Carolina Women's Billiard Classic

Sizing up the coming WPBA year

OK, the 2006 WPBA tour starts tomorrow, and some of the more compelling questions entering this tour year are:

1) Is Allison's big lead in the points race for #1 insurmountable, or will Karen make a run at the #1 ranking?
2) After wins at the Challenge of Champions and WPBA Nationals, has Ga Young Kim closed the gap appreciably between herself and the Top 2?
3) Can Monica Webb, who enters the season ranked #3, coming off a great year, snap off her first WPBA title?
4) Will Kelly Fisher win an event this year?
5) How strong will Jeanette Lee come back from the surgery that caused her to miss the second half of the 2005 WPBA tour?
6) Will Tiffany Nelson continue her very strong form of 2005 and build on her breakout season?
7) How will the AZB Pros do this year? Can Jennifer Barretta and/or Melissa Herndon crack the Top 8 in the rankings? Can Sarah Rousey crack the Top 16 and become a seeded player? Can frequent AZB poster Tina Pawlowski become a force?
8) What other players are poised to have a big year? Shaw, Ellerby, Little, Hines, Sakai, seem likely candidates to make a move forward in the rankings.
9) How will Pan Xiaoting, who is not yet exempt into all events, fare in her first WPBA events?
10) Will the fact that some of the WPBA Players are also playing the IPT affect their play ---- for the better, for the worse, of not at all?

I'm not sure of any of the answers, but what I am sure of is that I wish all the ladies the best of luck on the tour this year. Let the games begin!
 
nipponbilliards said:
Ms. Xiao Ting Pan is sharing a room with Ms. Jennifer Chen. What kind of information do you want to know about Ms. Pan?

Thank you.

Richard

Pan's competitive credentials are quite well known to serious women's pool enthusiasts, especially on this forum, where Colin Colenso often posts about her, but if you can offer things about her game, I'd be interested in:

How well does she break?
How well does she pocket balls?
How are her patterns?
How good is her speed control?
How well does she play defense?
Is she a good kicker?
How solid is her billiard knowledge?
Is she a good strategist?
What would you say the strongest part of her game is?
What would you say is the weakest part of her game?
What WPBA player does she remind you of in terms of playing style?
 
Well sjm, when you get back, give us a thorough report!!

Barbara

sjm said:
Pan's competitive credentials are quite well known to serious women's pool enthusiasts, especially on this forum, where Colin Colenso often posts about her, but if you can offer things about her game, I'd be interested in:

How well does she break?
How well does she pocket balls?
How are her patterns?
How good is her speed control?
How well does she play defense?
Is she a good kicker?
How solid is her billiard knowledge?
Is she a good strategist?
What would you say the strongest part of her game is?
What would you say is the weakest part of her game?
What WPBA player does she remind you of in terms of playing style?
 
Barbara said:
Well sjm, when you get back, give us a thorough report!!

Barbara

If only, Barbara! No WPBA Carolina Classic for SJM, I'm afraid.

I'm planning on going to the BCA Open and WPBA Peoria, and may even go to the Women's US Open. Now you know that when I go, I'll do everything in my power to keep the forum advised of what's going on at these events.
 
sjm said:
OK, the 2006 WPBA tour starts tomorrow, and some of the more compelling questions entering this tour year are:

1) Is Allison's big lead in the points race for #1 insurmountable, or will Karen make a run at the #1 ranking?
I think how Allison handles question ten could answer this.

2) After wins at the Challenge of Champions and WPBA Nationals, has Ga Young Kim closed the gap appreciably between herself and the Top 2?
I think Ga may still be a little inconsistant.

3) Can Monica Webb, who enters the season ranked #3, coming off a great year, snap off her first WPBA title?
You betcha!!:) I wouldn't be surprised if she closes or even overtakes Karen. She has to get by the TV problems though.

4) Will Kelly Fisher win an event this year?
Very likely.

5) How strong will Jeanette Lee come back from the surgery that caused her to miss the second half of the 2005 WPBA tour?
Never under estimate Jeanettes drive to win.

6) Will Tiffany Nelson continue her very strong form of 2005 and build on her breakout season?
Yes and so will Vivian and Gerda(once she graduates)!

7) How will the AZB Pros do this year? Can Jennifer Barretta and/or Melissa Herndon crack the Top 8 in the rankings? Can Sarah Rousey crack the Top 16 and become a seeded player? Can frequent AZB poster Tina Pawlowski become a force?
Going to be interesting to see with so many strong players to contend with.

8) What other players are poised to have a big year? Shaw, Ellerby, Little, Hines, Sakai, seem likely candidates to make a move forward in the rankings.
Gerda,Jeanette and Helena. But Ewa and Julie could bring some surprises too. The question really is "With so much competition how much upward movement is possible?".

9) How will Pan Xiaoting, who is not yet exempt into all events, fare in her first WPBA events?
THAT is what I want to see, I figure her to do as well as Ga did when she first showed up, maybe better.

10) Will the fact that some of the WPBA Players are also playing the IPT affect their play ---- for the better, for the worse, of not at all?
????Allison,Karen,Julie,Monica,Helena,Sarah,Gerda,Ewa???

I'm not sure of any of the answers, but what I am sure of is that I wish all the ladies the best of luck on the tour this year. Let the games begin!
Only one I'd go out on a limb on is Monica snapping off a win!:)

Terry
 
I don't know a lot of the women players but I have personally met Melissa, Tina, & Sarah (in that order :p )

I think the world of all 3 of them and I would love nothing more than to see them snap off all the tournaments. I know they can't all three win & they won't win them all but those 3 ladies will be getting good karma sent their way from me. Other than my "testimony", I don't know how else to get my point across.... they're great gals and I wish them all the best!

Honestly, I never really followed womens pool because I knew more of the male players.... these 3 women will have me checking the charts and following the WPBA this yr. I wish them all the best. ;)
 
sjm said:
Pan's competitive credentials are quite well known to serious women's pool enthusiasts, especially on this forum, where Colin Colenso often posts about her, but if you can offer things about her game, I'd be interested in:

How well does she break?
How well does she pocket balls?
How are her patterns?
How good is her speed control?
How well does she play defense?
Is she a good kicker?
How solid is her billiard knowledge?
Is she a good strategist?
What would you say the strongest part of her game is?
What would you say is the weakest part of her game?
What WPBA player does she remind you of in terms of playing style?

When I go to the Amway 9 Ball Women's World Championship this Sunday, I will try my best to find out the answers for you.:)

Unfortunately, I am not a very good player myself so may be I cannot find out the answers for some of your questions. But I can try to ask other players what they think of her game.

The only answer I know for sure is her break. She has one of the best break, with lots of power and excellent control of the cue ball.

Richard
 
I just got back from the Pro-Am in Rocky Mount. It was a madhouse. The event looks to be much the same as last year, minus the ugly purple table. The Pro-Am was strange - 4 man teams, 15 minute time-limits, 3 rounds, best two teams (most wins during round play) met for the finals. I believe Jennifer Baretta's team won, but I'm not sure. Granted, this was nowhere near serious pool - there were lots of misses by pros and amateurs alike - but it was a lot of fun for all. Even we spectators enjoyed it, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see so many in the stands.

Below is a list of the pros who played:

Jennifer Baretta
Romana Dokovic
Allison Fisher
Kelly Fisher
Ga Young Kim
Jeanette Lee
Ewa Laurance
Karen Corr
Tiffany Nelson
Sarah Ellerby
Kim Shaw
Vivian Villareal
Julie Kelly
Helena Thornfeldt
Monica Webb
Melissa Herndon

Each of the amateurs who played donated at least $250 to Nash Community College, which is where the tournament is being held this week. That's at least $12,000 raised by the WPBA. How great is that? Men, take notes.

After the pro-am, challenge matches were played. Sadly, yours truly lost both of his games to Ga Young Kim, but it was a pleasure. The $20 I spent for the challenge was well worth it - I got to talk a little to Kim (I'm Korean, too, by the way) and the cash also went to Nash Community College.

I think it's going to be a great tournament, with the usual suspects probably ending up in the TV rounds. I don't really see any reason for that to change. Speaking of change, I did notice some changes physically in a couple of players - Lee looks thinner, and she's changed her hair (but of course, she still wears black) and Kim Shaw looks like she's lost a ton of weight and she looks great (I haven't seen her since last year's tournament, and I seem to remember her being quite a bit heavier, but I could be wrong). Anyway, it's great to see a WPBA event outside a casino (and so close to home) - I hope this tournament stays on the trail for years to come.

I don't know if I'll be able to make it back to Rocky Mount for the rest of the week, but if I do, I'll be sure to post pictures and results for everyone. These past few years, my wife has supported me by being my personal cheerleader when I've played in events like the Carolinas Open, the US Open, the US Amateur, various local and regional tournaments, and the APA Masters in Las Vegas. Starting Thursday night, it's my turn to return the favor - her APA team is playing in the city tournament, so I get to be in her corner. If her team gets knocked out early, though, I'm sure I'm going to want to see some real pool (no offense, babe).

-djb
 
nipponbilliards said:
Ms. Xiao Ting Pan is sharing a room with Ms. Jennifer Chen. What kind of information do you want to know about Ms. Pan?

Thank you.

Richard
I would like to know if Ms. Pan and Ms. Chen need a roommate for the event :D :D :D
 
Good luck to all our AZ girls, they didn't get the best draw but there isn't really such a thing as a "good draw" when you have a field as talented as this.
 
One Update

One of my friends just told me JoAnne Corbett defeated Megan Minerach 9-5.

I wish I had more news/updates... but that's all I know right now.

Melinda
 
The matches with Ms. Pan and Ms. Herndon is starting now, along with that of Jennifer Chen vs Wendy Jans.

Hsin Huang won her 11am match, so did Jennie Seaver. Caroline Pao had a tough lost against Miyuki Sakai.

A major upset is Tracie Hine who had a tough lost against Jeri Engh.

Tracie was trailing 6 to 2, made a come back but lost 9 to 7.

I hope Tracie can get this off her mind and focus on her remaining matches.

Congratulation to Jeri.

Richard
 
Last edited:
nipponbilliards said:
The matches with Ms. Pan and Ms. Herndon is starting now, along with that of Jennifer Chen vs Wendy Jans.

Hsin Huang won her 11am match, so did Jennie Seaver. Caroline Pao had a tough lost against Miyuki Sakai.

A major upset is Tracie Hine who had a tough lost against Jeri Engh.

Tracie was trailing 6 to 2, made a come back but lost 9 to 7.

I hope Tracie can get this off her mind and focus on her remaining matches.

Congratulation to Jeri.

Richard
Thanks Richard,
Looks like they'll only update the draw at the end of the day...no live scoring in other words.

Looking forward on a report from Pan's match :)
 
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