Allison Fisher Wins Great Lakes Classic

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

Allison Fisher Wins Great Lakes Classic
by InsidePOOL Staff
Allison Fisher has wrapped up another win at the WPBA (Women’s Professinal Billiard Association) Great Lakes Classic, scoring a 7-4 victory over Kelly Fisher in the finals.
In the first semifinal match, K. Fisher met with Sarah Ellerby. Both former snooker pros from the U.K., the players traded the first four racks in the shortened race to 7. Fisher took the lead in the next rack after a safety exchange over the 3 ball. They traded the next two games, and then Fisher took a two-point lead after a dry break by Ellerby, making it 5-3. However, Ellerby parried, taking the next two after a couple of errors on Fisher’s part. Fisher broke and ran out to reach the hill, and Ellerby countered by pocketing two balls on the next rack. Unfortunately for Ellerby, she rattled the 9 ball, and it was all over at that point, as Fisher pocketed the 9 and the 7-5 win.
A. Fisher met with Karen Corr in the second semifinals, and when Corr came up empty on her first break, Fisher cleared the table to take the first rack. The score seesawed to 2-all, at which point Fisher surged ahead to go up 5-2, capitalizing on a few errors by Corr. Undaunted, Corr took the next two racks with the help of a long-rail bank shot. But she missed a key 2-9 combo in the following game, and Fisher took the hill 6-4. Corr came up dry on her last break, and Fisher dished up to win 7-4.
K. Fisher instantly took a 2-0 lead in the finals, but A. Fisher was quick to retaliate and tie things up. Mistakes by both gave each multiple chances, and soon the score rested at 4 apiece. An excellent safety by A. Fisher behind the 8 ball saw her earn ball in hand, and she cleaned the table to take a one-rack advantage. She also broke next and, pocketing two balls, had little trouble running out to reach the hill. K. Fisher broke and made two balls next but rattled her first shot, the 1 ball. Though she got a bit out of line for the 6 ball, A. Fisher had little troubles potting the balls and taking back the Great Lakes Classic title.
Corr has jumped back up to number two in the WPBA rankings, surpassing both Ga Young Kim and Xiaoting Pan, while Anna Kostanian, who came in fifth place, is now ranked sixth.
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Results:
1st Allison Fisher
2nd Kelly Fisher
3rd Karen Corr
Sarah Ellerby
5th Anna Kostanian
Jeanette Lee
Xiaoting Pan
Monica Webb
9th Jennifer Chen
Ga Young Kim
Vivian Villareal
Sarah Rousey
Dawn Hopkins
Megan Minerich
Yu Ram Cha
Tiffany Nelson

Four Remain in Great Lakes Classic

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Four Remain in Great Lakes Classic
by InsidePOOL Staff
The final four are set at the WPBA Great Lakes Classic, hosted by the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN. Allison Fisher, Karen Corr, Kelly Fisher, and Sarah Ellerby are the last women standing and will pair off Sunday in the semifinals.
It was Kelly Fisher who dashed the hopes of defending champion Xiaoting Pan. After Fisher bested Vivian Villareal and Pan ousted Sarah Rousey, both 9-7, in the round of 16, they moved on to play each other. Theirs was a brutal, double-hill match that saw Fisher advance to the semifinals.
Fisher’s opponent will be Sarah Ellerby, another English snooker player. Ellerby bested Jennifer Chen 9-3 in the third round, only to have to play her again in the next. This time it wasn’t so easy for Ellerby, but she prevailed 9-7. She then eliminated Monica Webb from the event with a 9-7 victory to move on to face Fisher.
Corr’s event began with a forfeit by her first-round opponent and has gone without a hitch so far. She ousted Dawn Hopkins 9-4 to advance to the quarterfinals, where she faced down Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee 9-5. Lee had just come off a hill-hill victory over Yu Ram Cha in the previous round.
Number-one-ranked Allison Fisher, Corr’s opponent in the semifinals, first faced Tiffany Nelson in the round of 16 and won 9-5 and then went on to play Anna Kostanian in the quarterfinals. Kostanian had eliminated Fisher from the GenerationPool.com 9-ball Championships into fifth place only a few weeks before. This time, though, Fisher took control and advanced with a crushing 9-1 win.
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WPBA to Keep Stats on Players

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

WPBA to Keep Stats on Players
Player Scorecards for each Match will Provide Valuable Statistical Information
Thousand Oaks, CA – The Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s (WPBA’s) 2008 Season marks the first full year that its players will use scorecards to produce accurate stats of their matches and tournaments. First used at the 2007 WPBA Tour Championships, the new scorecards include information such as lags won, balls on break, break and runs as well as games won on break. The 2008 San Diego Classic introduced players to the new scorecards and each player kept track of the stats for their match.
Kristi Carter – WPBA Board Member and the person responsible for collating the stats from each tournament, feels the benefit to the players is immeasurable, “To be considered an upper-echelon sport, statistics need to be kept that are in depth and reliable. They are a major component to getting mainstream media coverage and it is a goal to position the WPBA as a viable and recognized professional sport. As players and fans, you will have the opportunity to track individual players’ performances, see how they pair against other players, and where they stand overall under various categories.”
WPBA Top Pro and veteran match Commentator Dawn Hopkins (pictured) feels strongly about stats, saying “As a commentator for WPBA/ESPN shows, having statistics is going to help me tremendously. These facts will enable me to compare the players in different areas of their game.”
Actor and long-time WPBA Commentator Mitch Laurance states, “I’ve never been able to look to the statistics of players on the WPBA Classic Tour as a particular event week progressed; until now.
What a terrific feature this will be, to have access to the kind of sports-related stats that mean so much when evaluating a player’s performance during the heat of competition. The ability to analyze key stats throughout the event will help to further break down what makes different players successful, and I’m sure will prove an invaluable aid to telling the full story of any given Tour stop.
Top WPBA veteran Pro Belinda Calhoun had this to say when asked. “Statistics have been so sorely missed in women’s pool. What do all major sports have in common? Stats, stats, and more stats. Sports fans love statistics. It is a way for them to become personally involved. The more stats you can memorize and quote the higher the status you enjoy. The current score/stat sheet is a solid beginning for future plans to expand the stat program.”

The WPBA will post stats from T.V. matches at each event, as well as track and post all our players’ statistics. Check back to www.wpba.com (http://www.wpba.com/) after each event for stat updates.

Media contact: Anne Craig

Allison Fisher Scores in San Diego

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

Allison Fisher Scores in San Diego

WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA
by InsidePOOL Staff
Allison “The Duchess of Doom” Fisher has triumphed at the Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) San Diego Classic, winning 7-4 over Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter in the finals to cap off a four-day run of excellent play. This event was hosted by the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, and began Thursday, April 9.
Having come through undefeated to the semis by virtue of wins over daunting opponents such as Jennifer Barretta, Vivian Villareal, and Helena Thornfeldt, Fisher was primed for her semifinal match against Karen “The Irish Invader” Corr. In the shortened race to 7, Corr was the one to take an early two-rack lead, which she kept until the fifth game when she missed a 4-9 combo. Gaining momentum with every ball she sank, Fisher climbed back until the score stood at 4 apiece. She then took the next two games as well to reach the hill. Fisher, however, missed a key 5-9 combo in the next rack for the win, and Corr fought back to make it a double-hill nail-biter. The last rack was a real killer: Fisher broke and ran out to the 5 ball but locked her cue ball up on the 6. She tried to play safe, and Corr reversed it on her, playing the 6 and the cue to opposite end rails. Fisher went for the uncompromising shot and attempted the long bank but missed; however, Corr was unable to capitalize, missing a straightforward shot on the 8 ball in order to get position on the 9 ball, and Fisher finished the match off with a 7-6 win.
In the second semifinal match, Hofstatter and former Player of the Year Ga Young Kim matched up for the right to meet Fisher in the finals. Kim took command from early on, but her aggressive play caused some unexpected errors that Hofstatter benefited from to make the score 6-4 Kim. Two more key missed by Kim brought the score to hill-hill with Kim breaking in the final rack. She made the 1 ball on her last break but opted to play a bank on the 3 ball, having missed position off the 2. Kim missed, and Hofstatter calmly picked her way through the final six balls for a 7-6 victory.
Having made their way to the ESPN-televised final match, Fisher and Hofstatter squared off to fight for first place. It was a great match, but in the end, Fisher walked away the 7-4 winner, taking home yet another first-place trophy to add to her collection.
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Final Four Return Sunday in San Diego

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

Final Four Return Sunday in San Diego
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA
by InsidePOOL Staff
The Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) San Diego Classic field has narrowed down to its final four returning Sunday for the semifinal matches. In the first semifinal, top-ranked Allison Fisher will meet Karen “The Irish Invader” Corr, while in the second semifinal, Gerda Hofstatter will play Ga Young Kim.
Hofstatter, who hails originally from Austria, suffered a 9-7 loss to Kim after two solid wins in the first two rounds. Once on the one-loss side, she faced down Laura Smith 9-4 to reach the final 16 draw. From there she soundly defeated Monica Webb 9-3 and then ousted three-time defending champion Kelly Fisher 9-7 to advance to the semifinals and a rematch with Kim.
Kim has had an undefeated run through the event as yet, dealing losses to Michelle Rakin 9-5 and then Belinda Calhoun before her match with Hofstatter. From there she went on to defeat former ACUI champion Eleanor Callado 9-6 and then Sarah Ellerby 9-7 to reach the semifinals.
Both Corr and Fisher have also experienced no defeats as yet, and one will advance to play in the final match Sunday. Fisher virtually walked over the field on her way to the semifinals, advancing with wins over Melissa Morris 9-1, Jennifer Barretta 9-1, Vivian Villareal 9-4, and Cathy Metzinger 9-2 before meeting her biggest challenge of the event so far in Helena “The Sledgehammer” Thornfeldt, whom she eliminated 9-7.
Corr also enjoyed an equally unchallenged run to the semifinals. She started off by defeating Candi Rego 9-1, Laura Smith 9-2, and then Caroline Pao 9-4 before reaching the final 16. There she eliminated Villareal 9-4 and went on to oust Anna Kostanian 9-3.
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Kostanian Deals Fisher First Loss

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Kostanian Deals Fisher First Loss
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA
by InsidePOOL Staff
If reigning Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) San Diego Classic champion Kelly Fisher is going to defend her title for her fourth consecutive win, she will have to do it by coming through the west side of the chart. Late Friday evening at host site Viejas Casino, Fisher suffered a 9-7 loss to Anna Kostanian of New Mexico. To redeem herself and make it to the final 16-player elimination round, Fisher will first have to make it past Dawn Hopkins.
Lopsided scores accompanied the last round of winners’-bracket matches. Allison Fisher continues to do well, having won her match against Vivian “The Texas Tornado” Villareal 9-4. California girl Melissa Herndon dealt former ACUI champ Eleanor Callado a 9-3 defeat, Karen Corr bested Caroline Pao 9-3, and Xiaoting Pan also won her match 9-3 against Kim White.
Farther down on the bracket, Monica Webb defeated Jennifer Chen 9-2, Sarah Ellerby won over Julie Kelly 9-6, and Ga Young Kim sent Gerda “G-Force” Hofstatter to the one-loss side 9-7.
The winners’-side bracket has winnowed down to its final 8, while the one-loss side there remains at least one round to go before the final 16 draw.
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Fisher Goes Fishing for a Four-Peat

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

Fisher Goes Fishing for a Four-Peat
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA
by InsidePOOL Staff
Sunny San Diego is hosting the latest stop on the Women’s Professional Billiard Tour, beginning Thursday, April 10 and crowning a winner Sunday, April 13. The San Diego Classic is being hosted by the beautiful Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, and has a full 64-player field.
Reigning champ at Viejas, Kelly Fisher, will be attempting a four-peat at this event, and so far, so good. Her first match against Gail Grecar she won easily 9-2, but in the second round, she was faced with the formidable Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, who won the 2006 EnjoyPool.com Championships. Though this was a tougher match for Fisher, she came through with flying colors, winning 9-7. Her next match will be against Anna Kostanian.
A pair of 9-1 wins has seen top seed Allison Fisher through the opening two rounds, the first over Melissa Morris and the second over Jennifer Barretta. Fisher will next meet Vivian Villareal, who survived a double-hill thriller against Ewa Laurance in the second round to advance.
Other top-ranked players remain untouched as yet. Ranked fourth on the tour, Karen Corr remains undefeated as well, dispatching of Candi Rego 9-1 and then Laura Smith 9-2. Xiaoting Pan, now ranked third, bested Heather Lloyd 9-5 and then went on to send Val Finnie to the west side of the chart with a 9-1 win.
Southern California local Melissa Herndon is doing well, having defeated first Stacy Hurst 9-0 and then Tiffany Nelson 9-5. Her next match will be against Eleanor Callado, who won the ACUI National Championships three years running. Callado has already had a good event, with a first-round win over Tracie Hines 9-6 and a second-round win over Helena Thornfeldt that went hill-hill.
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BCA to Send Five Players to 2008 WPA Women’s 9 Ball Championships

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BCA to Send Five Players to 2008 WPA Women’s 9 ball Championships
The BCA along with the WPBA is proud to announce that Jeanette Lee, Kim White, Anna Kostanian, Belinda Calhoun and Liz Ford will be representing the United States in the World Pool Associations’ Women’s 9 ball Championships in Taipei, Taiwan on April 1st – 7th, 2008.
Jeanette Lee, holder of many titles including the 2001 World Games Gold Medal, is the one of the wily veterans of the group, having represented the U.S. in the World Championships numerous times already. She considers her efforts to introduce newcomers to the sport through ESPN and other media outlets as one of her greatest accomplishments in the sport of Billiards. Jeanette is looking forward to reconnecting with the fans in Taipei that she hasn’t seen in years, “They really love pool and you can feel their excitement”.
Belinda Calhoun is another veteran of the WPBA Tour and a former World Straight Pool Champion. Her previous World Pool Championships experience combined with diligent preparation and professionalism make her an ideal player to represent the United States. Belinda would most like to see the view from atop the 1st place podium at the event! Outside of the sport, she focuses on charity work with organizations such as the Feed the Children Foundation.
Kim White is returning to the World Championships due to her outstanding performance in last year’s event, having finished in 5th place. Kim, a former WPBA Board President, was born, raised and still resides in Houston, TX. She feels being a consistent top 16 contender on the WPBA Tour important to her success. Kim turned pro in 2002, and her advice to others is “always do what you are afraid to do”.
Anna Kostanian is the youngest of the U.S. Competitors at age 20. Nicknamed the Piranha, this will be Anna’s first foray into International competition. She lives in New Mexico and turned pro in 2006. “I have been playing for almost 10 years and still have so much to learn about strategy, angles and power. The game is really won or lost in the details.”
Liz Ford, another first timer to the World Championships, lives with her husband in New York. She’s also an accomplished figure skater. Liz’s philosophy of pool carries into day-to-day life, “Pool’s ups and downs are a lot easier to take if your primary goal is enjoying the game.”
Many thanks are owed to the Billiard Congress of America for their continued support of Women’s Billiards in North America. The WPBA Board, WPBA Membership and all players across America wish our competitors the best of luck!

Corr Repeats Midwest Classic Victory

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - WPBA Tour

Corr Repeats Midwest Classic Victory

Dominating the competition at the WPBA’s Midwest Classic, Karen Corr swept the field to take top honors again. Hosted by the Riverwind Casino in Norman, OK, this event brought out the toughest female competitors on tour.
After the field had narrowed to its final-16, single-elimination format, Corr, who went undefeated through the tournament, knocked out Vivian The Texas Tornado Villareal 9-6 to advance to the quarterfinals. There she ousted Monica Webb to go on to play Ga-Young Kim, who had just defeated Xiaoting Pan. With a 7-5 victory over Kim, Corr set herself up to play in the final match.
Meeting her there was Allison Fisher, who had an equally tough lineup to get through. After defeating Jasmin Ouschan 9-5 to reach the final 16, she then had to best Ouschan again 9-7. From there she eliminated Kelly Fisher in the quarterfinals and then dusted Sarah Ellerby 7-2 to reach the finals. But she fell flat against defending champion Corr, who was able to win with a 7-5 score.

Open Results:

1st
Karen Corr

2nd
Allison Fisher

3rd
Ga-Young Kim

Sarah Ellerby

5-8th
Kelly Fisher

Rachael Abbink

Xiaoting Pan

Monica Webb

9-16th
Vivian Villareal

Gerda Hofstatter

Jeanette Lee

Anna Kostanian

Dawn Hopkins

Helena Thornfeldt

Joanne Ashton

Jasmin Ouschan

WPBA Midwest Classic Field Narrows

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WPBA Midwest Classic Field Narrows
After a rough day for the one-loss side Friday, the field at the WPBA’s Midwest Classic tournament has narrowed. There are eight undefeated billiards players remaining in the winners’ side, while the west side of the chart is still battling to see who will earn a pass back to the A side.
Defending champion Karen Corr still remains unscathed, having bested Anna Kostanian 9-6 earlier. Gerda The G-Force Hofstatter scored a 9-4 win over Dawn Hopkins to advance. Jeanette Lee survived one of the event’s toughest hill-hill nail-biters over Kelly Fisher, and Xiaoting Pan minced through Vivian Villareal easily 9-3.
In another double-hill match-up, England’s Sarah Ellerby survived going up against Ga-Young Kim, while Joanne Ashton of Canada also is in the remaining eight, having won 9-7 over Kim Shaw. Helena Thornfeldt won 9-7 over Monica Webb, and Allison Fisher sent Jasmin Ouschan to the one-loss side 9-5.
Still fighting to return in the final 16 are some of the tour’s top players, including Julie Kelly, Tiffany Nelson, Rachael Abbink, Melissa Little, and Ewa Laurance.
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