 Michelle Rakin and Helen Gaughran |
The Broken Rack in Emeryville, California is a favorite local hangout for pool-playing enthusiasts. Housing sixteen Olhausen tables, the third Western Women's Regional 9-Ball Tour stop (the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd) brought in fifteen women to test the new cloth. Among the fifteen were last year's tour champion Jessie Killian and runner up (also a previous champion) Michelle Rakin. Traditionally, the tour has always held two-day events, so even with a small field, the tournament was stretched out to Sunday.
On the winner's side, Michelle heftily fought her way to the hot seat, having to beat Lisa D'Atri for it. From the one-loss side, however, the road was not so easy for Mary Rakin. After a 7-6 loss to Jessie first round, Mary won her next four matches and then lost to Helen Gaughran for fourth place. Helen was in a similar situation, having lost to Lisa D'Atri first round and then winning her next four to meet Mary. Helen met Lisa again on the one-loss side, but Helen put her foot down and owned the match 7-0.
The final match was Michelle on the winner's side and Helen on the loser's. Helen pulled out some serious offensive shots and stunned on-lookers, defeating Michelle 7-4 in the first set. Being true double elimination, the two went at it again, but Michelle started missing some critical shots and leaving openings for Helen. In the end, Helen came out on top with another 7-4 victory.
The next WWR stop will take place at Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento, California on October 13-14, 2007. Special thanks for the support of Broken Rack owners Wayne and Marilyn Boucher.
