Terry Petrosino, defeated Gail Eaton, to secure her first win on the Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour. It was the final event of the 2017 season, and a memorable win for Petrosino, having finished in second place, four times this year. 

 

On November 11th-12th, 2017, Fat Rack’s Sports Bar and Billiards in San Antonio, Texas, along with tour sponsors, Cyclop Pool Balls Facebook.com/CyclopPoolBalls, Ozone Billiards OzoneBilliards.com, APA of North Harris County Facebook.com/APANorthHarrisCounty, Outsville Billiards, and Jimmy Jenkins Realty, facilitated a successful, two-day, $1,000 added 9-ball event for Gulf Coast Tour competitors. 

 

At this event, the tour initiated an annual awards ceremony which recognizes and rewards players for their outstanding achievements in a number of categories. Gail Eaton was crowned 2017 Tour Champion (point leader) and received a plaque for her efforts. It was Eaton’s second tour championship, securing her first in 2013. Eaton also earned the new “Sportsmanship Award”, an award voted on by her peers. San Antonio’s Lois Morgado took home the inaugural “Most Improved Player Award”, while Gail Roles received the coveted “Rebecca Arcangeli Dubious Achievement Award”, honoring our recently fallen friend and player, Rebecca Arcangeli.  Rebecca loved to joke around and pull pranks, smiling and laughing all the while, and each year, one player will receive this award to honor that spirit. Lastly, a “Best Attendance” Award was given to Loretta Lindgren, Gail Roles, and Gail Eaton. Each player missed only one event, in the eleven-event season. Congratulations to all these deserving women.

 

Following the annual awards ceremony and a brief players’ meeting, Saturday’s matches commenced. Terry Petrosino was on her way with wins over Robyn Petrosino, 7-4, and Naomi Garcia, 7-2, while San Antonio’s Jennifer Dooley ousted tour newcomer Tara Sanchez, 7-4,  Erica “Hollywood” Hanlon, 7-5, and Gail “Thunder” Roles, 7-2. Gail “Virginia Slim” Eaton overcame Kim “Texas Heat” Pierce, 7-6, Tina Hess, 7-4, and Ellen Robinson, 7-2, while hometown favorite, Sophia Lopez, defeated Yvonne Asher, 7-5, newcomer Yvonne Martinez, 7-3, and Lois Morgado. Following a second round upset by Morgado, 7-5, Houston’s Jillian Nickerson ran through the west side eliminating Sanchez, 5-1, Loretta “The Gem” Lindgren, 5-0, and Garcia, 5-4. In similar fashion, following a first round loss to T. Petrosino, 7-2, Jennifer Yo took out Tam Trinh, 5-2, Tina Hess, and Roles, 5-3. The younger Petrosino bounced back, eliminating Hopey Lawrence (Carter), 5-3, Pierce, and Morgado. Asher made a stand, sending home Lufkin’s Toni Estevez, 5-3, San Antonio’s Edelina Flores, 5-3, and Hanlon, only to be thwarted by Robinson, 5-2. On Sunday, the final eight were back, and in the money. East side action witnessed Dooley overpower T. Petrosino, 7-4, and Lopez overwhelm Eaton, 7-2. Petrosino and Lopez teed off for the hot seat. The score was 6-5, Petrosino, when Lopez missed a seven-ball to tie the set. Petrosino closed it out, 7-5, drawing herself one step closer to the finish line. On the one loss side, Nickerson ended Yo, 5-1, and R. Petrosino finished off Robinson, 5-2. Nickerson’s run ended at the hands of Eaton, 5-0, while Dooley terminated R. Petrosino, 5-4. Eaton was on a mission, ousting Dooley, 7-2, and Lopez, 5-1, to meet Petrosino in an all-too familiar, finals match-up. Petrosino, in search of her first win on tour, and Eaton, looking for her sixth win this season, teed off in an unforgettable, season finale. The first set was a real crowd pleaser, with Eaton nosing ahead to the finish line, 7-6. In the second set of the true, double elimination final, in an immense display of heart and focus, Petrosino came back to defeat Eaton, 5-2, and capture her first win on the Gulf Coast Tour. Congratulations to Terry Petrosino, for breaking through in this final event, to earn her very first, Gulf Coast Tour title.

 

Gail Roles won her first, second chance event on tour, while Edelina Flores finished second. Congratulations to these ladies on earning a little gas money for their ride home. The tour would also like to welcome its newest members, Tara Sanchez, Yvette Martinez, and Michelle Moreno. Welcome to the club!

 

The first event of the 2018 season will be held February 10th-11th at Bogies Billiards West, 9638 Jones Road in Houston, Texas. This 9-ball event will be two-days, played on 8’ tables with Cyclop Pool Balls. For more information about the WPBA sanctioned, Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour, visit GulfCoastWomensTour.com. 

 

The Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour is sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), and is open to amateur, female players of all ages. The top 32 WPBA Exempt Professionals are not eligible to participate. The WPBA is the governing body of women’s professional billiards in the U.S. The WPBA Regional Tour System is the grass roots effort that feeds the WPBA Pro Billiards Tour. As a WPBA Regional Tour Member, players gain access to WPBA Pro Event Qualifiers and earn valuable WPBA Regional Tour Points which count toward earning invitations to the annual WPBA Regional Tour Championship and WPBA Pro Events. Whether it’s simply to challenge yourself, improve your game, or become a recognized professional, support and become a part of the longest-running, women’s sports organization in the U.S.; the WPBA.

 

If you are interested in starting a WPBA Regional Tour in your area, or participating on a WPBA Regional Tour, please contact the WPBA Office at 1.855.FOR.WPBA or visit www.WPBA.com. 

The event was one for the books, as San Antonio’s Kawania Watson went unchallenged amidst an impressive field of 25 semi-professional players to capture her first Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour 9-ball event. Watson, who joined the tour in November 2016, fell short in her first outing, finishing 9th, but made up for it in only her second start on tour. She secured the hot seat match, taking down the tour’s current #1 ranked player, Gail Eaton, 7-6. In the finals, she defeated #2 ranked, Austin’s Jennifer Yo, 7-4, notching her belt with a first-time, Gulf Coast Tour victory. 

 

On May 6th, 2017, the Gulf Coast Tour held its 5th stop of the year at Skinny Bob’s Billiards in Round Rock, Texas. Room owners John and Sue Cielo, along with tour sponsors Cyclop Pool Balls www.facebook.com/CyclopPoolBalls, Ozone Billiards www.OzoneBilliards.com, APA of North Harris County www.facebook.com/apanorthharriscounty, Realtor Jimmy Jenkins, and www.OutsvillBilliards.com,  facilitated another successful event for the women of the  Gulf Coast Tour. Dubbed the “8th Annual Texas 9-Ball Shoot-Out”, the one-day, open bar table event, paid out a generous $900, and featured a non-smoking, private playing area with eight (8) new Diamond bar tables. “This is our eighth, consecutive year hosting events at Skinny Bob’s. We’d like to thank John and Sue for their generosity over the years, and for being a constant source of support for the Texas pool community”, says Gulf Coast Tour and Poison Lone Star Tour Director, Kim Newsome.

 

Following a short players’ meeting, action kicked off around noon, and Watson began her trek to the winners’ circle. She booked wins over Lisa Pinkston, Kris Wilburn, 7-2, and Megan Hardin, 7-1, while Jennifer Dooley bested Cheryl Gaffaney, Toni Estevez, 7-6, and Amber Keithley, 7-3. Jennifer Yo overcame Louisiana’s Hopey Carter, 7-3, and Yvonne Asher, 7-4, while Gail Eaton, aka “Virginia Slim”, bested former WPBA player and tour newcomer, Tina Hess, 7-4, Aryana Lynch, 7-2, and Veronica Perez aka “Pistol Perez”, 7-0. As the final four on the winners’ side took shape, one-loss side action was in full swing. Newest tour member, Cindy Barthel, lost her first match to Perez, and went on to eliminate Estevez, 5-3, Gail Roles, 5-0, and Asher, 5-1. After losing her first match to Asher, San Antonio’s Sophia Lopez took out Lois Morgado, 5-2, and Wilburn, 5-4, but fell to Perez, 5-2. Barthel took out Perez, 5-2, sliding into 5th-6th, and in the money. Teenage phenom, Lynch, suffered a first-round loss at the hands of Loretta Lindgren, and made her bid on the one-loss side with wins over Diana Cardona, 5-3, and Marilina Nieves, 5-1, but was sent home by Hardin, 5-3. Carter secured west-side wins over Pinkston, 5-3, Rebecca Arcangeli, 5-4, and Keithley, 5-1, before falling to Hardin, 5-2. While Barthel and Hardin secured their place in the top six, the east side final four witnessed Watson slip by Dooley, 7-6, and Eaton make quick work of Yo, 7-3. The hot seat match between Watson and Eaton was a fight to the finish, and a real crowd pleaser. When the smoke cleared, it was Watson on top, 7-6. Back on the west side, Yo defeated Hardin, 5-0, while Dooley ended Barthel’s run, 5-2. Yo eliminated Dooley, 5-0, and Eaton, 5-3, to meet Watson in the finals. Watson was hungry for her first tour win, and Yo was going for her second victory of the year. Watson rose to the occasion, defeating Yo in the first set of the true double elimination final, 7-4. Congratulations to Kawania Watson on her first-ever, Gulf Coast Tour win!

 

The Gulf Coast Tour welcomes its newest member, Cindy Barthel, who also achieved her highest tournament finish to date (5th-6th), at this event. Jennifer Dooley and Megan Hardin booked their highest finishes as well,  4th and 5th-6th, respectively. Congratulations to all those who reached a milestone at this event.

 

The Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour is open to players of all ages and skill levels, however, the top 32 WPBA Exempt Professionals are not permitted to participate. The next Gulf Coast Tour 9-ball event will be held on May 27th-28th, at CK Billiards, 9247 Skillman St., Suite 105, in Dallas, Texas. This event will be $1,000 added, played on 8’ tables, with Cyclop Pool Balls. This event will also be a qualifier for a 2018 WPBA Pro Event. Free practice begins at 10am, and the mandatory players’ meeting begins at 11am. For more information about the WPBA sanctioned, Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour, visit GulfCoastWomensTour.com. Follow us on Facebook @gulfcoasttour1 and Twitter @gulfcoasttour.

 

The WPBA (Women’s Professional Billiard Association) is the governing body of women’s professional billiards in the U.S. The Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour is a sanctioned, WPBA Regional Tour, part of the grass roots system that feeds the WPBA Pro Billiards Tour. Amateur and semi-professional, female players, who aspire to play women’s professional billiards, must qualify through this elite system in order to attain the sought-after title, WPBA Exempt Professional. Have you ever considered taking your game to the next level, looking for a different challenge? Are you tired of the same old week-in, week-out routines deterring the progress of your game? Is it your dream to play in a pro event, or turn pro? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to find the WPBA Regional Tour nearest you. Exclusively, WPBA Regional Tour Players gain access to WPBA Pro Event Qualifiers and earn valuable WPBA Regional Tour Points which count toward earning invitations to the annual WPBA Regional Tour Championship and WPBA Pro Events. Live your dream, support and become a part of, the longest-running, professional billiard organization in the U.S., the WPBA.

 

If you are interested in starting a WPBA Regional Tour in your area, or participating on a WPBA Regional Tour, please contact the WPBA Office at 1.855.FOR.WPBA or visit www.WPBA.com.