2014 ARCHIVES
Players highlighted in BLUE qualified for the 2015 Regional Tour Championships (RTC), January 8-11, at Breakers Sky Lounge, in Herndon, VA. Congratulations players !
REGIONAL TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
BREAKERS SKY LOUNGE
HERNDON VIRGINIA
JANUARY 8-11 2015
JPNEWT'S Jia Li takes her second Regional Tour Championship in a row. Linda Shea takes 3rd and Meredith Lynch takes 9th in a 64 player field.
L-R: Nicole Albergaria (Northern Lights Tour), Jia Li (JPNEWT), Betty Lea (SPORT9), Linda Shea (JPNEWT)
2014 STOP #1
March 8-9
TRIPLE NINES BAR & BILLIARDS
Elkridge Md
1st $400 Karen Corr
2nd $280 Asia Cycak
3rd $170 Nicole Fleming
4th $130 Sueyen Rhee
5/6th $100 Junko Tsuchiya
Linda Shea
7/8th $70 Judie Wilson
Tina Hartman
9-12th $50 Carol Clark
Dawn Fox
Lai Li
Meredith Lynch
Karen Corr
Karen Corr Goes Undefeated in Season Opener!
March 9, 2014
Two’s company, three’s a crowd, and 33 is a terrific start to the season. The J.Pechauer North East Women’s Tour opened on March 8 with a two-day event at Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD. Thirty-three of the region’s best players competed in a strong field that included Hall of Fame pro Karen Corr, last season’s top finishers Jia Li, Nicole Nester, and Dawn Fox, and newcomers Christina Madrigale, Junko Tsuchiya, Anastasia Kotylev, and Jody Haines.
Karen Corr dominated the top half of the bracket with lopsided victories over Nicole Nester 7-2, Ji-Hyun Park 7-2, Tina Hartman 7-1, and Linda Shea 7-1.
Meanwhile, Nicole Fleming managed the lower half of the bracket with decisive wins over Charlynn Dzambo 7-1, Jody Haines 7-0, and Asia Cycak 7-3, and an unfortunate forfeit Sunday morning from Junko Tsuchiya.
In the hot seat match, Karen cemented a 7-1 victory over Nicole with a tough one-nine combination shot.
On the one-loss side, Sueyen Rhee’s winning streak ended the day for Nicole Nester 7-6, Shanna Lewis 7-4, Meredith Lynch 7-1, Tina (Meraglio) Hartman 7-3, and Junko 7-4.
Asia also caught a gear after her first loss, sending home Dawn Fox 7-6, Judie Wilson 7-4, and Linda Shea 7-3. When they met up Sunday afternoon, Asia took advantage of a few mistakes by Sueyen to capture the set 7-3.
In the semi-finals, Asia put together several break-and-runs, and took advantage of every miss, avenging her earlier loss to Nicole with a sound 7-1 victory.
Karen finished her nearly flawless day with a nearly flawless 7-1 final victory over Asia.
~by Nicole Fleming
2014 STOP #2
May 17-18
RAXX POOL ROOM
West Hempstead NY
1st $700 Karen Corr
2nd $500 Linda Shea
3rd $340 Jia Li
4th $240 Briana Miller
5/6th $150 Nicole Nester
Sharon O’Hanlong
7/8th $100 Borana Andoni
Colleen Shoop
L-R: Jia Li, Karen Corr, Linda Shea
Karen Corr Wins Again!
May 18, 2014
It’s really no surprise to hear that Hall of Famer Karen Corr knifed her way through the second J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour event of the season undefeated. But it might surprise you to hear that she played forty-four total games over the weekend and lost only two of them.
Twenty-two hopefuls showed up on May 18, at Raxx Pool Room Bar and Grill, in New York to battle for the win, including first time players Joy McFeaters, Allison Honeymar, Meghan Knight, and Sierra Reams.
Karen started the weekend with a 7-1 win over Kelly Mitchell, a 7-0 win over Joy, and a 7-1 win over Nicole Fleming. She then shut out Sharon O’Hanlon for a spot in the hot seat match.
Linda Shea’s path there included wins over Melissa Jenkins (7-5), Kia Sidbury (7-4), and Brianna Miller (7-4). Her winning streak hit a bit of snag when Karen shut her out for the hot seat.
Meanwhile, another winning streak was unfolding on the left side of the bracket. Tour regulars Jia Li and Borona Andoni met up for an exciting first round match. Borona’s deliberate and impressive play sent Jia to the one-loss side (7-5). But Jia wasn’t ready to go home. She won seven straight matches, ending the day for Joy McFeaters (7-3), Lenore Chen (7-6), Kia Sidbury (7-4), Colleen Shoop (7-1), Sharon O’Hanlon (7-2), and Briana Miller (7-2).
In the matches leading up to the semi-finals, Jia looked nearly unbeatable, but Linda wasn’t phased. Jia made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, and Linda took full advantage. She jumped out to an early lead and earned a decisive 7-2 victory.
In the finals, Karen played nearly flawless pool, and capped off her victory with yet another shut out. It was a fitting conclusion for her impressive weekend.
~by Nicole Vincent Fleming
2014 STOP #3
June 21-22
FIRST BREAK CAFE
Sterling VA
1st $400 Jia Li
2nd $275 Linda Shea
3rd $150 Meredith Lynch
4th $125 Kathy Friend
5/6th $90 Cheryl Sporleder
Sueyen Rhee
7/8th $75 Ji-Hyun Park
Lai Li
L-R: Kathy Friend, Linda Shea, Meredith Lynch, Cheryl Sporleder, Sueyen Rhee
Jia Li Earns First 2014 Win at First Break
June 22, 2014
Jia Li showed up at First Break on June 21st with a mission – to earn her first JPNEWT win of the 2014 season. And she did just that – maneuvering her way through a field of twenty-two other hopefuls.
The women of the J.Pechauer North East Women’s Tour kicked off their third players’ meeting of the year with a vote to adopt an alternate break format, instead of their traditional winner-break events. The format change certainly didn’t slow down Jia Li. She started her path to victory with solid wins over Kia Sidbury (7-3), Teresa Thomas (7-2), Tina Scott (7-1), and Meredith Lynch (7-3).
Meanwhile, Linda Shea made her way to the hot seat match with wins over Dawn Fox, Pauline Mattes (7-5), and Cheryl Sporleder (7-3). In the hot seat match, Jia stayed in control of the table, and took advantage of every mistake Linda made, earning a 7-1 victory.
Tour regular Kathy Friend lost her first round match to Nicole Fleming (7-1), but fought her way through the left side of the bracket with an impressive five-match winning streak. She ended the day for Sharon O’Hanlon (7-1), Shanna Lewis (7-4), Tina Scott (7-5), Ji Hyun Park (7-2), and Cheryl Sporleder (7-2). Another tour regular, Meredith Lynch, made a series of tough, high-pressure shots to earn wins over Shanna Lewis (7-6), Nicole Nester (7-4), and Nicole Fleming (7-4). After Jia sent her to the B-side, Meredith scored wins over Sueyen Rhee (7-5) and Kathy Friend (7-6). She met up with Linda Shea in the B-side finals, but fell just short, ending the day with a 7-5 loss. That gave Linda Shea one more shot at Jia Li in the finals, but Li didn’t flinch. Her steady play led her to yet another victory, and right into a well-deserved first place finish.
JPNEWT events, like this one, wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support of our sponsors J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, Black Heart Tips, Ozone Billiards, and Britanya Rapp.
~by Nicole Vincent Feming
2014 STOP #4
July 26-27
FIRST BREAK CAFE
Sterling VA
1st $650 Karen Corr
2nd $350 Dawn Fox
3rd $275 Linda Shea
4th $130 Nicole Fleming
5/6th $100 Kia Sidbury
Kathy Friend
7/8th $50 Ji-Hyun Park
Shanna Lewis
L-R: Linda Shea, Karen Corr, Dawn Fox
Karen Corr Continues Winning Streak at JPNEWT
July 27, 2014
On Saturday, July 26, the ladies of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour visited First Break Café for the second time this year. The 18-player field included tour regulars Shanna Lewis, Dawn Fox, Kia Sidbury, Judie Wilson, Ji-Hyun Park, and hall of fame player Karen Corr.
The tour welcomed two new players Deeqa Nur and Peggi Wilkinson. Both newcomers had tough first-round draws: Deeqa almost beat fourth place tour member Nicole Fleming (7-6), and Peggi had to face second place tour member Linda Shea (7-0). In her second match Peggi, lost by just one game to tour regular Carol Clark (7-6), and Deeqa put up a tough fight, but fell short against Kia Sidbury (7-5).
Unlike these ladies, Karen Corr had a first round bye. She then marched to the hot seat match with wins over Pauline Mattes (7-2), Kathy Friend (7-2), and Linda Shea (7-3). Meanwhile, Dawn Fox sent several tough players to the B-side, including Kim Whitman (7-5), Melissa Jenkins (7-4), and Nicole Fleming (7-4).
The real fireworks of the event came in the hot seat match, Karen Corr vs. Dawn Fox. Dawn took advantage of several uncharacteristic mistakes by the pro, and was right on her heels, 4-5. Karen hung the 5-ball, but left Dawn hooked at the far end of the table. Spectators showed their appreciation as Dawn fired in the jump shot. She was left with a tough cut on the 6 ball, which she overcut, and left Karen an easy out. Karen finished the match strong, winning 7-4.
On the other side of the bracket, Linda Shea defeated Kia Sidbury (7-1), while Nicole Fleming ended the day for Kathy Friend (7-2). Linda took full advantage of her chances at the table, and put Nicole out in 4th place (7-4). Dawn then beat Linda by the same margin 7-4. Karen finished the tournament in nearly flawless form, beating Dawn 7-2.
JPNEWT events like this one wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support of our sponsors J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, Black Heart Tips, Ozone Billiards, Baltimore City Billiards, and Britanya Rapp.
~by Nicole Vincent Fleming
2014 STOP #5
August 9-10
TRIPLE NINES BAR & BILLIARDS
Elkridge MD
1st $400 Karen Corr
2nd $300 Jia Li
3rd $200 Nicole Monaco
4th $150 Meredith Lynch
5th $110 Linda Shea
5th $110 Kathy Friend
7th $ 90 Dawn Fox
7th $ 90 Denise Reeve
9th $ 50 Kim Whitman
9th $ 50 Lai Li
9th $ 50 Sharon O’Hanlon
9th $ 50 Charlyn Dzambo
L-R: Nicole Monaco, Meredith Lynch, Denise Reeve, Kathy Friend, Linda Shea, Dawn Fox, Jia Li, Karen Corr
Karen Corr strikes again at Triple Nines in Elkridge!
August 10, 2014
Thirty women came out on a beautiful August weekend to compete for another JPNEWT title. Karen Corr was not going to allow anyone to share her crown.
Stop #5 showcased the “regular” players as well as some fresh faces – new and old. Nicole Monaco came back to the tour as a virtual unknown and quickly got everyone’s attention by storming to the hot-seat by defeating Nicole Fleming, Anastasia Kotylev, Lai Li, and Meredith Lynch, before finally falling to Karen Corr, 7-4. Meredith Lynch had a strong 4th place finish as she defeated Judie Wilson, Sharon O’Hanlon, Linda Shea, and Kathy Friend, before getting knocked out by Jia Li.
Jia Li had missed an event due to playing in the Japan Women’s Open, where she placed second, and was looking to show off her world prowess. She handled Ji-Hyun Park, Kim Whitman, and Denise Reeve before facing Karen Corr, and traveling to the B side, to defeat the hot shooting of Meredith Lynch and Nicole Monaco to earn a rematch. She was very determined, but Karen is Karen, and won the final match 7-4.
Lots of great shooting and great matches! We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support: J.Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, Britanya Rapp, Ozone Billiards, and Baltimore City Cues, and BlackHeart Tips.
See you at the next event!
~by Sharon O'Hanlon
2014 STOP #6
September 6-7
RAXX POOL ROOM
W.Hempstead NY
1st $800 Karen Corr
2nd $500 Linda Shea
3rd $350 Zhi Ting Wu
4th $250 Caroline Pao
5/6th $160 Borana Andoni
Kathy Friend
L-R: Karen Corr, Raxx owner Holden Chin, Linda Shea
L-R: Karen Corr, Kathy Friend, Linda Shea, Borana Andoni, Caroline Pao, Zhi Ting Wu
Karen Corr Returns from a Loss to Linda Shea to Win the JPNEWT at Raxx
September 7, 2014
On the weekend of September 6-7, 2014, legendary WPBA champion Karen Corr would once again become the star of the J.Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT), at Raxx Pool Room, in West Hempstead, NY. However, the BCA Hall of Fame inductee would not make it to the top, before a detour to the one-loss side.
JPNEWT director, and one of the tour’s most notable players, Linda Shea, would be the player to deal Corr a loss in the winner’s bracket final—her first-ever loss on the tour. To make it through the bracket to face Shea, Corr had a series of defiant wins over Nicole Fleming (7-2), former WPBA pro Caroline Pao (7-0), and 2014 Japan Open champion, visiting from Taiwan, Zhi-Ting Wu (7-1). Meanwhile, Shea’s path would lead her to wins over Nicole Nester (7-5), Kathy Friend (7-5), and a hill-hill win over Borana Andoni (7-6).
Among the players fighting to make their way back to the top, four would match up on the one-loss side to determine who would see the quarterfinal. Caroline Pao and Kathy Friend would both make it through two one-loss side rounds to land in the ‘final four’. Friend’s run would end there, as she fell by a score of 7-2 to Zhi-Ting Wu, while Pao survived a hill-hill, all-New York battle, with Borana Andoni.
In the quarterfinal, Wu pushed ahead for a 7-5 win over Caroline Pao, who would settle for fourth place. Wu’s next battle would be in the semifinal against Karen Corr, who had her sights set on a rematch with Shea in the final. It was a close finish, but Corr pulled ahead to win 7-5.
The final of this event, between Karen Corr and undefeated Linda Shea, would be a single race to nine, where Corr would make good on her prior defeat, and win the event with a finishing score of 9-4. While Corr racked up another tour win, Shea made a strong statement to be the first player on the tour to win a match against Corr.
by Alison Fischer
NYC Grind Editor & Contributor
2014 STOP #7
October 11-12
TOP HAT CUE CLUB
Parkville MD
1st $730 Jia Li
2nd $400 Linda Shea
3rd $270 Ji-Hyun Park
4th $125 Nicole Nester
5/6th $100 Dawn Fox
$100 Joey Stearns
7/8th $ 60 Judie Wilson
$ 60 Sharon O'Hanlon
L-R: Jia Li, Dawn Fox, Nicole Nester, Judie Wilson, Ji-Hyun Park, Sharon O'Hanlon, Linda Shea
Li comes from the loss side to defeat Shea in Parkville MD
Since the J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour began its 2014 season back in March, there have only been five players involved in the finals of the tour's seven stops. Five of those seven finals have been won by Karen Corr. Jia Li won the other two, including the most recent; a $1,000-added event that drew 21 entrants to the Top Hat Cue Club in Parkville, MD, on the weekend of October 10-11. Tour director Linda Shea has been in four of those seven finals, including the most recent. Asia Cycak was the runner-up to Corr in the opening stop in March. Dawn Fox was runner-up to Corr in July and Jia Li was defeated by Corr in the August finals. This most recent stop marked the first time since July that Corr was not involved in the event finals.
Jia Li played eight matches during the most recent stop. She was awarded a bye in the opening round and was then narrowly defeated by Judie Wilson (7-6) in the only match she played on the winners' side of the bracket. She went on to win six on the loss side, was awarded a forfeit victory, and then, defeated tour director, and at the time, hot seat occupant, Linda Shea, in the finals. In their June finals match-up, it was Shea who entered the finals from the loss side, having been defeated by Li in the hot seat match.
As Li was at work on the loss side, Shea advanced among the winners' side final four, for a match against Joey Stearns. Ji-Hyun Park met up with Dawn Fox in the other winners' side semifinal. Shea defeated Stearns 7-5, and in the hot seat match, met up with Park, who'd defeated Fox 7-2. Shea claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Park and for the fourth time this year, entered the finals.
It was Stearns, who moved over and met up with Li, who, by that time, had chalked up four, loss-side wins, including a 7-4 win over Pauline Mattes, and a 7-2 victory over Sharon O'Hanlon. Fox picked up Nicole Nester, who'd gotten by Borana Andoni 7-5 and then shut out Judie Wilson. It was at this juncture that Li won a forfeit victory over Stearns, and advanced to the quarterfinals against Nester, who'd eliminated Fox 7-1.
Li defeated Nester 7-4, and entered her second JPNEWT final against Shea, with a 7-2 win over Ji-Hyun Park in the semifinals. Li chalked up her second JPNEWT victory of the year with a 9-5 victory over Shea.
~Skip Mahoney, AZBilliards
2014 STOP #8
November 1-2
PROSHOT BILLIARDS
Dickson City PA
1st $575 Jia Li
2nd $380 Linda Shea
3rd $260 Dawn Fox
4th $175 Alex Calabrese
5/6th $115 Colleen Shoop
$115 Meredith Lynch
L-R: Linda Shea, Dawn Fox, Jia Li
Jia Li Goes Undefeated to Win Back-to-Back JPNEWT Tour Stops
November 2, 2014
Eighteen women from the J.Pechauer North East Women's Tour spent the first weekend of November at ProShots Billiards in Scranton, PA, for their last tour stop before the tour's year-end finale, which will be held November 15-16, at Triple Nines in Elkridge, Md.
The event started with fireworks as Jia Li and Linda Shea, two of the tour's top three players drew each other for a tough first round match. Li took advantage of several uncharacteristic scratches by Shea and jumped to a 4-0 lead. She went on to win the match 7-2, and then cruised to the hot-seat with wins over Nicole Fleming (7-2), Melissa Jenkins (7-2), Alex Calabrese (7-2), and Dawn Fox (7-5).
Local player and 4th place tour member, Dawn Fox started the tournament with wins over Joey Stearns (7-2), Sharon O'Hanlon (7-3), and Colleen Shoop (7-2). Fox and Li traded games back and forth in the hot-seat match, but Li got to the hill first at 6-5 and finished the match with a timely break-and-run. After losing this nail biter, Fox seemed to run out of steam against a determined Shea (7-1).
Tour regular Meredith Lynch started the day with a disappointing loss in the second round, but rallied on the B-side with wins over 5th ranked tour player Nicole Fleming (7-0), Sharon O'Hanlon (7-1), and Judie Wilson (7-3), before she ran into Alex Calabrese, the tour's best new player in 2013. Calabrese who started the tournament with wins over Kathy Friend (7-4) and Denise Reeves (7-6) before losing to Li, sent Lynch home in 5th place (7-4).
After her first round loss, Shea marched through a seven-match winning streak that sent home Kia Sidbury (7-4), newcomer Kayla Maciejewski (7-4), Denise Reeves (7-4), Melissa Jenkins (7-4), Colleen Shoop (forfeit), Alex Calabrese (7-1), and Dawn Fox (7-5).
Shea had earned a second chance at the woman who sent her to the B-side early on Saturday. Li made it to the hill first at 6-3, but she had trouble getting to the magic number 7. In the tenth rack, Linda played a tremendous kick safety on the 5-ball, and then ran out to make the score 6-4. But at 6-5, Li took advantage of a strong break, finishing her second set in a row with a break-and-run.
Shea added yet another second place finish to her belt, which moved her to first place overall. The year-end finale will be the women’s last chance to move up in the rankings and earn a spot in the WPBA sponsored Regional Tour Championships (RTC), an event that brings together the 64 best amateur women in the country. This year's RTC will be held at Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA, January 8-11.
JPNEWT thanks Carol and Kevin Clark of ProShot Billiards for hosting the event, and J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Coins of the Realm, BlackHeart Tips, Britanya Rapp, OZONE Billiards, and Baltimore City Cues for their support.
~by Nicole Fleming, NYC Grind
2014 STOP #9 (Season Finale)
November 15-16
TRIPLE NINES BAR & BILLIARDS
Elkridge MD
1st $850 Linda Shea
2nd $500 Nicole Fleming
3rd $375 Sharon O'Hanlon
4th $175 Judie Wilson
5/6th $100 Dawn Fox
$100 Nicole Nester
7/8th $75 Lai Li
$75 Kathy Friend
L-R: Nicole Fleming, Judie Wilson, Lai Li, Dawn Fox, Nicole Nester, Kathy Friend, Linda Shea, Sharon O'Hanlon
Shea Wins Final JPNEWT Event of the Year at Triple Nines Billiards
Linda “Hurricane” Shea has had a terrific year on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour. With her second place finish at ProShot Billiards two weeks ago—her fifth of the season—she moved into first place in the tour rankings. She is also the only player on the tour to win a match against Hall of Famer Karen Corr. So, at the start of the JPNEWT year-end finale, the only thing she didn’t have in 2014, was a first place finish.
On November 15-16, Shea and 19 other women competed at Triple Nines Billiards in Elkridge, MD. Shea started the day with wins over Dawn Fox (7-3) and Kia Sidbury (7-1). But then ran into Nicole Fleming, who had already sent Ji-Hyun Park (7-5) and Nicole Nester (7-5) to the B-side. Against Shea, Fleming took full advantage of her opportunities at the table, and won 7-2.
Meanwhile, Sharon O’Hanlon’s path to the winner’s side final included wins over Susan Shin (7-2), Kathy Friend (7-1), and a hill-hill battle against Judie Wilson. O’Hanlon’s match against Fleming was another tight match, tied at 5-5. But Fleming was able to win two in a row, to take the set and the hot seat.
On Saturday, Shea sent Dawn Fox to the one-loss side, where Fox beat Colleen Shoop (7-4), Meredith Lynch (7-5), and Kathy Friend (7-3). On Sunday, after a hard fought hill-hill match, Shea sent Fox home, and then faced yet another hill-hill contest against Judie Wilson. A safety battle on the eight ball ended when Shea could see just enough of the ball to make it and finish the set.
In the semifinal, Shea jumped to a 4-1 lead over O’Hanlon. She kept the pressure on and maintained a lead throughout, finishing the match 7-4. Shea also had a quick start against Fleming, going up 3-0. But, Fleming settled down and won four straight games. At 5-5, the momentum seemed to swing in Fleming’s favor when Shea scratched on the break and Fleming ran out. But at 6-5, Fleming hung a four ball, and Shea never looked back. She finished that rack, played a good safe and ran the next rack. She then broke and ran to a five-nine carom, to win. It was the best finish of the year for both ladies.
Both Shea and Fleming will join eight other women from the tour, in the WPBA sponsored Regional Tour Championships (RTC), which will bring together 64 of the best women from the 14 WPBA regional tours across the country, to compete in a round-robin tournament. This year’s RTC will take place on Jan 8-11, at Breakers Sky Lounge in Herndon, VA. The other JPNEWT women who received invites include Jia Li, Dawn Fox, Sharon O’Hanlon, Judie Wilson, Kathy Friend, Nicole Nester, Ji-Hyun Park, and Meredith Lynch.
~by Nicole Vincent Fleming, NYC Grind (www.nycgrind.com)