The J. Pechauer North East Women's Tour (JPNEWT) is pleased to announce its list of players who will compete in the upcoming March 21-24, 2013 WPBA Regional Tour Championships (RTC). The RTC is returning to Bogies Billiards and Sports Bar in Houston, Texas. The players are Judie Wilson, Kia Sidbury, Shanna Lewis, Pauline Mattes, Ji-Hyun Park, Eugenia Gyftopoulos, Tricia Tennant, and Kathy Friend. These ladies worked hard to climb to the next step toward the WPBA.
Here are some highlights and notables from the 2012 season:
· The RTC was split between the east and west coasts and the winners faced-off at the 2012 WPBA US Open. Although My-Hanh Lac won the east coast regional, the runner-up, Megan Smith, took the spot to the US Open. Megan represented JPNEWT very well by taking the overall title of 2012 WPBA Regional Tour Champion during that event.
· The 2012 RTC operated in a 4-group round robin format in which the top two finishers from each group moved on to an 8-player single elimination board. JPNEWT ladies dominated 75% of that field. The players were My-Hanh Lac and Megan Smith from group 1, Kathy Friend from group 2, Briana Miller and Shanna Lewis from group 3, and Eugenia Gyftopoulos from group 4.
· Eugenia Gyftopoulos competed in her first WPBA event.
· Briana Miller represented the US by competed in the World Championships - Juniors tournament in Willingen, Germany.
· If we were to vote on the most improved player for 2012, Judie Wilson would get my vote. She sprinted 12 spots up the ladder from her 2011 ranking of #16 to #4. Wilson mentioned that she accomplished her goal of finishing in the top 8 by season end. Well, I must say, she crushed it!
· The following ladies have both played in the minimally required tours to be considered for RTC and have improved their rankings from 2011 to 2012:
Players Rankings 2011 2012
Megan Smith 4 3
Judie Wilson 16 4
Sharon O’Hanlon 9 5
Kia Sidbury 8 7
Pauline Mattes 11 9
Ji-Hyun Park 12 10
Eugenia Gyftopoulos 19 11
· An idea was conceived to help promote JPNEWT and increase membership. Tour members were encouraged to run amateur events in their area/states generally targeting league members. One of the big incentives to the winner was a paid spot into the next regular JPNEWT event. Ji-Hyun Park spearheaded our very first event which had a turnout of 15 ladies. It’s one thing to compete in a tour and another to run it. Thank you Ji-Hyun for your courage and dedication to the growth of our tour.
· Our very own director, Linda Haywood-Shea, will be inducted into the New England Hall of Fames. Those who are able should make an effort to take the trip to support Linda in this great achievement. The ceremony will take place at the following:
o Date: March 1, 2013
o Venue: Snookers in RI (http://www.snookersri.com)
53 Ashburton St., Providence, Rhode Island, 02904
Phone: 401-341-7665
This was a great year for the ladies of JPNEWT. I look forward to writing about more accomplishments during the 2013 season.
