I've often said that the nicer the weather is on the weekend, the more likely there is a big tournament keeping us inside in the dark. If that is true, then the June 24th, 25th NWPA tour stop at Jilllian's was huge. Luckily, it was Jillian's, where we were playing with the great views, equipment, and service, making it a pleasure being stuck inside. Each morning a continental breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, croissants, fresh fruit, coffee and OJ was provided for players and spectators and Kary, Tiffany and the staff spoiled us rotten.
There were 36 players from Oregon, Alaska, Canada and Washington competing for the prize money and a paid entry to a WPBA Tour stop. Thanks to our President, the next two tour stops for 2006 are also WPBA qualifiers, with the final two in the works to also become qualifiers. Visit www.nwpatour.com for more information. What has been great to see this year is the number of new players as well as the regulars and especially the different names playing on Sunday.
Speaking of Sunday, the eight players left started at 10am with the A side matches of Kim Jones losing to Kim Sijer 7-2 and Martha Hartsell taken down by Aileen Demmick. Aileen's maiden name of Pippen should be well known to WPBA followers, as she was a highly ranked Touring Pro as of 2002 when she took a hiatus to start a family. On the B side, Shari Ross beat Linda Carter 7-4 before losing to Kim Jones 7-3 and a hard fought battle had Liz Cole edging Julie Valdez 7-5 before herself being edged out by Martha 7-5. Aileen just got by Kim Hole 7-6 in the first round on Saturday but dominated her matches after that and won the point 7-3. Meanwhile Kim Jones was also in stroke, beating Martha 7-4 and Kim Sijer 7-5 to reach her first finals. I would like to say Kim had a case of nerves or was exhausted from a long Sunday road, but I have no idea , as Aileen didn't let her shoot till it was 5-0, and even then, it was just kicks, till it was 7-0. With a final score of 9-0, it was Aileen's incredible shooting that never let Kim to the table. We are all hoping for a rematch soon. Congratulations to all the Sunday players as it was a very difficult Saturday road just to get there.
Ford and I would like to thank all the players, spectators and Jillian's staff for the support and smiles. It was a pleasure to be there and we hope to see everyone at McQ's in Spokane on July 23rd and 24th for the next qualifier, sponsored by THE BREAK.
Complete Results:
1st Aileen Demmick $580 + WPBA Qualifier
2nd Kim Jones $360
3rd Kim siger $236
4th Martha Hartsell $178
5/6 Shari Ross $106
Liz Cole
7/8 Julie Valdez $ 76
Linda Carter
Second Chance Tournament -
We had another great turn out for our Second Chance Tournament of 13 players. The final results are:
1st Joanne Ashton $60
2nd Tamre Rogers $40
3rd Linda Dick $20
4th Kara Leonard $10
