NWPA Tour Stop #4 July 18-19, 2009 at Jillian’sThe sun was shining on July 18-19th 2009, as Jillian’s Billiard Club hosted the 4th NWPA tour stop of the year. On scenic Lake Union waterfront, Jillian’s houses 32 9-foot Brunswick tables, an enormous arcade, restaurant, and 2 full bars. The atmosphere is playful for all ages until 9:00 p.m. and there is even a private suite available for company parties or other special events, where in-house catering is available. For any of your entertaining needs, Jillian’s has it all: “Eat, Drink, and Play.” (Located at 731 Westlake Avenue in Seattle, Washington.)
Twenty-eight players from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia came out to battle for the $500 added prize fund, as well as add tour points to earn a spot for the Regional Tour Championship in early 2010. After an event-filled Saturday, the field was widdled down to 8 players on Sunday, including 2008 tour winner Liz Cole who was favored to win the event considering her dominating performances to claim titles at the previous two stops.
The winner’s bracket matches included Regene Wentzell vs. Elizabeth Jensen and Carissa Biggs vs. Liz Cole. Both Regene and Liz would advance through their matches to battle for the hot seat which Regene won 7-5. The one-loss bracket matches included NWPA newcomer Shelby Locati vs. former Dufferin Tour Champion Mary Ellen Homenchuk, along with tour regular Kit Dennis vs. 2008 Tour Runner-Up Cindy Sliva. Shelby and Kit both lost their morning matches and finished tied 7/8th. Great showing ladies… As fate would have it their morning wins would be enough to advance Cindy and Mary Ellen through their second matches of the day, past Carissa and Elizabeth who ended their tournament tied 5/6th. Cindy would also beat Mary Ellen and Liz to make to her first final of 2009. Congratulations on your strong shooting ladies!
The Final: Regene Wentzell and Cindy Sliva.
Regene’s path to the final: Bye, Shelby L. (6), Tamre R. (4), Elizabeth J. (2), Liz C. (5)
Cindy’s path to the final: Loss to Andrea S. (5), Wendy S. (6), Elaine E. (3), Mary O. (5), Tamre (4), Kit D. (6), Carissa B. (4), Liz C. (5)
The final was one race to nine, and Cindy won the lag. Cindy, straight out of the gate, was shooting extremely well and ended up taking a 3-0 lead before Regene took her break. It didn’t stop there, as upon her return, Cindy increased the lead to 6-0 before faltering in rack 7 where an unintentional safety had Cindy kicking at the 7-ball. She made a good hit, but the opening allowed Regene to run out and get on the board. A couple more misses late in the rack allowed for Regene to bring the score to 6-3. Cindy took game 10 to get within two of the win. Cindy was stroking every shot in the next couple racks, but a ball-in-hand on the 9 and a 9-ball hanger allowed Regene to creep within two games of Cindy. Game 13 would start out with a multiple safeties by both players to jockey around the foot spot cluster (their was some concerns with racking). Cindy would take the game after a rattle on the 6-ball left Regene forced to play a kick defense. Just missed, Cindy was left with a long shot on the 6, which she made, and then ran out to reach the hill first. Game 14 was more of the same as Regene broke and made the 6 and 7-balls. She made the 1, but then followed the 2 in trying to cheat the pocket. With ball-in-hand and five balls remaining, Cindy made the 3 and 4 easily, but missed knocking the 5 out for better shape. She attempted a carom off the 5 into the 8-ball and missed. Regene made the 5 easily, but came back down table and snookered herself behind the 9-ball. She played the kick shot to cut the 8 in the corner, but ended up hitting it too thin and leaving the 8-ball in front of the pocket. Cindy made the 8 easily, and set herself up perfectly to make the 9 in the opposite corner. Game and match go to Cindy… Great finish Regene, and welcome back to the NWPA. (Regene was a regular on the tour back in the days of Hsin Huang, but has since been staying closer to home with leagues and local events.)
Superstar Notable- Cindy lost her first match of the tournament to defending WWA BCA 9-Ball Champion Andrea Saenz-Maes. She battled all the way back to take the title. Kudos to you for an outstanding tournament!!!
1- $435 Cindy Sliva
2-$280 Regene Wentzell
3-$185 Liz Cole
4-$145 Mary Ellen Homenchuk
5/6th-$86 Carissa Biggs/Elizabeth Jensen
7/8th-$66 Kit Dennis/Shelby Locati
Liz Cole Wins at Malarkey's
Malarkey’s Pool and Brew hosted Tour Stop #3 of the NWPA Tour. The women were greeted with Krispy Kremes by a very courteous staff and enjoyed playing on the vintage Brunswicks, two of which have ashtrays at the corner pockets. Malarkey’s with its full service bar and complete menu, hosts numerous pool events throughout the year including Sunday night tournaments on the 7ft bar tables and APA leagues.
A sunny Saturday morning welcomed 32 women eager to play. As the day, progressed the field was whittled down to the final eight who would meet on Sunday. On the B-side of the bracket, Andrea Saenz-Maes, Regene Wentzell, Eve Stockstill, and Suzanne Smith remained to play on Sunday. On the A-side, Cindy Sliva, Mary Hopkin, Mikki Small, and Liz Cole were left. Early in the day it became evident that there were two players that would be battling for the top prize. Liz Cole with her smooth stroke and unwavering confidence won her first match of the day 7-3 and handing Mikki Small her first loss. In her next match to Mary Hopkin, Liz Cole played great pool to beat the seasoned veteran 7-4 and secure a comfortable position on the point.
After a disappointing loss to Liz Cole in her first match of the day, Mikki Small came back with a vengeance to beat Suzanne Smith 7-1. In her next match with Cindy Sliva, Mikki made a phenomenal 9-ball shot shooting the cue ball out of the pocket to cut the 9 up table into the same side corner pocket to take the match 7-4. Against Mary Hopkin, Mikki was on fire winning 2 games right away with early 9-ball combos. While Mary made some great jump shots to get out of trouble, it wasn’t enough to extinguish Mikki’s fire. Mary had to settle for third.
The final round brought Mikki and Liz together for a rematch. Unfortunately for Mikki, Liz was able to extinguish the fire that Mary could not. Liz jumped in front right away with two table runs. Mikki answered in the third game with a hard rail 3, 9 combo to bring the score 2-1. In the fourth, Mikki missed a long 9-ball shot giving the Liz the opportunity to increase her lead. Mikki regrouped in the fifth game, running the rack to bring the score to 3-2. Liz missed a 1, 9 combination in the next game leaving a 1, 9 billiard for Mikki. Executing the billiard perfectly, Mikki tied the match 3-3. By the seventh game, Liz was in stroke and playing like the champion she is. Liz makes an amazing 7 ball and brings the cue ball 3 rails to line up on the short side of the 8 for an easy out. Score 4-3. Mikki misses an easy 7 in the eighth to hand Liz an easy run out. Game ten, Mikki makes a beautiful bank on the 8 but leaves another bank on the 9. This time the 9 rattles pocket but stays on the table, handing Liz an easy win and a match score of 7-3. From there, Liz was in complete control. With a table run in game eleven, she is on the hill. Liz wins game twelve and the match in style with a smile and hug for Mikki.
The NWPA would like to thank Malarkey’s for hosting the event and Chris Rogers and Ford for running a great tournament.
We will see you at the next stop at Jillian’s in July!
NWPA Tour Stop #2 – The Cue Ball Salem, Oregon
On April 18th , some of the best women play players from around the Northwest converged on The Cue Ball in Salem, Oregon for stop number 2 on the NWPA Tour. A favorite stop among the tour players, The Cue Ball, who will be hosting a U.S. Amateur Preliminary on Sept 18-20 open to all players 18 and over, was as welcoming as ever providing refreshments for the tournament staff and players.
A field of thirty-one began playing on a beautiful Saturday morning. By Sunday the field was whittled down and found Liz Cole sitting comfortably on the point. After an initial loss to Liz on Saturday, Carissa Biggs battled her way through the b-side of the bracket to win a rematch with Liz in the finals. Carissa jumped ahead of Liz winning the first four matches. Liz answered with fours wins to tie the match. From there, these ladies traded games to keep the match tied 5-5. Liz then won two games back to back to move ahead 7-5. In the 13th game, Carissa missed her shot on the four-ball, but managed a lucky roll kicking in the nine for the win bringing the score to 7-6. Liz, however, was not to be denied and won the next two games to win the match 9-6. Congratulations to Liz Cole on another spectacular performance!
Our next tour stop will be June 13-14 at Malarkey’s in Tacoma, WA. Hope to see you there!
PLACENAME
PAYOUT
1
LIZ COLE
$455.00
2
CARISSA BIGGS
$300.00
3
SUZANNE SMITH
$195.00
4
MIKKI SMALL
$155.00
5/6
KIT DENNIS
$90.00
5/6
SHARI ROSS
$90.00
7/8
LINDA CARTER
$70.00
7/8
SUWANNA KROLL
$70.00
NWPA Washington State Championships
The Parlor, Bellevue, WA
On March 21st, the NWPA kick off the 2009 season with the Washington State Championships. 35 women descended on The Parlor Billiards and Spirits in Bellevue, WA to vie for the opportunity to play in the U.S. Open in June. And once again, The Parlor responded with exceptional hospitality. Not only did the beautiful poolroom, excellent food, and welcoming staff help make this tour stop special, but also this would be the first time the NWPA sent a player to the U.S. Open. And with the $750 added by The Parlor, this tour stop was definitely going to bring out the best players.
Saturday morning saw most of the regular players on the tour along with a few newcomers. Last year’s NWPA Champion Liz Cole and 2nd place finisher Cindy Sliva were among those favored to win. But in the end a surprise in the form of Tamara Rademakers from The Netherlands and a solid performance from Shari Ross would dominate the weekend. Tamara marched through the winner’s bracket with wins over Adrianne Beach 7-0, Mikki Small 7-2, Suwanna Kroll 7-2, Faye Fang 7-2 and Shari Ross 7-2 to sit comfortably on the point. Shari began with wins over Elizabeth Jensen 7-4, Molly Oliver 7-5, Cindy Sliva 7-3 and Liz Cole 7-3. A loss to Tamara put in her on the b-side where she beat Liz Cole 7-5 to give her a second chance at Tamara. Tamara proved too much for Shari winning the match 9-1. Congratulations to Tamara Rademakers for an excellent win and Good Luck at the U.S. Open.
Next Tour Stop- The Cue Ball in Salem, Oregon on April 18th and 19th. See you there!
1
TAMARA RADEMAKERS
$570.00
2
SHARI ROSS
$355.00
3
LIZ COLE
$234.00
4
CINDY SLIVA
$174.00
5/6
WENDY SEDLECK
$104.00
5/6
FAYE FANG
$104.00
7/8
VIKKIE KNUTSON
$74.00
7/8
CARISSA BIGGS
$74.00
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