Bankshot Billiards in Hilliard, Ohio welcomed the Jacoby Cues Great Lakes Tour on March 4th and 5th, featuring 25 players from the Midwest and Canada, all vying for a WPBA qualifier and added money. The field was rife with talent of all ages, including 2005 BCA 14 & under junior national champ Chelsea Hardwick and her older sister, Allison, from Evansville, Indiana. Ohio youth were also well represented, thanks to rising star Elizabeth Lovely-no stranger to the tour. So with sharpshooters of all ages in the ring, as they say, "Let the battle begin!"
Saturday play began without a single first-round upset, lining up some Round 2 fireworks. Ohio native Gail Grecar would send Team USA member Tina Meraglio to the one-loss side by a score of 7-4. Tour points leader Julie Melman would fall to Ohio's Tracy Cantrell (7-4), while Mona Remedios from Edmonton, Alberta bested Elizabeth Lovely (7-2). Grecar would make her way to Sunday without a loss, with added wins over Tracy Cantrell in a 7-6 nail biter and Mona Remedios (7-3). Grecar's opponent for the Sunday's winner side final would be Dayton Ohio's Stephanie Goens, who posted wins over Suling Hsu (7-5), Susan Swartz (7-4), Tina Carpenter (7-6), and Dawn Fox (7-5).
On the one-loss side, Elizabeth Lovely was making it clear that she wanted to play on Sunday by edging out Suling Hsu (7-5), Kelli Hudson (7-2), Chelsea Hardwick (7-2), and Tina Meraglio (7-4). This set up a Sunday rematch between Lovely and Remedios. When all was said and done, the only thing Lovely would find different was the final score, as Remedios beat her again, this time 7-5. This would be the last win for Remedios as Dawn Fox--coming off a 7-1 victory over Tracy Cantrell-thwarted Remedios' quest for the title (7-4). This victory groomed Fox's path to the semi-final match against Stephanie Goens, who fell victim to Grecar for the hot seat (7-4). The semi-final would decide the qualifier winner since Grecar, as a touring pro on the WPBA, was exempt from the qualifier. Fox found herself on the right end of a 7-1 score in a tension-filled match, earning her the qualifier and a spot in the final against Grecar. Fox, all warmed up and with qualifier and in hand, would dispatch Grecar 9-5 in the finals to take the win and 1st place in the tour points race.
The tour staff would like to thank Bankshot owner Don Reed for hosting this event and making everyone feel more than welcome. We look forward to our return next season. As always, many thanks to:
Tour sponsors:
Jacoby Custom Cues
Midwest Amusements
Labarons Billiards
Championship cloth
Nick Varner Cues & Cases
BeBob Publishing
Media sponsors:
Inside English Magazine
azbilliards.com
Billiards Digest
National Billiard News
Professor Q Ball
Inside Pool
Pool and Billiard Magazine
Final standings:
1st Dawn Fox 450.00 + Qualifier BCA ladies pro event
2nd Gail Grecar 275.00
3rd Stephanie Goens 200.00
4th Mona Remedios 150.00
5th Elizabeth Lovely 100.00
5th Tracy Cantrell 100.00
7th Allison Hardwick 50.00
7th Tina Meraglio 50.00
