HOTT players deployed for Games and Billiards in Killeen, Texas, home to Fort Hood, October 14 and 15 armed with cues to do battle in the 3rd campaign of the tour. The battlefield consisted of eight 9' Brunswicks, Simonis cloth, and Centennial Balls. Intelligence reports indicated that Heather Pulford, fresh from a victory in the Houston Open, Terry Petrosinso runner-up in the Houston Open, and Belinda Calhoun, WPBA Touring Pro, were pre-tournament favorites.
Early skirmishes produced no surprises. Second round encounters saw Petrosino bring in the heavy artillery against Heather Lloyd as she dominated 9-3 while Anne Mayes put a barrage on Michelle Cortez 9-1. Both winner's bracket quarterfinal matches were "hottly" contested and both went the distance with Calhoun prevailing over Jennifer Kraber and Mayes outdistancing Petrosino. Clashes would continue on day one until only six combatants survived. New recruits Tammy Tinajera, Mary Sanchez, and Emily Deming, all Killeen residents, would finish in 9-12th one match shy of payoff. Michelle Cortez and Cristina De La Garza made it to the money (7-8th) but would not be back to fight another day.
Day two confrontations began with Jennifer Kraber and Heather Lloyd, experienced warriors very familiar with each others tactics as they both hail from Austin. Neither player would ever lead by more than two games but in this conflict it would be Lloyd who would out maneuver Kraber by a score of 9-7 leaving Jennifer to finish tied for 5th. On the other front, it was Melinda Hinojosa, Media Contact and Webmaster for the Hunter Classics Regional Tour and Terry "the Terrorizer" Petrosino in yet another hill-hill exchange in which Terry would prevail while Melinda would collect for 5-6th. These results set up a rematch of the Houston Open final that was just fought one week prior. Could we expect anything less than a hill-hill thriller? Of course not. This time it would be Petrosino claiming the territory, 9-8, while Lloyd would settle for 4th.
The winner's bracket final, fought between Anne Mayes and Belinda Calhoun was leaning toward Mayes early on, but was pulled out by the battle tough veteran Calhoun 9-6 setting up a second scuffle between Mayes and Petrosino. Mayes fired the first missiles to take a 2-0 lead. Petrosino launched her own weaponry to tie the score at 2. The players exchanged fire until the score was tied at six. Mayes then delivered the fatal salvo taking the last three games and the match 9-6 leaving Petrosino in 3rd place while securing her own position in the final face-off.
Unfortunately, Anne's arsenal was depleted in her previous victories and she was unable to continue. However, we congratulate her on her 2nd place finish and Belinda on her tournament victory.
HOTT would like to acknowledge and thank Ki and Son Oh, owners of Games and Billiards in Killeen, Texas for hosting the women, their generosity, their hospitality and the countless hours spent preparing "the games." We are all looking forward to the 2007 event.
Congratulations also go to Rick Green who won the $2,150 A-O Custom Cue.
Finish & Prize Money
1 Belinda Calhoun 750
2 Anne Mayes 500
3 Terry Petrosino 380
4 Heather Lloyd 260
5/6 Melinda Hinojosa 190
5/6 Jennifer Kraber 190
7/8 Michelle Cortez 130
7/8 Cristina DeLaGarza 130
