Shooters II in Lake Jackson, TX hosted the third stop of the year for the
women of the Hunter Classics Amateur Women's Tour. Thirty six women
from Texas came to compete at this stop, which was also a WPBA Qualifier for the
Hollywood, FL WPBA event. This was the second year in a row Shooters II
welcomed the tour to their pool room and the women loved the atmosphere and
wonderful hospitality.
By Saturday night, only 8 ladies remained in the
tournament. By Sunday morning, after a good nights rest in Lake Jackson,
TX (named
"The City of Enchantment"), some matches were too close for
comfort to see who would move closer the top prize of $750. On
the winner's side, Amanda Lampert, known for her top finishes on the Fast
Eddie's Tour, defeated Natalie Mans while a thriller hill-hill match was occurring between the
top 2 point leaders of 2005 - Heather Pulford and Leslie Anne Rogers.
A run out from Heather with the score tied at 6-6 was
halted with a miss of the 6-ball. Leslie played safe on the 6,
but accidentally made it while she nestled the cueball behind the 7 ball. A
very close cut shot on the 7 was left for Leslie and even though it didn't go
in the pocket she was aiming for, and with the 8 ball already pocketed, she
was then left with a long straight-in 9-ball which she made for the win. One
the one-loss side, local player and newcomer Brandi Smith was up 5-0 against
board director Melinda Hinojosa. Melinda crawled back to tie it 6-6 but a
miss on the 6 by Melinda allowed Brandi a chance to run out nicely. The
other one-loss match result was Helen Hays defeating board director Julie
Stephenson 7-4. Melinda and Julie placed 7th/8th and earned $110.
5th/6th places worth $150 were filled by Heather who was
defeated by Helen 7-4 and Natalie who was defeated by Brandi with the same
score. The fourth place match was between Helen and Brandi. Helen by
now was besting her highest finish on the Hunter Classics Tour and Brandi was
proving it was no fluke she played well enough to make it to Sunday.
Although Helen prevailed, Brandi earned $270 for her fine efforts!
Helen then waited for her next match, which was to be decided between
Amanda Lampert and Leslie Anne Rogers who were playing for the hot-seat.
Each of these players had a few hill-hill matches on Saturday, but this
match was not as close as Leslie Anne won 7-3. Amanda then squared off
against Helen to see who would get to play in the finals and Helen continued her
run of wins defeating Amanda 7-4. Amanda won $400 for her efforts and
placed 3rd. The final watch was all Leslie Anne as she cruised to victory
with a 7-0 win over Helen. Helen won $560 for her impressive second place finish
and Leslie Anne won $750 and the WPBA Qualifier for her first place finish.
Congratulations to all the ladies for a great tournament!
Amanda
Lampert, Heather Pulford, Leslie
Anne Rogers, Natalie Mans, Helen Hayes, and Brandi
Smith
For the second chance tournament held on Sunday, Rachel Hurst placed
1st, Tara McCracken placed 2nd and Amber Stone place 3rd - her highest finish
in a second chance tournament. Rachel earned $105, Tara earned
$80 and Amber earned $50. Board Member Monica Anderson placed 4th and
won $25.
Right before the finals the beautiful Hunter Classics Cue was raffled off
and big supporter of the tour David Moreno won the cue! Congratulations
David and thank you for you support.
Thanks again to Deby, owner
and manager, of Shooters II. Her husband Mike cooked hamburgers, and
several helpers were continually helpful and kind to the ladies all weekend.
The local newspaper, The Facts, covered the tour in their Sports
section before the event and also showed up both days to write up a follow up
story after the tournament.
A special thanks to Wes Hunter, custom cuemaker and our
tour sponsor, who has supported the tour for the last 12 years giving women pool
players a wonderful opportunity to play in a great tour to fulfill their dreams!
Visit us at Pugsley's Library in Dallas, Texas June 18 and 19!
1st
Leslie Anne
Rogers
$750 + Qualifier
2nd
Helen Hays
$560
3rd
Amanda Lampert
$400
4th
Brandi Smith
$270
5-6th
Natalie Mans and Heather Pulford
$150
07-8th
Julie Stephenson and Melinda Hinojosa
$110
9-12th
Rachel Hurst, Suzanne Walkuski, Tara McCracken, and Michelle Cortez
$65
13-16th
Jennifer Kraber, Sybil Wyatt, Sherry Romero and Sharon Townsend
$35
2nd Chance Tournament
Results: $100 added, 18 women
