It's becoming a familiar, repetitive story. Women gather to compete on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, and as a result of how things have played out over the past two seasons, most of the tournament entrants are fighting to figure out who'll finish in second, third and/or fourth place, because Karen Corr takes home the title; five out of nine times in 2014 (she didn't compete in the other four), and all five times so far in 2015. She chalked up her most recent victory during the fifth stop on this year's tour, on the weekend of July 18-19. The $1,500-added event ($500 from Coins of the Realm) drew 25 entrants to Champion Billiards and Sports Cafe in Frederick, MD.
On the previous stop (June 13-14), Corr made it to a winners' side semifinal, having given up only four racks through her first 32 games. She gave up nine in her first 30 games during this most recent stop, including six in a race to seven against Jia Li, who won three stops in 2014, and was runner-up to Corr in another. Corr prevailed and after a subsequent 7-1 victory, she moved into a winners' side semifinal against Lai Li (no relation to Jia Li). Linda Shea, in the meantime, who was runner-up to Corr twice last year, and twice this year, faced Melissa Jenkins. Corr downed Li 7-3, as Shea defeated Jenkins 7-1. Corr claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Shea and waited, once again, on her return.
On the loss side, the narrowly defeated (by Corr) Jia Li was working on a seven-match winning streak that would take her as far as the semifinals. She shut out Nicole Fleming and defeated Pauline Mattes 7-5 to draw Lai Li. Melissa Jenkins picked up Kathy Friend, who'd gotten by Denise Reeve 7-5 and Tina Scott 7-3. Jia Li defeated Lai Li 7-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Friend, who'd eliminated Jenkins 7-4.
Jia Li defeated Friend 7-2, and then had her loss-side winning streak snapped 7-5 by Shea in the semifinals. Corr closed out her fourth straight win on the 2015 JPNEWT with a 7-2 victory over Shea in the finals.
Karen Corr continues to dominate the proceedings on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour. On the weekend of May 30-31, she chalked up her third 2015 victory on the tour (adding to her five victories on the tour in 2014), going undefeated through a field of 28, on hand for the $1,0000-added ($500 by Coins of the Realm) event that was hosted by Triple Nines Bar and Billiards, in Elkridge, MD.
Corr was challenged by different opponents in the hot seat and finals. Following victories over Boye Lu, Kia Sidbury, and Joy McFeaters (by an average score of 7-2), Corr squared off in a winners' side semifinal against Nicole Fleming. Kim Whitman, in the meantime, who'd averaged 7-3 victories over Kassandra Bein, Tina Scott, and Kathy Friend, faced Briana Miller, who had defeated her three opponents (Connie Eddins, tour director Linda Shea, and Eugenia Gyftopoulos) by an average that was right between Corr's 7-2 and Whitman's 7-3.
Corr gave up only one rack to Fleming, and in the hot seat match, faced Whitman, who'd sent Miller to the loss side 7-2. Corr claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Whitman and waited for what turned out to be the return of Briana Miller.
On the loss side, Miller picked up Shea for a second time. Shea was on a four-match winning streak that had included victories over McFeaters 7- 3 and a shutout over Tina Scott. Fleming drew Kathy Friend, who'd gotten by Pauline Mattes 7-3 and Kia Sidbury 7-1. Miller downed Shea a second time 7-3, and in the quarterfinals, faced Friend, who'd eliminated Fleming 7-2.
Miller took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Friend and then, gave up only a single rack to Whitman in the semifinals. Miller came within a game of forcing Corr into a double hill, deciding game, but Corr prevailed 7-5 to claim her third 2015 JPNEWT title.
Illness precluded her participation in the 2014 VA State 10-Ball Championships to defend the title she'd won in the inaugural event in 2013, but Janet Atwell returned this year, and went undefeated through a field of 22 to reclaim the title, won last year by Tracie Majors. The event was hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA on the weekend of February 7-8.
Victories over Cheryl Sporleder, Nicole Fleming and Dawn Buchanan put Atwell in a winners' side semifinal versus Meredith Lynch. Jacki Duggan, in the meantime, following victories over Pauline Mattes and Tracey Collins, faced Falon Newton. Lynch and Newton both put up double hill fights, but Atwell and Duggan prevailed to square off for the first time in the hot seat match. Atwell shut Duggan out and waited in the hot seat for her return.
On the loss side, Lynch drew Tina Scott, who'd gotten by Lai Li, double hill, and Sheri Bruner 5-2. Newton picked up Kim Whitman, who'd eliminated Sporleder, double hill and Buchanan 5-3. Whitman and Scott handed Lynch and Newton their second loss, both 5-3, and met in the quarterfinals, where Scott prevailed 5-2.
Duggan defeated Scott 5-2 in the semifinals, and like her male counterpart in these VA State 10-Ball Championships (Matt Krah; see separate story), entered the finals with the sting of a hot seat shutout fresh in her memory. Atwell gave up only a single rack to Duggan in the finals to claim her second VA State 10-Ball title.
Since the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour began its 2014 season back in March, there have only been five players involved in the finals of the tour's seven stops. Five of those seven finals have been won by Karen Corr. Jia Li won the other two, including the most recent; a $1,000-added event that drew 21 entrants to the Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, MD, on the weekend of October 10-11. Tour director Linda Shea has been in four of those seven finals, including the most recent. Asia Cycak was the runner-up to Corr in the opening stop in March. Dawn Fox was runner-up to Corr in July and Jia Li was defeated by Corr in the August finals. This most recent stop marked the first time since July that Corr was not involved in the event finals.
Jia Li played eight matches during the most recent stop. She was awarded a bye in the opening round and was then narrowly defeated by Judie Wilson (7-6) in the only match she played on the winners' side of the bracket. She went on to win six on the loss side, was awarded a forfeit victory, and then, defeated tour director, and at the time, hot seat occupant, Linda Shea, in the finals. In their June finals match-up, it was Shea who entered the finals from the loss side, having been defeated by Li in the hot seat match.
As Li was at work on the loss side, Shea advanced among the winners' side final four, for a match against Joey Stearns. Ji-Hyun Park met up with Dawn Fox in the other winners' side semifinal. Shea defeated Stearns 7-5, and in the hot seat match, met up with Park, who'd defeated Fox 7-2. Shea claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Park and for the fourth time this year, entered the finals.
It was Stearns, who moved over and met up with Li, who, by that time, had chalked up four, loss-side wins, including a 7-4 win over Pauline Mattes, and a 7-2 victory over Sharon O'Hanlon.
Fox picked up Nicole Nester, who'd gotten by Borana Andoni 7-5 and then shut out Judie Wilson. It was at this juncture that Li won a forfeit victory over Stearns, and advanced to the quarterfinals against Nester, who'd eliminated Fox 7-1.
Li defeated Nester 7-4, and entered her second JPNEWT final against Shea, with a 7-2 win over Ji-Hyun Park in the semifinals. Li chalked up her second JPNEWT victory of the year with a 9-5 victory over Shea.
Adam Kielar rode a match-by-match roller coaster through seven opponents during the 2nd Annual VA State 10-Ball Championships held on the weekend of January 11-12, and ended the ride with the event title. In a concurrently-run women's event, Tracie Majors faced five opponents and like Kielar finished undefeated to claim the event title. The dual events, held under the auspices of the Action Pool Tour and hosted by Diamond Billiards in Midlothian, VA, drew 80 entrants; 64 to the Open, and 16 to the women's tournament.
Kielar started his trip to the state championship winners' circle with a shutout over Alex Travino, and then as the winners' bracket narrowed, started to face increased competition. Paul Cogle chalked up three racks against him, Alan Duty got within two at 8-6 and in a winners' side final eight battle, Kenny Miller forced him into a double hill deciding game. He survived to face Shaun Wilkie, as Brian Deska squared off against Greg Taylor in the other winners' side semifinal.
Fresh off his double hill struggle, Kielar gave up only a single rack to Wilkie and in the hot seat match, met Deska, who'd just survived his own double hill troubles against Taylor. Kielar gave up only three in the match against Deska, which left him in the hot seat, awaiting what turned out to be the return of Wilkie.
Wilkie had moved over to meet Reymart Lim, who'd defeated Eric Moore, double hill, and Chris Bruner 6-4. Taylor drew Kenny Miller, who, after his defeat at the hands of Kielar went on to drop Cody Phillips 6-2 and defeat Danny Mastermaker, double hill. Wilkie got by Lim 6-2, as Miller was busy chalking up his second straight double hill win; this time, against Taylor.
Wilkie gave up only two racks against Miller in the quarterfinals, and gave up only one to Brian Deska in the semifinals. Kielar, though, was not to be denied. He took the final match 10-4 to claim the VA State 10-Ball Championship title.
On the women's side, Tracie Majors charted a similar up and down course to the finals. She gave up two racks in an opening round match against Michele Jones, four against Jacki Duggan, and then had to fight a double hill deciding match against Tina Scott in a winners' side semifinal. In the hot seat match, Majors met Sheri Bruner, who'd sent Shanna Lewis to the loss side 8-2. She defeated Bruner 8-3 and sat in the hot seat, awaiting the only opponent who'd given her a double hill hard time, Tina Scott.
Scott had moved over to pick up Gwen Townsend, who'd gotten by Sarah Thomas 6-2 and Daisy Blancafor 6-4. Meanwhile, Shanna Lewis drew Cheryl Pritchard, who'd defeated Pauline Mattes and Jacki Duggan, both 6-4. Scott and Prtichard both survived double hill matches against Townsend and Pritchard to face each other in the quarterfinals, where Scott advanced 6-2 to meet Bruner in the semifinals.
Scott prevailed over Bruner in another double hill match to earn a re-match against Majors in the finals. Majors completed her undefeated run with a 10-5 win over Scott to claim the VA State Women's 10-Ball Championship.
These VA State 10-Ball Championships were the first event of the 2014 Action Pool Tour season, but the last official event to be overseen by Tour Director Ozzy Reynolds, who will move to Las Vegas in February to accept a position as a manager of Cue Sports International. He will continue to maintain administrative oversight of the Action Pool Tour, as Stephen Quan, long-time assistant, will handle tournament responsibilities going forward.
"I have 100% confidence that (Steve) will do a fantastic job," said Reynolds, "mainly because he's been doing everything anyway. We'd get it all set up and I'd go out and play, while he did everything else."
Reynolds is still a little stunned by this turn of events in his life.
"I'm excited for the opportunity," he said. "I never in a million years ever saw (a position like this with CSI) as an option, so I'm still pinching myself a little."
"I didn't realize that the tour would have the success that it's had, and would catapult my name into a position to even have this opportunity," he added. "The most rewarding part of the experience for me has been the wonderful people that I've met and interacted with over these past few years. It's one of the reasons that I wasn't upset about being eliminated early in this tournament (tied for 33rd), because it afforded me the opportunity to spend some quality time with the people I've been associated with. I anticipate maintaining relationships with many of these people."
Linda Shea hasn't been competing as much this year as she did last year, when she won three stops on her J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, and finished second in five more. With two stops behind her (finishing 7th in April and 3rd in May), she came into the July 27-28 stop in fourth place in the tour standings (behind Yomaylin Feliz, Brianna Miller and Siming Chen). In the absence of Feliz, Miller, and Chen on this weekend, her undefeated run through a field of 18 moved her to the top of those rankings. The $1,250-added event ($500 of it distributed among the top three finishers by Coins of the Realm), was hosted by First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA.
It was a five-match march to the winners' circle for Shea, who began with a 7-4 victory over Kathy Friend, a 7-1 win over Nicole Fleming and a 7-2 outing against Pauline Mattes. Kia Sidbury joined her in one of the winners' side semifinals, while Ji Hyuen Park and Nicole Nester squared off in the other. Shea defeated Sidbury 7-5, and in the hot seat battle faced Park, who'd survived a double hill match against Nester. Shea sent Park to the semifinals 7-2 and settled into the hot seat.
It was Nester advancing on the loss side who ended up facing Park in the semifinals. She started out with a match against Dawn Fox, who'd gotten by Suzanne Sellet 7-2 and Mattes 7-5. Siidbury drew Tricia Tennant, who'd defeated Susan Shin and Judy Wilson, both 7-5. Nester and Tennant advanced to the quarterfinals with 7-2 victories over Fox and Sidbury.
Nester took that quarterfinal match against Tennant in another 7-2 win, and then ran into Park. Park stopped Nester's two-match, loss-side run 7-4 and earned her second shot at Shea. In the extended race-to-9 format final match, they battled to double hill before Shea closed it out to capture her first 2013 title on her own tour.
"She did very well, "said Shea of Park's effort. "It was the best I ever saw her play."
Shea thanked the ownership and staff of First Break Cafe ("They always treat us like royalty," she said of their hospitality), as well as Coins of the Realm for the money they added for the first three finishers. The next stop on the JPNEWT, at a date to be determined, is scheduled to be hosted by Atlantic City Billiards in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
TULSA, OK – Results are in for today’s first semi-final matchup between the #1 and #2 seeds in the WPBA US Open 9-Ball Championships taking place this week at the River Spirit Event Center. ESPN cameras rolled as Monica Webb and Allison Fisher, two veteran champions, took the stage.
Monica took the first point in the race to seven, but Allison quickly answered with two games of her own. Monica won the next three to lead 4-2. In the seventh game, Allison missed a surprising five ball in the corner that put Webb back at the table to extend her lead 5-2.
Allison picked up the next game to trail 5-3, and then another to trail 5-4 when Monica ended up short on a nine ball and missed a cross-side bank. She then broke and ran out to tie the match 5-5, and again to get to the hill, 6-5!
With no shot after the break, Fisher was forced to push out. A safety battle ensued but Fisher got first look at a long, sharp cut on the one. She nailed that, and proceeded to execute a tricky rack to take the win 7-5! Webb finishes tied for third place.
The quarter final, semi final and final matches will be broadcast by ESPN in seven one-hour national shows, airing Saturday, July 14, (Quarterfinals 12-4pm on ESPN2) and Sunday, July 15, (Semifinals/Final 1-4pm on ESPN2).
Fans and media can keep up with ongoing results at http://www.wpba.com/images/stories/brackets/2012_us_open.pdf Refresh the link for the most up-to-date results — scoring updates will take place throughout the day’s play!
Schedule of Events:
Sunday, June 10 at 3 pm and 5 pm
ESPN Semifinal #2 and Final (Tix are $20 general admission, $25 VIP)
It’s all taking place at the River Spirit Event Center, adjacent to the River Spirit Casino at 81st and Riverside in Tulsa.
Tickets are just $20 on June 9th and 10th! VIP tickets are available for $25. Visit www.riverspirittulsa.com/entertainment/eventcenter for tickets and more information!
TULSA, OK – The WPBA US Open 9-Ball Championships at the River Spirit Event Center in Tulsa have whittled the field down to 48 players from the original 64. The first sixteen players were eliminated after two consecutive losses. Here are the results of the first round in the one loss bracket. Winning players are matching up in day session play today and another sixteen players will soon say farewell to their US Open title hopes…
Elimination Round One (Defeated Players Eliminated)
Fans and media can keep up with ongoing results at http://www.wpba.com/images/stories/brackets/2012_us_open.pdf (refresh the link for the most up-to-date results!)
Schedule of Events:
Friday, June 8 at 10 am
Double elimination play in day and evening sessions
Saturday, June 9 at 1 pm
ESPN Quarterfinals (Tix are $20 general admission, $25 VIP)
Sunday, June 10 at 1 pm
ESPN Semifinals and Final (Tix are $20 general admission, $25 VIP)
The quarter final, semi final and final matches will be taped by ESPN for seven one-hour national broadcasts, airing Saturday, July 14, (Quarterfinals 12-4pm on ESPN2) and Sunday, July 15, (Semifinals/Final 1-4pm on ESPN2).
It all takes place at the River Spirit Event Center, adjacent to the River Spirit Casino at 81st and Riverside in Tulsa.
Tickets are just $10 on June 8th and $20 on June 9th and 10th! VIP tickets are available for $25. Visit www.riverspirittulsa.com/entertainment/eventcenter for tickets and more information!
TULSA, OK – Following the player’s meeting and draw at the River Spirit Events Center, the following are the times and match ups for Round One. Double elimination rounds continue until the field is narrowed to the final 16 on Friday, when the tournament becomes single elimination. #1 ranked Allison Fisher will attempt to defend her title!
Schedule of Events: Thursday, June 7 at 10 am Double elimination play in day and evening sessions Friday, June 8 at 10 am Double elimination play in day and evening sessions Saturday, June 9 at 1 pm ESPN Quarterfinals (Tix are $20 general admission, $25 VIP) Sunday, June 10 at 1 pm ESPN Semifinals and Final (Tix are $20 general admission, $25 VIP) The quarter final, semi final and final matches will be taped by ESPN for seven one-hour national broadcasts, airing Saturday, July 14, (Quarterfinals 12-4pm on ESPN2) and Sunday, July 15, (Semifinals/Final 1-4pm on ESPN2). It all takes place at the River Spirit Event Center, adjacent to the River Spirit Casino at 81st and Riverside in Tulsa.
The J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) headed to Atlantic City Billiards in Egg Harbor Township, NJ on the weekend of May 17-18, 2012. Atlantic City Billiards is one of several new venues to JPNEWT this year.
Pam Cimarelli returned to JPNEWT to take the win. She started out the gate fired-up with victories over Briana Miller 7-1 and Meredith Lynch 7-1, consecutively. Pam ended day one sending Sharon O’Hanlon west after defeating her 7-2. Meanwhile, Linda Shea downed Ji-Hyun Park 7-3, Denise Reeve 7-4 and Judie Wilson 7-3.
Judie Wilson’s first round bye shortened her number of matches played, but her skills shined through as she defeated Shanna Lewis 7-4, was put down by Shea 7-3, but picked things back up with a win over Lynch 7-4. Shanna Lewis defeated Kia Sidbury 7-2, was put down by Wilson, had two hill-hill victories over Pauline Mattes and Briana Miller, and finished day one with a win over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-4.
The final four met Sunday morning to continue the battle. Cimarelli sent Shea west after defeating her 7-4, putting Pam in the hot seat. Meanwhile, Lewis had a second chance to redeem herself against Wilson, but to no avail. Wilson eliminated Lewis 7-1. Judie met yet another rematch, but could not outdo Linda Shea’s 7-2 victory. The finals met yet another rematch, Pam Cimarelli vs Linda Shea. Cimarelli maintained consistency and defeated Shea again 7-4 leaving Cimarelli undefeated.
The J. Pechaurer Northeast Women’s Tour thanks all the players, spectators, and ustream.tv viewers for your participation and support. A special thank you goes out to our sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues for your continued support of women in billiards. Last but not least, thank you Atlantic City Billiards for hosting this event and inviting the tour back for future competitions!
Next tour stop: Markley Billiards in Norristown, PA on June 2-3, 2012.
