009, to 9th in 2010, and to 6th for the season in 2011, it was no contest to the remaining board members who should take this award.  With her left out of the vote, the board selected Julie Stephenson as the most improved player.  She credits her participation in Pool 300 league to her overall improvement at the sport.

For the 2011 Tour Champion, it was a tight race with four potential players that had the ability to seize the title.  Orietta Strickland was the tour point’s leader going into this last stop with Lisa Marr 110 points behind.   Based on the outcome of the tournament, Tara Williams and Ming Ng could also be contenders or spoilers for the tour champion spot.  But with all the pressure on Orietta to maintain her position as point’s leader, she would also need help from others to keep Lisa at bay.  Unfortunately by the end of tournament play on Saturday, 8 players would return for the Main Event and Orietta was not one of them.  Winner side matches would include Lisa Marr vs. Ming Ng and Tara Williams vs. Ricki Lee Casper.  One loss side matches would include Belinda Lee vs. Jennifer Kraber and Amanda Lampert vs. Yvette Reyes.

Finishing 7th/8th was Yvette Reyes and Belinda Lee; 5th/6th was Jennifer Kraber and Ming Ng.  4th place would go to Ricki Lee Casper, her highest tour finish ever; always a contender and strong player who we are sure she will continue with her winning ways.  3rd place was Amanda Lampert who sought her revenge win against Ricki who put her on the one loss side.  

In the finals match, it was a replay of the hot seat with Lisa Marr and Tara Williams.  Both ladies were not only vying for the win, but the tournament winner would also be crowned the tour champion in the close point race.  Tara would have to beat Lisa twice for the win, but it would not happen, Lisa bested Tara in one set with a score of 7-5.  Tara Williams finished in 2nd place her last 3 tour events, including this stop, for the 2011 year, showing very consistent shooting and strong year end finish to boot.   With this 1st place finish, Lisa went on to become tour champion for the 4th time in a row.  Lisa went through some challenges this year while enduring shoulder surgery which caused her to not finish as high as she would have wanted.  But always the fighter and her ‘never quit’ attitude, she was able to overcome all obstacles and prevail once again as the tour champion.  Congratulations to all tour players for an excellent tour year.

40 women came to compete on April 7th and 8th at Legends Billiards in League City, TX.  12 of the women paid the extra $50 to have a chance at winning the WPBA qualifier and it was a hard fight to get it.  Five of the top 8 finishers were in contention, but in the end it was Noriyo Yurino (who is from Japan, but currently lives in Canada) who came out on top.  Noriyo won $750 and the WPBA Qualifier.

 

The weekend was well-hosted at Legends Billiards where room owner and Tournament Director Mindy Cohen made us all feel welcome, as always.  Her many pool tables allowed us to not only get play done early, but also had practice tables available for us.  Thanks Mindy!  Mindy had the help of Jimmy Moen, Dennis Strickland and Chuck Mills calling shots.  We also had WPBA Professional Belinda Campos visit our tournament over the entire weekend.  Thanks Belinda!

 

A big thank you to Wes Hunter for his continued support of the Hunter Classics Tour.  Dwight Brookland won the beautiful Hunter Classics Custom Cue valued at $1900.  This time the cue was of Brazilian Rosewood, Tiger Maple and Ivory Inlay with a Black Linen Wrap!  Also raffled off where autographed cue balls by Vivian Villarreal and Johnny Archer.

 

After the smoke cleared on Saturday, 12 women came back to play in the big event on Sunday.  The rest of the ladies competed in the Second Chance Tournament.  LaDonna Ulrich (local favorite) came out on top of the Second Chance Event with Trish Kaston (from Missouri) coming in 2nd, Kelly Harmon coming in 3rd (who had a great main event finish as well!) and Karen Smith (from Denver) coming in 4th.

 

On the other side of the room, Michelle Cortez, Julie Stephenson, Nicole Bacon and Deanna Kniola were waiting for the winner's brackets matches. On the winners side it was Shayla Neris (this was Shayla's first time to be on the winners bracket on Sunday!), Sherri Hudson, Melanie Koger, Leslie Rogers, Sybil Wingard (great tournament!), Lisa Marr, Noriyo Yurino and Brenda Plantz.  As play went on, Melanie Koger beat Noriyo for the winners bracket hill-hill, running out nicely.

 

Noriyo then had to play Brenda Plantz (who had just beat Lisa Marr and Deanna Kniola).  Noriyo won 9-4.  It was time for Melanie to play Noriyo again.  After being tied 5-5, Noriyo came out on top with a score of 11-9.  Congratulations to Melanie for another great finish and for Noriyo on her first Hunter Classics win and the WPBA Qualifier.  On their way to the finals, Noriyo beat LaDonna Ulrich 7-2, Tasha Salandanan 7-1, Kim Mills 7-3, Sybil Wingard 7-3, Lisa Marr 7-4, lost to Melanie Koger  6-7 for the winners bracket, beat Brenda Plantz 9-4 and Melanie Koger 11-9.  Melanie had a bye and then beat Gail Lave 7-2, Teresa Hayes 7-1, Leslie Rogers 7-2, Shayla Neris 7-2, Noriyo Yurino 7-6 and then lost the in the finals to Noriyo Yurino 9-11.  Looks like it was only Noriyo that could get past 2 games against Melanie!  Great tournament ladies!

 

Other news surrounding the tournament was the missed group of San Antonio G.rls, who were competing in a city tournament back home.  Some of the Dallas/Fort Worth girls were also missing, playing in their own league tournament as well on this weekend.  A special note to Crystal Livingston (all of 12 years old), who won her first match in the Second Chance Tournament 5-1!

 

Again, a big thank you to Wes Hunter who is thought of every day of the year that the ladies get to play the sport they love.  And, don't forget to visit Wes and the Hunter Classics Tour at www.hunterclassics.com.