Mindy Cohen of Legend's Billiards in League City, Texas was an exceptional host to the $2,000 guaranteed added Hunter Classics Amateur Women's Tour's seventh stop of the 2006 season the weekend of August 19-20. This was the 7th year in a row Legend's Billiards has hosted a Hunter Classics Tour event - thank you, Mindy!
Forty-five ladies traveled from Texas, Arkansas and Illinois to compete in the tournament for the top first place prize of $750 and the Pro Qualifier for a WPBA 2007 event. On the twenty four 8-foot tables, the ladies climbed and clawed their way through the bracket. In the end, 2001-2005 Hunter Classics Tour Champion, Leslie Anne Rogers from Arlington, Texas, found herself back in the winner's circle capturing first place in a tough field. The WPBA Qualifier was won by Tara McCracken from Dallas, Texas.
Leslie Anne, a player representative for the OB-1 Cue Shaft, exclaimed after the tournament, "It feels great to win! I've been in a bit of a slump for the last few months, so it was really exciting to bring my game up to full strength through the course of the tournament."
Sharp shooter Tara McCracken took the long road to the finals: Starting with a bye, Tara lost her next match to HOTT Tour Director Anne Mayes, 3-7. Then Tara defeated her teammate Monica Anderson (7-3), Julie Stiranak (7-1), Susan Petty (7-3), and Michelle Ram (7-6) to reach Sunday. On Sunday, Tara continued her strong play and exceptional shot making skills as she defeated Tina Larsen (7-3), Jennifer Kraber (7-5), Courtney Peters (7-1), Heather Lloyd (7-5), and Lisa Brannen (7-5) to confirm her spot in the finals.
Leslie Anne Rogers was leaving a trail of dust with her scores - only one player could win 5 games against her. Leslie Anne started off with a bye also and then defeated Tracie Voelkering (7-5), Anne Mayes (7-4), and Amanda Lampert (7-4) to confirm her spot on the winner's side on Sunday. Leslie Anne then defeated Cristina De La Garza (7-3) and Lisa Brannen (7-2) for the hot seat while she waited for her opponent.
Amanda and Lisa have both defeated Leslie a few times recently and Leslie commented, "winning against Amanda and my good friend (and fierce competitor) Lisa were both memorable matches for me. Amanda in particular is playing really well, so I knew I had to step up my game and stay in control of the match. Also, the winner's bracket semifinal against Cristina De La Garza felt like a really crucial match, especially since her game has come up so much this year."
Tara and Leslie met up in the finals and they were both prepared for the battle, however Leslie was playing stronger and prevailed 7-4. Tara earned $550 and the WPBA Qualifier and Leslie Anne earned $750. Congratulations to all the ladies!
Leslie Anne focused on "just relaxing and making the ball" throughout the tournament. Her focus and determination prevailed - Leslie Anne has claimed first place at Legend's Billiards for the third year in a row! "I always enjoy playing at Legends because they have great tables and it's a very friendly environment," reflected Leslie a few days after the event. Leslie added, "Congrats to Tara - I'm proud of her for fighting hard to win this qualifier! And I want to thank Mindy and Craig of Legend's Billiards for their hospitality, and a huge thank you to Royce Bunnell from OB-1 Cues for making such a great quality shaft and for supporting me and the Hunter Tour!"
View numerous photos from this event (http://www.hunterclassics.com/Leaguecityaug2006/) and also the updated point standings (http://www.hunterclassics.com/pointstandings.cfm). Or read more information (http://www.hunterclassics.com/articles.php?name=article7thstop2006) about the tournament.
Heather Lloyd from Austin won the beautiful $1,700 Hunter Classics Custom Cue which was raffled off right before the finals. A BIG, BIG thank you to Wes Hunter (http://www.hunterclassics.com/) who has been sponsoring the Hunter Classics Tour for 13 years now! Thank you also to Robbie Daughtery, Carl Miller of Stroke, Julie Stiranak, Melinda Hinojosa and Lisa Brannen who donated raffle items. Thanks also to Royce Bunnell of the OB-1 Cue Shaft (http://www.obcues.com), Legend's Billiards and all the ladies who came to compete! Visit us next month at Carom Club September 23-24 in Albuquerque, New Mexico!
Visit us on the web at http://www.hunterclassics.com/.
Main Event, complete payouts, 45 ladies, $2,000 added:
1st $750 Leslie Anne Rogers,
2nd $550 Tara McCracken plus WPBA Qualifier
3rd $400 Lisa Brannen
4th $265 Heather Lloyd
5th/6th $150 Courtney Peters and Cristina De La Garza
7th/8th $100 Jennifer Kraber and Julie Stephenson
9th-12th $75 Jillian Valles, Amanda Lampert, Tina Larsen, and Shayla Neris
13th-16th $50 Michelle Ram, Anne Mayes, Sandra Adams and Helen Hayes
17th-24th $20 Melinda Hinojosa, Terry Petrosino, Susan Petty, Snowy Belt, Kathy Knuth, Suzanne Walkuski and Kim Mills
Second Chance Tournament, complete payouts, 27 ladies, $150 added:
1st Helen Hayes, $130
2nd Michelle Ram, $100
3rd Holly Gilbert, $65
4th Rose McCrory, $45
