Call it the pitter-patter of little feet; well, smaller anyway. Sitting in the hot seat on the June 24 stop on the Lucasi Hybrid New England 9-Ball Tour, Stan Rupard watched as Terry McDermott completed a five-match, loss-side winning streak to face him in the finals. With a D+ handicap, she had gotten by an A player (Choneyi Tenzin), a C player (Eli Davenport), an Open player (Nick Conner), a B+ player (Josh Rupard), and another A player (Dan Simoneau) to reach him. Rupard, though, held McDermott to a single rack of the three she needed for a first victory in the true double elimination finals and completed his undefeated day. The event drew 22 entrants to Legends Billiards in Portsmouth, NH.
From among the winners' side final four, Rupard began his three-match march to the event title by sending his son, Josh to the loss side 6-3. In the hot seat match that followed, he faced Dan Simoneau, who'd sent Conner west 6-6. Rupard got into the hot seat with a 6-4 victory over Simoneau and watched as those 'little feet' made their way in his direction.
McDermott, who'd been sent west by Josh Rupard from among the winners' side final eight, began her return voyage to the finals with the victory over Tenzin 3-5. She followed it with the win over Davenport 4-3, which put Conner in her path. Josh Rupard met up with Sina Brown, who'd survived two straight double hill matches against Joe Meuse and Will McDonald to reach him. McDermott ended Conner's day in a double hill win and in the quarterfinals, got a re-match against Josh Rupard, who'd shut out Brown.
McDermott wreaked her vengeance and came out on top in the quarterfinal match against Josh Rupard, 3-1, and then, in the semifinals, with Simoneau racing to 10, she completed her loss-side streak with a 3-8 victory. She'd vanquished the son, but Dad, Stan Rupard, allowed her only a single rack in an 8-1 victory that secured the event title.
