The Heat Is On In San Diego
Ready, set, rack! WPBA President Kim White of Texas and Val Finnie of Scotland rack in the first round.
Defending champion Kelly Fisher won her first match over California’s Darlene Stinson, 9-1, and looks well poised to make her way to the finals. Local favorite Tina Pawlowski suffered her first loss at the hand’s of Virginia’s Sueyen Rhee, but will return today to compete against Wisconsin’s Jeri Engh.
First round upsets included #51-ranked Lisa D’Atri over Colorado’s #24-ranked Laura Smith; #42-ranked semi-pro Leslie Anne Rogers of Texas over #26-ranked pro Melissa Little; newcomer Julia Gabriel over #31-ranked Stacy Hurst of Southern California; and the Florida Flash, #43-ranked Ellen Van Buren over #19-ranked Romana Dokovic.
Big matches in the winner’s bracket will take place tonight, including Jeanette Lee vs. Kelly Fisher and Kim Shaw vs. Dawn Hopkins, who dismissed both Tiffany Nelson, 9-5, and Kim White, 9-7, in preliminary rounds.
Stay tuned for more coverage here at HeadString, or follow updated tournament brackets and highlights at www.wpba.com.
WPBA Midwest Classic Underway
The Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s Mueller Recreational Products Midwest Classic, being held Aug. 3-7 at the Par-a-Dice Hotel and Casino in East Peoria, Ill., has completed several rounds of play going into Friday evening’s matches.
There have been few notable upsets in either the winners’ or losers’ brackets, with the exception of BD contributing writer Sueyen Rhee, who beat Melissa Herndon, 8-6, to reach the third round of the winners’ bracket, where she plays 8th-ranked Julie Kelly later today.