Tiger SMART gathered for the 2nd Annual Georgia State 9-Ball Championship at Rack & Grill II in Augusta, GA, September 16, 2017. Rack & Grill hosts two events a year and is also home to the very popular Monthly Tournament the first full weekend on each month. Chris Kuneman, owner, is always a fantastic host and Tiger SMART is so happy to have cultivated the relationship.
Format was double elimination, one race to nine in the final. The event was full of exciting matches including: a hill-hill victory for Debbie Teichert over Marianne Merrill; Tiffany Stidham over Christy Miller 7-5; Tiffany Stidham over Palma “Rose” Kogan 7-5; and Lisa Cossette over Erica He 7-5. There were also some one-sided matches including Ashley Rice over Audra Mozee 7-1; Belinda Calhoun over Palma “Rose” Kogan 7-1; and Marianne Merrill over Erica He 7-1.
Winner’s bracket final was won by Calhoun 7-4 over Ashley Rice while the one loss battle was won by Tiffany Stidham 7-4 over Lisa Cossette setting up the semi-final match between Stidham and Rice. Showing some signs of fatigue, Stidham was bested by Rice 7-2.
The one set final was very well played. Ashley Rice won the South Carolina Championship earlier in the year, showing she’s got game. Calhoun took the match and the title 9-5. Congratulations to all the ladies who displayed their talents, professionalism, and dedication to our sport.
Tiger SMART would like to thank our title sponsor Tiger Products along with Simonis, Aramith, Ozone Billiards and Quick-Clean.
Our next tour stop will be the North Carolina State Championship at Randolph’s Billiards in Hickory, NC, October 21-22. Come join the fun!
The WPBA Tiger SMART Tour staged the 5th Annual WPBA South Carolina State 9-Ball Championship May 20-21, 2017 at Palace Billiards in Greenville, SC. Many thanks to owner, Mike Sijon, for opening his room to host the event. Palace Billiards is a new venue for Tiger SMART and it is safe to say, will be a permanent venue for the tour. Sijon commented, “The girls are terrific; so well dressed and congenial.”
Format was two, six person, round robins, race to seven, with the top two finishers of each bracket playing a single elimination semi-final and race to nine final. Five rounds of group play began and was completed on Saturday. Bracket one results were: Ashley Rice 4-0; Tiffany Stidham 2-2 with a games won/games lost record of 25-20; Marianne Merrill 2-2/21-18; Cheryl Pritchard 2-2/21-23; and Audra Mozee 0-4. Bracket two results were: Belinda Calhoun 3-1/24-18; Debbie Teichert 3-1/24-22; Lisa Cossette 2-2/23-21; Betty Lea 2-2/22-21; and Julie Stephens 0-4.
On Sunday, the semi-finals were played by Debbie Teichert, who was having a fantastic tournament with her only loss in group play was to Calhoun and who has shown tremendous improvement over the past year and up and coming future star, Ashley Rice. Rice continued her unbeaten streak for a trip to the finals. The other semi-final was contested by Tiffany Stidham, back from child birth and Belinda Calhoun. At 5-6 Stidham played a great safety on the seven-ball. Calhoun kicks in the seven and had a shot on the nine for the win.
Rice played solid, was consistent, and took advantage of her opportunities, always a winning formula as evidenced by her 9-3 victory and a perfect 6-0 record for the weekend. Congratulations to Ashley Rice for a stellar performance the entire tournament. Rice not only captured the title but has won the opportunity to play in the next WPBA Pro event.
Many thanks to Tiger SMARTs sponsors: Tiger Products, Ozone Billiards, Simonis, Aramith, and Quick-Clean for helping to make dreams come true.
Rack and Grill II was the host site for the WPBA Georgia State 9-Ball Championship. Owner, Kris Kuneman was celebrating his 70th Birthday on July 16 with family and friends while the women were celebrating the competition. Tiger SMART wishes Chris the happiest of Birthdays.
Tiger SMART was thrilled to see Nikki Benish Mancuso return to the arena having been away from the game since 2000. Nikki’s entourage, Father Ray Benish, husband Joe Mancuso and eleven year old son, Cameron were also her training team and showed what a good team they were. Nikki was consistently a top 16 ranked player while she was on the tour.
After losing 4-7 to Calhoun in the first round, Nikki tore through the loser’s bracket with wins over Krystal Kelson 7-4; Christi Steele 7-6; Marianne Merrill 7-6; Cheryl Pritchard 7-1; and Buffy Jolie 7-1 to get to the final match against Calhoun. Nikki was in dead punch and ran, going away 9-4 for the title. Congratulations to Nikki Mancuso for her WPBA Georgia State 9-Ball Championship.
Congratulations to all the players and to Buffy Jolie – 3rd; Cheryl Pritchard – 4th; Tiffany Stidham 5-6; Marianne Merrill 5-6; Lisa Cossette – 7-8; and Christi Steele – 7-8.
Tiger SMART would like to acknowledge Tiger Products, Simonis, Aramith, Quick-Clean, and Ozone Billiards for their continued support of our phenomenal sport.
Randolph’s Billiards, in historic downtown Hickory, NC, was the first time host venue for the North Carolina State 9-Ball Championship. Many thanks to owners Randy and Becky Canipe for the hospitality, accommodation, and service provided. Special thanks to “Binky” and all of the Randolph’s staff.
October 25-26 was the weekend that Tiffany Stidham was crowned Champion. She arrived in the finals undefeated with wins over Aimee Kilby 7-0, Marianne Merrill 7-3, Belinda Calhoun 7-6, and Christy Norris 7-5. Her opponent in the final was Christy Norris whose road included wins over Stephanie Armstrong 7-3, Christy Miller 7-1, Buffy Jolie 7-2, before her loss to Tiffany 5-7 and then another win over Jolie 7-3 to put her in the final. The one race to nine final could not have been more exciting as the players reached hill-hill. Stidham won the last game of the extremely well played match by both players.
Other notable matches included Stephanie Armstrong’s win over Sonja Hancock 7-5 which put Stephanie in 7-8 after she lost to Cheryl Pritchard 5-7 and Christy Miller, first time player, 7-4 over Teresa Moore leaving Christy in 7-8 after her loss to Lisa Cossette 1-7.
Tiger SMART would like to thank Tiger Products, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Ozone Billiards, and Quick Clean for their support of the 2015 tour. The final stop of the year, the North Carolina State 10-Ball Championship, will be November 15-16, at Chandley’s Billiards in Statesville, NC. Everyone is invited!
