The OB Cues Ladies Tour first stop of any year is always a “can't wait” event. The players, supporters, and fans came out in full force to start off the tour year with one of its largest attendances! Sixty-three players were ready and raring to go and by day's end on Saturday, there were 16 left standing in the Main Event.
First, before we get into the details of the tournament, special thanks to our host site Rusty's in Arlington, Texas. Jeff, Josh, “Rash”, and all the wonderful staff at Rusty's were the best ever and we thank them for all their hospitality and warm welcome. Also special thanks to our main supporter OB Cues. Don and Anita Owen, the O of OB Cues, were on hand Sunday to watch the hotly contested matches and were treated to some healthy and friendly competition from everyone. Thank you OB Cues for all you do!
Many champions were in-house including the 2008 OB Cues Regional Tour Champion, Lisa Marr who lost her first match of the day to 2008 Most Improved Player & Board Member, Melinda Bailey 7-3. Melinda had an awesome tournament on Saturday as she continued to be undefeated and a contender on the winner's side on Sunday. As the tournament continued on Sunday, there were 8 women undefeated and 8 with one-loss. On the winner's side, it was Melinda Bailey vs. Bonnie Plowman; Heather Pulford vs. Michelle Abernathy; Orietta Strickland vs. Terry Petrosino and Amanda Lampert vs. Tori Jones, who is not only a teammate of Amanda but this was Tori's first OB Cues Ladies Tour event----not bad for a first-timer. On the one loss side, it was Lisa Henderson-Major (having an awesome tournament weekend) vs. Alicia Teskey; Tara Williams (formerly McCracken) vs. Michelle Cortez; Board Member Julie Stephenson vs. Shayla Neris; and Lisa Marr vs. Nancy French. Excellent job, Nancy!
After the winner's side battling was all over, the hot seat match came down to Amanda vs. Heather with Amanda rising as the victor 7-6 and waiting patiently for her finals opponent.
Although Orietta had not played on the tour since 2006, her game never went away and she was on a quest to win the WPBA San Diego Classic Event Qualifier and win it she did. After Orietta's 4-7 loss to Terry, she continued to score wins over Lisa Marr and Melinda Bailey before her final tournament loss against Heather. Orietta had a nice 3rd place finish plus the qualifier spot so she had a very eventful weekend for sure. Congrats and Welcome Back, Orietta.
The finals match between Amanda and Heather was going to be a superb match as everyone expected. These two champions and friends are always top seeds wherever they go and awesome and flawless offensive and defensive playmaking gave the crowd their money's worth for sure. In true double elimination format, Heather would need to score two wins over Amanda, but this did not happen. Amanda was not going down easy and with her look of determination and confidence, she scored her first win of this tour year with a 7-4 victory. Awesome work, Heather and Amanda!
A Second Chance tournament was held on Sunday with 24 players and $100 monies added:
1st place – Deanna Henson - $125
2nd place – Connie Gallego - $80
3rd place – Kim Pierce - $60
4th place – Robbie Daugherty - $30
5th – 6th place – Monica Anderson & Tina Lehrmann - $20
Numerous Winners of Giveaways from Fans, Supporters and Vendors:
Rusty's T-Shirt – Diana Cardona
$30 Free Tournament Entry – Kathy Knuth
Tiger Products Cue Bridge – Christy Herzog
$25 Starbucks gift card (2) – Tracie Voelkering & Patricia Wenninger
Strok-n-Style Glove – Shirley Fields
Strok-n-Style Cue Holder – Tina Land
Go Red for Women's Pin (3) – Susan Petty, Cristina Delagarza & Dana McGuire
Tiger Products Shaft Smoother – Amber Stone
Free WPBA membership dues – Julie Stephenson, Tina Lehrman, Shayla Neris, Jennifer Sherman, Monica Anderson, Lisa Marr
Tiger Products hat (2) – Rebecca Goodnight & Kelly Vaughn
Tiger Products towel – Shannyn Rivera
Tiger Products Shaft Burner – Alicia Teskey
Painting on the Green Canvas book – Lisa Henderson-Major
Two OB Cues (raffle drawing winners)
Nancy French – OB Cues Tour player
Kody – customer of Rusty's
9-Ball Crystal Ball – Jennifer Sherman
Our next stop is at Fast Eddie's in Austin, Texas February 28-March 1st Weekend. Come on out for some Good Pool, Good Friends, Good Times.
