On August 9-10, 2014, the NWPA’s fifth tour stop of 2014 was hosted by The Parlor in Bellevue, Washington. The Parlor added $500 to the event and a Volturi custom case voucher raffle added another $350 to the prize fund ($250 to the main event and $100 to the Second Chance.) Some tickets remain on the raffle, so if you are interested please contact Suzanne Smith (suzos78@gmail.com).
The NWPA would like to thank our sponsor Ozone Billiards and Volturi for their support for the 2014 season. Please check out their websites and show them your appreciation at www.ozonebilliards.com and www.volturicases.com. The NWPA tour standings and 2014 schedule are available at www.nwpatour.wordpress.com and is sanctioned by the WPBA. All skill levels are welcome to play and players can accrue points towards their semiprofessional status while gaining experience playing some of the top women players in the northwest.
Thirty ladies came out to compete Saturday morning. Only one new player joined in for the fun, Kirsten Fery out of Portland, OR. The tournament was run on 11 9-foot Brunswick Gold Crowns with Rail2Rail Productions providing a free live stream all weekend. The format was a race to 7, alternating break, 9 ball, with a race to 6 on the B side. There were only two first round byes, but play moved along. As usual play finished early Saturday evening, many of the ladies were given complimentary comedy club tickets to The Parlor Live. Thanks to Parlor GM, Dave Lauer, for taking care of us!
Sunday morning, eleven players remained. A side match ups included Jing Liu vs. Liz Cole (NWPA #1 and #2) and Shari Ross vs. Kim Benson. Liz and Kim both advanced through their morning matches, by the scores of 7-3 and 7-1, advancing them to the hot seat match. Liz and Kim battled it out for the hot seat, with Kim edging out Liz by the score of 7-4. On the B side, due to the early finish on Saturday, there were 3 matchups that needed to play before the money rounds. These matches include Rebecca Slyter vs. Sheila Clark, Stacy Eilts vs. Elizabeth Jensen, and Natalie Seal vs. Kim Toops. Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Natalie advanced into the money matches with the scores 6-4, 6-3, and 6-5 respectively. Following that round, the 7/8 matches were played, with Rebecca playing Suzanne Smith and Natalie playing Elizabeth. Suzanne and Elizabeth advanced by the scores of 6-1 and 6-3. Fired up from their morning losses Shari and Jing matched up next against Elizabeth and Suzanne. While Shari advanced by the score of 6-3, Jing went hill-hill against Suzanne. In the final game, Suzanne broke dry and Jing attempted to play a safety on the 1. Suzanne proceeded to run out the rack to advance by the slimmest of margins, 6-5. Shari then squared off against Suzanne. Suzanne picked up some steam and won that match 6-2. Suzanne then played Liz (fresh off the hot seat loss), and Suzanne continued with her strong shooting and defeated Liz 6-1 to earn her first final appearance of the 2014 season.
Kim Benson path to the final: Teri K (2), Patricia T (2), Suzanne S (2), Shari R (3), Liz C (4)
Suzanne Smith path to the final: Cassandra B (6), Melissa D (4), loss to Kim B (2), Jenny L (0), Rebecca S (1), Jing L (5), Shari R (2), Liz C (1)
The final was one race to 9, alternating break. Throughout the entire final, Kim’s stellar shot making and Suzanne’s missed safety opportunities would be the theme. Suzanne ended up down 5-2 before she would take her break. Kim expanded her lead steadily throughout the match, making fewer mistakes and maintaining her confidence throughout the set. Kim defeated Suzanne 9-4 to claim her second tour stop win on the NWPA, skyrocketing her to 3rd place in overall standings. Jing and Liz maintained their #1 and #2 spots, while Suzanne moved up to 4th with her finish. Should make for an exciting last two stops. Congratulations all the ladies for an excellent tournament.
The NWPA’s next event is back in Spokane WA at The Black Diamond on September 13-14, 2014.
Liz Cole's victory at the third stop on the Northwest Women's Pool Association Tour jumped her up six slots on the 2014 tour rankings, into second place. Jing Liu, who entered the tournament at the top of the rankings, maintained that position by chalking up 30 ranking points, in the tie for 17th place. Kim Toops, entering in the #3 slot, also finished in that tie, and dropped to fourth, when Cole moved ahead of her. Cole, winner of three stops on the NWPA Tour in 2013, picked up her first in 2014 at the May 3-4, $500-added event that drew 29 entrants to Ballad Town Billiards in Forest Grove, OR.
Cole's path to the finals made two initial stops on the winners' side of the bracket, with victories over Gretchen Sziebert, a shutout, and Stacy Eilts 6-2, before running into Mary Olson, who defeated her 6-4. The victory moved Olson into a winners' side semifinal against Kira North. Fran Johnson and Sheila Clark squared off in the other. North survived a double hill fight against Olson, as Clark downed Johnson 6-3. North claimed the hot seat 6-4 over Clark and waited on Cole.
Cole eliminated Johnson 6-1, earning herself a rematch in the quarterfinals against Olson, who'd defeated Matarazzo 6-3. Cole had the last say in a double hill contest, and then, defeated Clark 6-3 in the semifinals. In a single race-to-9 final, Cole defeated North 9-4 to claim the event title.
The Parlor in Bellevue, Washington hosted the fifth tour stop of the Northwest Women’s Pool Associations’ 2013 season. Located in beautiful downtown Bellevue, the Parlor offers a full variety of entertainment featuring The Parlor Live Comedy Club, the Ultra Lounge, and the Parlor Billiards & Spirits. In addition to the main floor, The Parlor has two private suites and full catering available for your company gatherings. Check out all they have to offer at www.parlorlive.com.
The tournament was run on eleven Brunswick Gold Crowns with Centennial balls. Twenty-eight players came out to compete Saturday morning and Rail2Rail Productions provided a free live stream all weekend. The format was 9 ball, alternating break, race to seven on the A side and 6 on the B side. New players to the tour included Jocelyn Liu, Helen Wragg, and Gloria Villa. Play wrapped up early Saturday evening and only twelve players returned on Sunday morning with a chance to win the event. On the A side, Liz Cole played Mary Hopkin, while Eve Stockstill took on Suzanne Smith. Liz and Eve both advanced through their morning matches, 7-3 and 7-6, respectively to advance. Liz continued in her winning ways, defeating Eve by a similar margin at 7-4. B side matches included: Gloria Villa vs. Shari Ross, Denice White vs. Natalie Seal, Tamre Rogers vs. Kim Jones, and Stacy Eilts vs. Jocelyn Liu. Shari (6-1), Natalie (6-3), Kim (6-1), and Stacy (6-4) advanced through their morning matches to the money rounds against each other, where Natalie and Kim defeated their opponents Shari and Stacy by the same score (6-3). Fresh off their first round losses, Mary then played Kim, while Suzanne took on Natalie. Kim picked up steam defeating Mary 6-3, while Suzanne recovered from her morning loss defeating Natalie 6-2. Kim and Suzanne then played each other. Up 5-4, in a race to 6, Kim seemed to have the edge in this match, but a failed safety and a missed 4-9 combination gave Suzanne the opportunity to close out both of the last two games with early 9s. Suzanne then went on to defeat Eve 6-3 to earn a place in her first final of the 2013 season.
FINAL Match- Liz Cole vs. Suzanne Smith
Liz Cole- path to the final: Sheila C (2), Jessica O (0), Natalie Seal (1), Mary H (3), Eve S (4)
Suzanne Smith- path to the final: Kathy S (3), Gloria V (2), Jocelyn L (4), loss to Eve S (6), Natalie S (2), Kim J (5), Eve S (3)
The finals were one race to 9, alternating break. Liz won the lag and both players didn’t really catch a groove until the middle of the set. At 5-4 Liz, Suzanne missed a 9 to tie the match. Liz capitalized there to take the 6-4 lead, and never looked back. Then, a miss on the 1 ball and dry break, by Suzanne resulted in Liz running out both of those racks. Liz picked up steam and Suzanne couldn’t withstand the heat. At 8-4, both players made and missed shots. Suzanne got into a tough position late in the rack and ended up making the 8 and scratching, giving Liz ball in hand on the 9 to win the tournament. Liz closed the gap between herself and Mary for top slot in overall standings, while Suzanne jumped up from 9th to 3rd place overall. With two more tour stops, it should be a battle, as always.
Thanks again to The Parlor for their continuous support of the NWPA, our title sponsor Mueller, and all the ladies that make our tour what it is. The next NWPA event has yet to be confirmed, but is planned for Oct 5-6, 2013. Please confirm information on the next stop on the NWPA’s website : nwpatour.wordpress.com
Liz Cole went undefeated to win the third stop on the Northwest Women's Pool Association Tour, held on the weekend of May 18-19. The victory also qualified the winner for the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in Tunica, MS next month, but because Cole was already qualified, that slot went to Shelby Locati, who'd won three on the loss side to meet her in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 23 entrants to Ballad Town Billiards in Forest Grove, OR, with selected matches streamed live by Rail2Rail Productions via Ustream.
Cole opened her five-match winning campaign by giving up only two racks in her first two matches; one each to Stacy Eilts and Mary Hopkin. Then, among the winners' side final four, she met up with Tamre Rogers, who battled her to double hill, before giving way. Joining Cole in the hot seat match was Suzanne Smith, who'd gotten by Rebecca Slyter, Robin Adams, and Sharon Bledsoe, before meeting and defeating Locati in the other winners' side semifinal 6-3. Cole moved into the hot seat with a 6-2 win over Smith and waited for what turned out to be the return of Locati.
Locati moved west and picked up Hopkin, who'd defeated Alisha Rogers and Cristy Barsky, both 6-4. Rogers drew Andrena Brown, who'd defeated Tammy Holcomb 6-2 and shut out Elaine Eberly. Rogers eliminated Brown 6-4 and in the quarterfinals, faced Locati, who just did survive a double hill match against Hopkin. Locati picked up her second straight, double hill win, ending Rogers' bid in the quarterfinals, and then shut out Smith in the semifinals.
In the single race-to-9 finals that followed, Cole and Locati traded racks back and forth, right from the start. They did so right through to double hill. Knotted at seven games apiece, Cole missed an easy shot on the 9-ball, and Locati reached the hill first. Cole missed an easy shot on the 4-ball in the next rack, but Locati couldn't take advantage. Cole finished to knot things at double hill and then won the final game to claim the event title.
On November 19-20th The Parlor in Bellevue, WA hosted the NWPA’s 7th and final tour stop of the 2011 Season. The tournament was ran on 10 9 foot Brunswicks and Rail2Rail Productions provided live streaming throughout the event. As always, The Parlor was a gracious host and even provided comedy club tickets to several of the entrants after the NWPA banquet hosted as a buffet style dinner at The Ultra Lounge. Some of the The Parlor’s upcoming events include The Vixen Gauntlet and Country Line Dancing on Wednesdays, Thursday/Saturday football specials with 16 HD TVs and all kinds of door prizes and giveaways, DL Hughley on December 8-10, and Comic Search open auditions on December 15-17.
We would like to give special thanks to our title sponsor MUELLER for their continued support of the NWPA, please show your support to the NWPA by supporting Mueller (www.mueller.com). We would also like to extend a warm welcome to two new players: Clodagh Lancaster from Redmond, WA and Sara Mullenniex from Bellingham, WA.
2011 NWPA Awards were given at the banquet Saturday night and included:
Also at the banquet, conclusion of our annual raffle took place. Ed & Shelby Locati, Phyllis Fernandez, and Liz Cole all won cues and cases donated by Mueller, Brian Johnson and Alisha Rogers both won NWPA merchandise, and Shawn Graves won the coveted Passion Party basket, donated by Liz Cole’s sister.
Fresh off her first top 16 performance at the WPBA’s Tour Championship event Liz Cole was the favorite to win. With that performance, Liz earned her 2012 exemption on the WPBA, so whoever earned second in the NWPA’s overall standings would prove to be the NWPA representative, along with Liz, on the WPBA for 2012. In contention were Kimberly Kirk and Deby Welfringer, both players would have to have their best tournament of the year to have an opportunity. Kimberly would need to win the event, while Deby would need to finish 3rd.
Twenty ladies came to play on Saturday morning, and unfortunately due to snow, a few of the tours’ top players were not in attendance. Matches started at 10 am, and the field was whittled down to 8 players who returned on Sunday. On the A side, Liz Cole squared off against Michelle Hughes (her first Sunday appearance), while Shelby Locati battled against recently crowned 2011 US Amateur Champion, Suzanne Smith. Liz and Suzanne both won their matches 7-4 and 7-2. Liz then defeated Suzanne 7-4 to secure her 6th final appearance of the season. On the B side, Kimberly Kirk played Jessica Orth and Deby Welfringer played Clodagh Lancaster. Both Kimberly and Deby defeated their opponents 7-5, and momentum from their morning wins propelled them through their second rounds where Kimberly defeated Shelby 7-6 and Deby defeated Michelle 7-3.
The next match would prove to be a true test, for if Deby were to advance she would be guaranteed a 3rd place finish and take over 2nd place in the standings. Kimberly had different plans, as she was also in contention for that 2nd place spot, and ended up defeating Deby 7-2. Kimberly continued her superb play and defeated Suzanne 7-4 to secure her spot in the final against Liz.
Path to the Final
Liz Cole: Andy R (6), Shari R (5), Kathy S (2), Michelle H (5), Suzanne S (4)
Kimberly Kirk: Bye, Sara M (0), loss to Michelle H (5), Andy R (3), Jessica O (5), Shelby L (6), Suzanne S (4)
Kimberly won the lag. Straight out of the gate, Kimberly continued stroking the ball well to take a 3-0 lead, forcing Liz to take her break early to regain her composure. After Liz’s break, a couple untimely errors by Kimberly allowed Liz to tie up the match at 3 games each. Both ladies were shooting great and the match was alos tied at 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6, however in game 14, with an opportunity to tie the match again at 7, a hung 8 ball by Kimberly allowed Liz to take a two game lead 8-6. Kimberly then scratched on the break for the first time of the set in the next rack and Liz methodically ran out the rack to end Kimberly’s hopes of securing 2nd place in the standings. Congratulations Ladies, Great Tournament for you both. Congratulations to Jana Montour as well, who with her 2nd place position in the NWPA’s overall standings has earned her tour card. Thanks to all who came out to support the NWPA. It was a great season and we will see everyone (and hopefully more of us) in 2012.
Five ladies returned on Sunday for a $100 Added Second Chance Tournament. A round robin format was used, so each lady played the others five games. Alisha Rogers won the most games to claim top prize, while only 1 game separated 2nd and 3rd places. Sara and Talya ended up tied for fourth position, but since Sara had defeated Talya in their match, Sara received 4th place prize.
