Mille Almaraz, Gail Eaton and Tara Williams
Together, between the Gulf Coast Regional Women’s Tour, the old OB Cues Tour and the current Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour, Tara Williams and Gail Eaton have chalked up 22 (recorded) event titles (more, if you count tours and events other than those three) in careers that go back 12+ (Williams) and 22 +(Eaton) years. At this past weekend’s (Saturday, July 31) stop #3 on the Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour, they finished runner-up (Eaton) and 3rd (Williams), having both lost a match to a competitor, Mille Almaraz, who recently moved back to Texas from Las Vegas and was competing on the tour for the first time. Eaton, who’d won the last stop on the tour in June, and Williams faced each other in the event’s semifinals, as Almaraz went undefeated in the $2,000-added event that drew 27 entrants to Stixx and Stones in Lewisville, TX.
Almaraz’ path to the winners’ circle went through three straight 7-3 wins, over Jessica DeMello, Cristina Schneider, and Christy Grigsby, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Courtney Peters. Tara Williams, in the meantime, started off with wins over Julie Collins 7-3 and Marlina Nieves 7-2. She then dispatched Gail Eaton to the loss side 7-4, to arrive at her winners’ side semifinal matchup versus Kim Pierce.
Williams shut Pierce out and advanced to the hot seat match. Almaraz joined her after sending Peters to the loss side 7-2. Williams and Almaraz came within a game of double hill, but it was Almaraz, who edged out in front to claim the hot seat 7-5.
On the loss side, Eaton had followed her loss to Williams with a double hill win over Natalie Rocha and a 7-5 victory over Cristina Schneider to draw Peters. Kim Pierce drew Kim Sanders, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Peters and then, eliminated Marlina Sieves 7-2 and Michelle Cortez 7-4.
Eaton defeated Peters 7-4, while the two Kims fought to double hill. Kim Sanders prevailed to join Eaton in the quarterfinals. Eaton earned her rematch against Williams with a 7-4 win over Sanders.
In what was likely the ‘marquee matchup’ of the tour’s 3rd stop, the two wily veterans squared off to determine who would earn a second shot at the ‘newbie’ waiting for one of them in the hot seat. The match lived up to its unstated billing as the ‘one to watch.’ Eaton and Williams battled to double hill, before Eaton prevailed a second time.
It wasn’t over yet, though. Eaton chalked up and moved right into the finals, where she ran into her second straight double hill fight. Almaraz sealed the deal to claim her first Jerry Olivier Ladies Tour title.
Tour representatives thanked John and Anju Bergman, and their Stixx and Stones staff for their hospitality, as well as their new tour sponsor the On the Ball Company, which, as of the next stop – #4, a $2,000-added event, scheduled for Oct. 16-17 at Bogies Billiards in Houston, TX – will be known as the On the Ball Ladies Tour.
