Tracie Hines
Claims First Place Finish!
Twenty-seven
players met at Wally’s Billiards & Sportsbar in Lakeland, Florida,
on October 28, 2006, for the Ladies Spirit Tour’s 8th
event. This event was a Player’s Choice WPBA Qualifier for the 2007
Season, sponsored by LTLUniverse.com. Competition drew players of
multi-skill levels from all over Florida, as well as California,
North Carolina, Alabama, and Illinois.
By Saturday
evening, the field was whittled down to twelve ladies; all with
intentions of snagging the Qualifier and a portion of the
$2350.00 cash fund. On the one-loss side, Kelly Coyle, Denise
Khidirian, Tracie Hines, Emily Duddy, Laura Lindauer, Niki
Rasmussen, Crystal McCormick, and Diana Minor were trying to hang on
to their second chances, while Sarah Rousey, Jessica Barnes, Debbie
Schjodt, and Leslee Davis-Blaikie were battling for that comfortable
Queen-of-the-Hill seat. It was Barnes who decided she wanted that
seat most, as she sent Rousey to the one-loss side.
After taking a
short break from the Tour, Jessica returned with a new mission and
demeanor. She defeated Kelly Coyle, Janis Sessions, Denise Khidirian,
and Debbie Schjodt – allowing her opponents’ scores to reach no more
than four games. Her successful match with Rousey was much closer,
ending the score with 7-6.
Although WPBA
Touring Pro Tracie Hines was moved to the B side after her first
match with upcoming Pro Debbie Schjodt, she didn’t let it get her
down. It seemed as though Tracie just took advantage of the extra
matches she had to play to stay alive --- using it as warm-up time.
After she quickly eliminated Dianna Lane, Diana Minor, and Crystal
McCormick, she once again was faced with Debbie Schjodt. She gave
Schjodt a dose of her own medicine with a vengeful elimination score
of 7-5 and proceeded to take out Leslee Davis-Blaikie and Sarah
Rousey. She never let any of her opponents even win a 6th
game. In the end, it was Hines challenging Barnes for the finals.
As the
tournament format called for True Double Elimination, it was set
that Hines had to beat Barnes two full matches of Races-to-Seven.
She took a dominant lead against Barnes 6-1, as Barnes struggled to
pull it together. Suddenly, it seemed as though Hines was letting
off the drive a little and Barnes found her second wind. With many
safety plays and careful navigation of the table, Jessica was able
to bring the score to 6-4, but it was just too little too late, and
Hines claimed the first match with a final score of 7-4.
The second and
final match was much closer, with the players battling to take the
lead. Jessica found herself against a new pressure, that of playing
in the final match, but she liked the added challenge. On the other
hand, Tracie is quite familiar with the finals pressure but seemed
to be wearing down from the constant play she had endured while
having to plow through the one-loss side earlier in the event. In
the end, it was Tracie Hines who brought the score to 7-5, showing
that experience does count.
Although
Tracie Hines claimed the First Place monies, Jessica Barnes was able
to secure the Players Choice Qualifier spot. Congratulations to
both!
LTLUniverse.com results:
1st
Tracie Hines $700
2nd
Jessica Barnes $500 + Qualifier
3rd
Sarah Rousey $325
4th
Leslee Davis-Blaikie $225
5th/6th Debbie Schjodt &
Emily Duddy $125
7th/8th Crystal McCormick
& Laura Lindauer $75
9th/12th Denise Khidirian, Niki
Rasmussen, Kelly Coyle, & Diana Minor $50
13th/16th Roberta Case, Jeannie Seaver, Dianna
Lane, Janis Sessions
17th/24th Ellen Van Buren, Stephanie Mitchell,
Vanessa Seaver, Helene Caukin, Heather Barkley, Libby Blake, Mimi
McAndrews, Kelly Jones
25/32nd Amanda Davidson, Beth Amado,
Janice Sellner
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