2021 ARCHIVES
2021 STOP #1
March 6-7
Triple Nines Bar & Billiards
Elkridge MD
- 26 player field -
1st $550 Caroline Pao
2nd $375 Nicole Nester
3rd $250 Liz Taylor
4th $170 Kathy Friend
5th $120 Christine Pross
5th $120 Linda Shea
7th $ 70 Kia Burwell
7th $ 70 Shanna Lewis
L-R: Nicole Nester, Triple Nines owner Stan Nasiatka, Caroline Pao
L-R: Kia Sidbury, Shanna Lewis, Liz Taylor, Kathy Friend, Nicole Nester, Caroline Pao, Linda Shea, Christine Pross
PAO COMES FROM THE LOSS SIDE TO WIN SIXTH TITLE ON THE J. PECHAUER NORTHEAST WOMEN’S TOUR
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
March 9, 2021
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Caroline Pao won twice on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) last year (2020). The two wins followed a somewhat brief, pandemic-inspired, competitive-play drought, before which she had finished in the tie for 9th place at the Ashton Twins Classic in January. She’d won all three times she competed on the tour in 2019, which proved to be, and remains, her best recorded earnings year to date.
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On the weekend of March 6-7, 2021, at the JPNEWT season opener, she entered her sixth JPNEWT event in the past two years. She was looking for her sixth straight win on the tour and she found it. At Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD, where she met another long-time veteran of the tour, Nicole Nester, twice. Though knocked out of the hot seat match by Nester, Pao returned from a victory in the semifinals to defeat Nester in the finals. The event drew 26 entrants to Triple Nines.
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Pao opened with a shutout over Melissa Mason, a 7-1 win over Lynn Richard and a 7-4 win against Teri Thomas, which set her (Pao) up in a winners’ side semifinal against Tour Director Linda Shea, with whom she’s had a battle or two over the years. Nicole Nester, in the meantime, got by KanKan Yu 7-4, and Deb Peterman 7-3, as a prelude to a double hill battle against Liz Taylor, fresh off a 3rd place finish at the VA State Ladies 10-Ball Championships a couple of weeks ago. Nester prevailed and advanced to her winners’ side semifinal matchup, against Kathy Friend.
Pao moved on to the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Shea and was joined by Nester, who’d defeated Friend 7-4. Nester claimed the hot seat 7-3.
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On the loss side, Friend picked up Christine Pross, who’d suffered a winners’ side quarterfinal 7-5 loss to Shea. Pross went on to down Ceci Strain 7-3 and survive a double hill bout against Shanna Lewis. Liz Taylor, who’d followed her loss to Pao with a loss side victory over Judie Wilson 7-1, locked up in a double hill battle with the tour’s #2 competitor in the standings, Kia Burwell. Taylor jumped out of that frying pan and into the fire of the #1 player in the standings, TD Linda Shea.
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Taylor dropped Shea 7-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Friend, who’d defeated Pross 7-5. Taylor won that quarterfinal match 7-4 over Friend before having her modest four-match, loss-side streak ended by Pao in the semifinals 7-4. Pao completed her sixth straight win on the tour with a 9-3 victory in the finals.
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Tour director Shea thanked Stan Nasiatka and his Triple Nines staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Bitzel and Associates Physical Therapy, and Brit Rapp of angle aim Art for sponsoring the live stream. The next stop (#2) on the tour, scheduled for April 10-11, will be hosted by Markley Billiards in Norristown, PA.
2021 STOP #2
April 10-11
Markley Billiards
Norristown PA
- 19 player field -
1st $425 Liz Taylor
2nd $280 Caroline Pao
3rd $190 Judie Wilson
4th $125 Linda Shea
5th $ 80 Christine Pross
5th $ 80 Kelly Cox
7th $ 55 Carianne Merkle
7th $ 55 Kris Consalvo-Kemp
L-R: Russ Urffer (Markley's owner), Linda Shea, Judie Wilson, Christine Pross, Liz Taylor, Kelly Cox, Tony Pastore (Markley's), Caroline Pao
Liz Taylor, event champion
TAYLOR COMES BACK FROM DOWN-BY-FOUR IN FINALS TO DEFEAT PAO ON JPNEWT
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
April 12, 2021
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There was little doubt in anyone’s mind that Caroline Pao signed on to the April 10-11 stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT), looking for her seventh straight win on the tour, dating back to 2019. Of course, everyone else who signed on was looking for a win as well, including Liz Taylor, who’d finished in 3rd place, behind Pao and Nicole Nester in the tour’s season opener last month (March 6-7).
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As she’d done in March, Pao was forced to seek this past weekend’s event title from the loss side. In fact, this time out, she was forced to win three on the loss side just to get into the finals. Liz Taylor had sent her over and though Pao would come back to challenge her in the finals, Taylor completed an undefeated run to claim her first event title since she’d gone back-to-back last November, winning the VA State Ladies 8-Ball Championship and a week, later, Stop #10 on the 2020 JPNEWT. The event this past weekend drew 19 entrants to Markley Billiards in Norristown, PA.
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Taylor and Pao were on something of a collision course from the start. Pao got by Suzzie Wong, Shelah Joner and Christine Pross (7-2, 7-3, 7-3), as Taylor, awarded an opening round bye, shut out April Hatcher and then downed Kia Burwell 7-5. This set them up to face each other in one of the winners’ side semifinals. In the other winners’ side semifinal, the tour director, Linda Shea, squared off against Judie Wilson, who, following a bye, had chalked up two 7-4 victories against Nicole Nester and Kelly Fox.
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A third straight 7-4 win put Wilson into the hot seat match for the first time since 2018 (her best recorded earnings year, to date), when she fought for it twice; once, in April, against Burwell (then, Kia Sidbury) and then, versus Shea in December. Taylor and Pao, in the meantime, battled to double hill, before Taylor prevailed. Taylor put the hammer down in the hot seat match, giving up only a single rack to Wilson.
On the loss side, Pao picked up Kelly Fox, who, following her defeat at the hands of Wilson had eliminated Sharon O’Hanlon 7-3 and Kris Consalvo-Kemp 7-4. Shea drew Pross, who followed her loss to Pao with victories over Rachel Walters 7-5 and Carianne Merkle 7-3.
Pao advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Cox and met up with Shea, who’d defeated Pross 7-5. Pao eliminated Shea 7-3 in those quarterfinals and then, Wilson 7-4 in the semifinals.
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Taylor got off to a bit of a rocky start in the extended-race-to-9 final. If she reached 7 racks first, it’d be over. If Pao reached 7 first, the race extended to 9. With the momentum of her three loss-side matches, Pao jumped out to an early lead that was four racks by the end of the 6th game, 5-1.
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Taylor chipped away at that lead, winning four of the next six (7-5), but couldn’t stop Pao’s extension of the match to nine games. She did, however, stop Pao from completing any more games. Taylor won four in a row to claim the event title.
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Tour director Linda Shea thanked Russ Urffer and his Markley Billiards’ staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA (Physical Therapy), George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor), and, for the livestream, angle aim Art (Britanya E Rapp). The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for the weekend of May 15-16, will be hosted by First Break Bar & Grill in Sterling, VA.
2021 STOP #3
May 15-16
First Break Sports Bar
Sterling VA
- 24 player field -
1st $600 Caroline Pao
2nd $350 Nicole Nester
3rd $250 Carol V. Clark
4th $175 Liz Taylor
5th $115 Kelly Wyatt
5th $115 Linda Shea
7th $ 75 Ashley Burrows
7th $ 75 Kia Burwell
L-R: Caroline Pao, Nicole Nester
L-R: Linda Shea, Liz Taylor, Kia Sidbury, Kelly Wyatt, Carol V. Clark, Nicole Nester, Ashley Burrows
PAO GOES UNDEFEATED TO CHALK UP HER SEVENTH WIN ON THE JPNEWT SINCE 2019
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
May 17, 2021
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Last month (April 10-11), Caroline Pao joined 18 other competitors at stop #2 on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, looking for her seventh straight win on the tour, dating back to 2019. Liz Taylor defeated her twice; once, in a winners’ side semifinal and again, in the finals. This past weekend, as 24 women gathered to compete at stop #3, hosted by First Break Sports Bar in Sterling, VA, there was some speculation that Taylor v. Pao might go at it again, in search of the event title. It didn’t happen. In fact, they didn’t meet in this one at all. Pao, though, went undefeated through the field to claim that seventh, though not ‘seventh straight’ JPNEWT title.
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Pao faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals. She was awarded an opening round bye and opened her campaign with a 7-3 win over Kia Burwell. She then shut out Judie Wilson and drew Kelly Wyatt in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Carol V. Clark, in the meantime, also with an opening round bye, survived a double hill fight against Ashley Burrows and defeated Lai Li 7-5 to draw Nicole Nester in the other winners’ side semifinal. Nester, who would go on to face Pao in the finals, had just survived her own double hill challenge versus Liz Taylor, sending her to the loss side in their winners’ side quarterfinal match.
Clark sent Nester to the loss side 7-4 and in the hot seat match, faced Pao, who’d defeated Wyatt 7-3. Pao gave up just a single rack to claim the hot seat over Clark.
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Tour director Linda Shea, who’d started out in a promising direction on the winners’ side with two straight shutouts over Calaia Jackson and Kimberly Smith-Martin, ran into Kelly Wyatt in one of the winners’ side quarterfinals. When Wyatt sent her to the loss side 7-3, she downed Melissa Jenkins 7-4 and then, survived a double hill battle versus Ashley Burrows to draw Nester.
Wyatt, in the meantime, picked up Liz Taylor, who’d followed her defeat at the hands of Nester with victories over Cecilia Strain 7-2 and Kia Burwell 7-1.
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There were, at this point, six competitors left. Five of the six were among the top 10 in the tour standings going into this third stop. Pao, Taylor, Nester and Shea were, in order, #1 through #4, while Carol V. Clark was #6. There were two rematch possibilities in the quarterfinals. It was Taylor and Nester who advanced to meet a second time. Taylor eliminated Wyatt 7-3, as Nester was busy in a double hill fight that she eventually won over Shea.
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Any hopes for a second straight tour stop with Pao and Taylor in the finals was eliminated in the quarterfinals, when Nester downed Taylor 7-2. Nester earned her spot in the finals with a 7-5 win over Clark in the semifinals.
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Pao completed her undefeated run with a 7-5 win in the finals, which allowed her to maintain her top spot in the tour standings. In fact, the tour’s top five in the standings maintained their positions with the points they earned at this event. Pao, Taylor, Nester, Shea and Wilson (who finished in tie for 9th place) remained as the top five. Kia Burwell moved up a single spot to #6, while Carol V. Clark’s third-place finish moved her up from #9 to a tie with Burwell.
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Tour director Shea thanked the ownership and staff at First Break Sports Bar for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA (Physical Therapists), George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor/stream commentator) and for the live stream, Britanya E. Rapp of angle aim Art. The next stop on the JPNEWT (#4), scheduled for June 12-13, will be hosted by Triple Nines Bar & Billiards in Elkridge, MD.
2021 STOP #4
June 12-13
Triple Nines Bar & Billiards
Elkridge MD
- 23 player field -
1st $500 Lai Li
2nd $350 Shanna Lewis
3rd $250 Caroline Pao
4th $175 Linda Shea
5th $115 Kia Burwell
5th $115 Colleen Shoop
7th $ 75 Kelly Wyatt
7th $ 75 Teri Thomas
L-R: Shanna Lewis, Lai Li
L-R: Kia Burwell, Shanna Lewis, Colleen Shoop, Lai Li, Linda Shea, Caroline Pao
LAI LI GOES UNDEFEATED TO WIN HER FIRST JPNEWT STOP SINCE 2019
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
June 28, 2021
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Lai Li may not have intended for the Dynaspheres Cup 8-Ball Championships, held in Bowie, MD a little over a week ago (June 4-6) to be a warmup for this past weekend’s stop on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT), but it seemed to be just what the pool doctors ordered. Li was among only a handful of women who competed in the 8-ball event that drew 108 entrants to Center Pocket in Bowie, and though she finished out of the money (49th), she won over half of the games she played (16-14). A week later (June 12-13) and about half an hour north of Bowie, she signed on for her third appearance on the 2021 JPNEWT and went undefeated to claim her first title on the tour since November, 2019. Both of Li’s wins were hosted by Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD, which drew 23 entrants to this most recent stop (#4) on the tour.
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Also noteworthy of this most recent JPNEWT stop was a 3rd place finish for Caroline Pao, who’d won two of the season’s first three stops and was runner-up in the other one, was looking for her eighth win on the tour since 2019. She was sent to the loss side early by Kia Burwell, and though she’d win six on the loss side to appear in the semifinals, Shanna Lewis stopped her loss side streak to earn a second shot at Li, waiting for her in the hot seat.
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Awarded a bye in the opening round, Li got by Melissa Mason 7-4 and Judie Wilson 7-2 to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Colleen Shoop. Shanna Lewis, in the meantime, had also been awarded an opening round bye, after which she defeated Teri Thomas 7-5 and Cecilia Strain 7-3 to draw tour director Linda Shea in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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It came within a game of being two double hill matches for the right to battle for the hot seat. Shea and Lewis battled to double hill before Lewis prevailed. Li downed Shoop 7-5 to join Lewis in the hot seat match. Li and Lewis battled to double hill to claim the hot seat and it was Lewis who moved west to face Pao in the semifinals.
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On the loss side, Shea walked right into a rematch versus Kia Burwell, who’d followed her victory over Caroline Pao in the opening round with a defeat at the hands of Shea in the second round. Burwell won four straight on the loss side, including a 7-5 win over Sharon O’Hanlon and a 7-4 victory over Teri Thomas to draw the rematch versus Shea. Shoop drew Pao, four matches into her loss-side streak that had most recently included eliminating Cecilia Strain 7-1 and Kelly Wyatt 7-5.
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Pao advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Shoop and was joined by Shea, who defeated Burwell a second time 7-4. Pao then defeated Shea 7-4 in those quarterfinals before herself being eliminated by Lewis 7-5 in the semifinals.
The final match, unlike the one they’d fought for the hot seat, did not require a 13th deciding game. It did, however, require 12 of them. Li completed her undefeated run 7-5 and claimed the event title.
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The top four in the tour standings remained the same, with Pao at the top, Liz Taylor in 2nd place, Nicole Nester in 3rd and Linda Shea in 4th. Lai Li, though, jumped from 13th to 5th, edging Judie Wilson out of that slot into 6th. Rounding out the top 10 were Kia Burwell, Carol V. Clark, Shelah Joner and Christine Pross.
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Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines for their ongoing hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy, George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor), and Britanya E Rapp of angle aim Art (for the live stream). The next stop on the JPNEWT, scheduled for June 26-27, will be hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
2021 STOP #5
June 26-27
Shooters Family Billiards
Wayne NJ
- 21 player field -
1st $460 Kia Burwell
2nd $300 Linda Shea
3rd $200 Nicole Nester
4th $125 Melissa Jenkins
5th $100 Ashley Burrows
5th $100 Naoko Dabreo
L-R: Kia Sidbury, Linda Shea
L-R: Nicole Nester, George Hammerbacher, Melissa Jenkins, Linda Shea, Kris Consalvo-Kemp, Naoko Dabreo, Kia Burwell
BURWELL GOES UNDEFEATED FOR THE FIRST TIME TO CLAIM HER FIRST JPNEWT TITLE SINCE 2018
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
June 28, 2021
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Kia Burwell has been a consistent performer on the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT) and other professional and semi-professional tours and events since about 2015. An oddity of our AZB Money Leaderboard had her climbing to her highest number on that leaderboard (141) last year, even though her best earnings year, to date, has been 2018, when she came from the loss side to win her first JPNEWT stop in March of that year. This past weekend (June 26-27), Burwell won her second JPNEWT stop and went undefeated for the first time.
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The tour returned to New Jersey for the first time since August, 2016 and welcomed a new venue. The event drew 21 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
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As the JPNEWT approaches the midway point of its 2021 season (with stop #6 of 12, scheduled for July 17-18), the tour standings experienced a bit of a shuffle among its top players. Caroline Pao, who continues to look for her 8th win on the tour since 2019, finished out of the money in this one, though her previous two victories, runner-up and 3rd place finish in the first four events put her far enough ahead that she still sits atop the tour standings. In the absence of Liz Taylor at this event, Nicole Nester moved up a spot to be 2nd behind Pao. Tour director Linda Shea moved up a spot, too, to #3. Burwell, who came into the event in 7th place in the standings, moved up three slots to take over 4th place. Taylor moved down three to end up in 5th place, while Judie Wilson maintained her position in 6th place.
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Burwell’s path to the winners’ circle took her past Jennifer Tully 7-3, Ashley Burrows 7-5 and Alison Davis 7-1 to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Linda Shea. Nicole Nester, in the meantime, downed Kris Consalvo-Kemp 7-3, Naoko Dabreo 7-5 and Ada Lio in a shutout to draw Melissa Jenkins in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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Burwell downed Shea 7-4 and moved into the hot seat match. Nester joined her after dispatching Jenkins 7-5. Burwell claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Nester.
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On the loss side, Shea picked up Ashley Burrows, who was working on a four-match, loss-side streak that had begun with her loss to Burwell and recently eliminated Ashima Butler 7-4 and Ada Lio 7-2. Jenkins drew Dabreo, who was also working on a four-match, loss-side streak and had most recently defeated Joanne Corbett 7-2 and Jay Pass 7-5.
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Jenkins put a stop to Dabreo’s loss-side run 7-5 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Shea leap-frogged over Burrows, who ran into transportation issues associated with her return on Sunday and was unable to compete.
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Shea gave up only a single rack to Jenkins in the quarterfinals. She then defeated Nester in the semifinals 7-3. Burwell completed her first undefeated run on the tour with a 7-4 victory over Shea in the finals.
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Tour director Linda Shea thanked Kris Consalvo-Kemp and her staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy, George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor) and Britanya E Rapp (angle aim Art) for the event’s live stream. Stop #6 on the JPNEWT, scheduled for the weekend of July 17-18, will be hosted by Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick, MD.
2021 STOP #6
July 17-18
Champion Billiards Sports Bar
Frederick MD
- 19 player field -
1st $450 Linda Shea
2nd $325 Carol V. Clark
3rd $225 April Hatcher
4th $150 Kia Burwell
5th $100 Melissa Jenkins
5th $100 Nicole Nester
L-R: Carol V. Clark, Nicole Nester, Kia Burwell, April Hatcher, Melissa Jenkins, Linda Shea
SHEA WINS SEVEN ON THE LOSS SIDE, DOWNS CLARK IN FINALS TO CLAIM HER FIRST 2021 TITLE
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
July 19, 2021
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It wasn’t quite enough to catch and overtake Caroline Pao, who’s been sitting atop the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour standings for months, but she came close. Tour director Linda Shea came into the weekend’s tour stop (July 17-18) nestled into third place behind Pao and Nicole Nester and just ahead of Kia Burwell. Pao didn’t compete on the tour’s 6th stop, which drew 19 entrants to Champion Billiards in Frederick, MD. Shea, though, got by both Nester and Burwell (Burwell, twice), won seven on the loss side and downed Carol V. Clark in the finals to claim her first 2021 event title.
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The win put Shea about 15 points behind Pao, who retained her top spot. Nester slipped into third place, with Burwell in fourth place. Carol V. Clark, in the meantime, who came into the event in 8th place, made it to the hot seat and finished as runner-up to Shea, jumped three places to 5th, just behind Burwell. April Hatcher, who battled Clark in the hot seat match and finished in third place, jumped from her entrance spot at #25 to just outside the top 10.
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Things started out on the right foot for Shea, but that didn’t last long. She won an opening round, double hill battle versus Burwell, only to be relegated to loss-side competition by ending up on the wrong side of her second straight double hill fight, this one against Nicole Nester. Nester went on to defeat Teri Thomas 7-4 to draw April Hatcher in one of the winners’ side semifinals. After being awarded an opening round bye, Carol V. Clark, in the meantime, downed Lynn Richard and Colleen Shoop, both 7-3, to pick up Melissa Jenkins in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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Hatcher guaranteed herself a minimum, third place finish by defeating Nester 7-3 and advancing to the hot seat match. Clark and Jenkins battled to double hill before Clark was able to join Hatcher. Then she and Hatcher engaged in a double hill fight for that hot seat. Clark won it and watched, likely with some sense of foreboding, as Shea kept chalking up loss-side wins that would eventually put her into the finals.
On the loss side, Nester drew a rematch versus Shea, who was four matches into her loss-side streak with an aggregate (loss-side) score of 28-6, that had recently included victories over Shoop 7-2 and Kelly Wyatt 7-1. Jenkins picked up Burwell, who, following her opening round loss to Shea, had begun her own loss-side winning streak. Like Shea, she reached the 5/6 matches with four behind her, including wins over Billie Billing 7-4 and Teri Thomas 7-5.
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Shea downed Nester 7-4, while Burwell secured the quarterfinal rematch against her with a double hill win over Jenkins. The quarterfinal rematch between Shea and Burwell shaped up as a nail-biter at the outset, but in the end, Shea pulled out in front by two to win it 7-5. Shea then downed Hatcher 7-3 for a shot at Clark, waiting for her in the hot seat.
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It was clear from the outset that neither Shea nor Clark was going to give up easily in their quest to chalk up a first 2021 tour win. Shea jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but from that point on, through to the 9th rack, every time Shea tried to extend the lead, Clark came back to narrow that lead to one; 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3. Shea broke the pattern in the 9th rack to take her first three-game lead, which she quickly extended to four and then, reaching the hill, to five at 8-3. Clark rallied to win the 12th and then, the 13th rack to make it 8-5, but Shea closed it out in rack #14 to claim the event title.
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Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Champion Billiards, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA (Physical Therapy), George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor) and (for the live stream) Britanya E Rapp of angle aim Art. The next stop on the JPNEWT (#7) August 14-15, will be hosted by Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD.
2021 STOP #7
August 14-15
Triple Nines Bar & Billiards
Elkridge MD
- 15 player field -
1st $500 Kia Burwell
2nd $300 Linda Shea
3rd $200 Kelly Wyatt
4th $130 Nicole King
5th $ 60 Eugenia Gyftopoulos
5th $ 60 Judie Wilson
L-R: Kia Burwell, Kelly Wyatt, Judie Wilson, Eugenia Gyftopoulos, Nicole King, Linda Shea
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BURWELL GOES UNDEFEATED FOR SECOND TIME ON JPNEWT, DOWNS SHEA TWICE TO CLAIM TITLE
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
August 16, 2021
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In the first event of the second half of the 2021 J.Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour season, tour director Linda Shea and Kia Burwell moved into first and second place in the tour standings. Burwell went undefeated in the event and defeated Shea twice, but as runner-up, Shea added enough ‘standings’ points to get ahead of the tour’s first-half leader, Caroline Pao. Burwell’s undefeated run, her second on the tour this year, put her ahead of Pao, as well, and firmly into second place in the standings, ahead of Pao and Nicole Nester, who entered the event in third place in the tour standings, finished in the event tied for 7th/8th and ended up in fourth place in the standings, just behind Pao. The 7th event of the 12-event 2021 JPNEWT season drew 15 entrants to Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD.
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Burwell’s path to the winners’ circle went through Taylor Perkins 7-3 and Judie Wilson before running into Shea in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Kelly Wyatt, in the meantime, downed Melissa Jenkins 7-5 and Eugenia Gyftopoulos 7-3 to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match versus Nicole King.
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Burwell took the first of two versus Shea 7-2 to punch her ticket to the hot seat match. Wyatt joined her after downing King 7-2. Burwell claimed the hot seat in a double hill battle versus Wyatt and waited on Shea’s return.
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Shea opened her loss-side trip back to a rematch against Burwell versus Gyftopoulos, who’d followed her defeat at the hands of Wyatt with loss-side victories over two Nicoles; Christ, 7-4 and Nester, 7-3. King picked up Judie Wilson, who’d followed her loss to Burwell with wins over Terri Thomas 7-4 and Kelly Daniel 7-3.
Shea eliminated Gyftopoulos 7-3, as King shut Wilson out. Shea then defeated King 7-3 in the quarterfinals and Wyatt 7-1 in the semifinals to earn a second shot at Burwell, waiting for her in the hot seat.
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In the extended race-to-9 format, Shea had to reach ‘7’ first, to extend the race to 9. Burwell reached 7 first, ahead by four, to claim the event title.
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Tour director Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy, George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor) and, for the live stream of matches, Britanya E Rapp (angle aim Art). The next stop on the JPNEWT (#8), scheduled for September 18-19, will be hosted by First Break Sports Bar in Sterling, VA.
2021 STOP #8
September 25
First Break Sports Bar
Sterling VA
1st $500 Kia Burwell
2nd $300 Linda Shea
3rd $200 Terri Stovall
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L-R: Kia Burwell, Linda Shea
BURWELL WINS THE LAST OF TWO BATTLES VERSUS SHEA TO CLAIM JPNEWT EVENT TITLE
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
September 27, 2021
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They sit atop the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour standings; tour director Linda Shea and Kia Burwell. They both overtook the tour’s first-half leader, Caroline Pao, at a stop in Elkridge, MD on the weekend of August 15-16, when Burwell went undefeated for a second time on the 2021 tour to claim the title and Shea finished as runner-up. As they did last month, they battled twice on the tour’s 8th stop this past weekend (Saturday, Sept. 25), and finished, for the second time in a row, as winner and runner-up. The event drew 10 entrants to First Break Sports Bar in Sterling, VA.
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In the previous meeting, Burwell downed Shea in a winners’ side semifinal and defeated her a second time in the finals. This past weekend, they split their two matches, with Burwell coming back from the semifinals to claim the title.
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Burwell was awarded an opening round bye and was immediately threatened in her first match by Ada Lio, who forced a 13th and deciding game. Burwell prevailed to face Judie Wilson in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Shea, in the meantime, also awarded an opening round bye, had an easier first match, shutting Kankan Yu out to draw Nicole Christ in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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Burwell got into the hot seat match with a 7-3 win over Wilson. Shea shut out Christ to enter the hot seat match, having yet to give up a single rack. Shea claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Burwell and waited on her return.
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On the loss side, Wilson picked up Melissa Jenkins, who’d lost to Christ on the winners’ side and defeated Kankan Yu 7-5 to reach her. Christ drew Terri Stovall, who’d lost to Wilson, then shut out Calaia Jackson and defeated Ada Lio 7-2.
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Wilson advanced to the quarterfinals on the heels of a 7-5 win over Jenkins. Terri Stovall earned her rematch versus Wilson with a 7-4 win over Christ. Given that the subsequent quarterfinals would determine who would advance to the event’s first money round in the semifinals, it was no surprise that Wilson and Stovall battled to double hill. Wilson was up 5-2 when Stovall made a 3-9 carom to draw within two. Wilson responded to make it 6-3, before Stovall dropped a second, early 9-ball combination to draw within two again. Stovall won another to make it 6-5 and a scratch by Wilson in rack #12 allowed Stovall to tie it up at six games apiece. A safety battle in the final rack was broken to give Wilson a three-ball out, and though she dropped the 7-ball, she missed her shot at the 8-ball and Stovall finished it.
Burwell downed Stovall 7-3 in the semifinals to earn her rematch against Shea. She completed her second straight win on the tour, her third overall, with a 9-6 win in the finals.
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Tour director Shea thanked the ownership and staff at First Break Sports Bar, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy, stream commentator George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor) AZBilliards and, for the live stream of matches, Britanya E Rapp (angle aim Art). The next stop on the JPNEWT (#9), scheduled for November 6-7, will be hosted by On Cue Sports Bar & Grill, Front Royal VA.
2021 STOP #9
November 6
On Cue Sports Bar & Grill
Front Royol VA
1st $400 Linda Shea
2nd $300 Kia Burwell
3rd $200 Melissa Jenkins
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L-R: Linda Shea, Melissa Jenkins, Kia Burwell
SHEA MAINTAINS TOP POSITION ON JPNEWT RANKINGS, DOWNING BURWELL IN FINALS OF STOP #9
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
September 27, 2021
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You can’t ask much more of a regional tour stop than to have its top two competitors going at it in an event final. Especially when the event in question is second-to-last on the tour’s schedule. So it was this past weekend in Front Royal, VA, where nine of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour competitors gathered to do battle. Tour director Linda Shea came into and out of the event as the tour’s top player, securing the spot with an undefeated run and downing the #2 (in and out) woman on the tour, Kia Burwell, twice. The event was hosted by On Cue Sports Bar and Grill in Front Royal.
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This year, Shea and Burwell have locked horns, so to speak, as winner and runner-up, four times; June, August, September and this past weekend. Burwell leads that head-to-head, event-finals matchup 3-1. They competed twice in a July event that saw Shea defeat her in an opening round and later, the quarterfinals. They’ve both competed in all nine of the tour stops and the reason that Shea is ahead in ranking points is that she has finished better in events that neither of them has won.
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This past weekend, they met first in a winners’ side semifinal. Shea arrived following a 7-3 win over Sharita Pernell. Burwell got there after a 7-2 win over Carol V. Clark. On the other end of the short, double elimination bracket, Melissa Jenkins, who’d come into the event as #7 and finished as #4, drew Judie Wilson (maintaining her position at #5) in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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Shea took the first of her two versus Burwell 7-3 and in the hot seat match, faced Jenkins, who’d downed Wilson 7-4. Shea claimed the hot seat 7-4 and waited on the final rematch.
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On the loss side, Wilson picked up Carol V. Clark, who’d followed her loss to Burwell with a double hill win over Shelah Joner. Burwell drew Lynn Richard, who’d defeated Kelly Daniel 7-1 to reach her.
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Wilson downed Clark 7-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Burwell, who’d eliminated Richard 7-3. Burwell took the quarterfinal match in a shutout over Wilson and then moved on to defeat Jenkins in the semifinals 7-2.
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Burwell got a rack closer in the finals than she had in their winners’ side semifinal match, but Shea won the match and claimed the event title 7-4. It was her second tour win in a year in which she has never finished lower than 5th.
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Shea thanked the ownership and staff at On Cue Sports Bar and Grill for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy, stream commentator George Hammerbacher (Advanced Pool Instructor), AZBilliards and, for the live stream of matches, Britanya E Rapp (angle aim Art). The next stop (#10) on the JPNEWT, scheduled for Dec. 4-5, will be the tour’s Season Finale and will be hosted by Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD.
2021 STOP #10
December 4-5
Triple Nines Bar & Billiards
Elkridge MD
1st $650 Kia Burwell
2nd $400 Linda Shea
3rd $300 Judie Wilson
4th $200 Carol V. Clark
5/6 $100 Ada Lio
5/6 $100 Mary Watkins
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L-R: Kia Burwell,
Linda Shea
L-R: Linda Shea, Mary Watkins, Judie Wilson, Kia Burwell, Ada Lio, Carol V. Clark
BURWELL DOWNS SHEA IN JPNEWT SEASON FINALE AT TRIPLE NINES IN ELKRIDGE, MD
Skip Maloney, AZBilliards
December 6, 2021
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We noted last month that you couldn’t ask much more of a regional tour than to have the top two players in the tour standings meeting up in the finals of an event, as Linda Shea and Kia Burwell did in Front Royal, VA on the weekend of Nov. 6-7. Shea and Burwell did it five times on the 2021 tour, including the season finale this past weekend (Dec. 4-5), and though Burwell ended the 2021 season having won four of those ‘final’ encounters, it was Shea who ended the season at the top of the tour standings. Shea stayed atop the tour standings because in one event that she won, Burwell finished fourth and in the events that neither of them won, Shea finished ahead of Burwell. Each had competed in all 10 of the tour’s 10 stops in 2021. The tour finale this past weekend drew 15 entrants to Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD.
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They met first in the second round of this one, which meant that one of them was going to compete in two more matches than the other. Shea had shut out Cecilia Strain in the opening round, as Burwell was busy sending Kelly Daniel to the loss side 7-3. To no one’s surprise the second-round match between them went double hill before it was decided. Burwell prevailed and advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Mary Watkins. Judie Wilson, in the meantime, who entered the event in 5th place in the tour standings and would finish in 3rd, got by Teri Thomas 7-4, and Shelah Joner 7-3 to draw Ada Lio in the other winners’ side semifinal.
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Burwell and Wilson advanced to the hot seat match with identical 7-5 wins over Watkins and Lio, respectively. Burwell claimed the hot seat with a 7-2 win over Wilson and waited for Shea to complete her loss-side run.
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On the loss side, it was Lio who picked up Shea, who’d followed her defeat at the hands of Burwell with wins over April Hatcher 7-4 and a shutout over Teri Thomas. Watkins drew Carol V. Clark, who came in at #7 in the standings and would finish at #5. Clark had been shut out by Lio in a winners’ side quarterfinal and had survived a double hill battle against Kelly Daniel and eliminated Jane Im 7-3.
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Clark advanced to the quarterfinals 7-4 over Watkins. Shea, in the meantime, spoiled a potential Clark/Lio rematch by outlasting Lio in a double hill fight that advanced her to meet Clark in the quarterfinals.
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Shea defeated Clark 7-2 and then, by the same score, Wilson in the semifinals. Shea advanced to a season-ending, second shot at Burwell, waiting for her in the hot seat. Burwell finished the 2021 JPNEWT season with her fourth tour victory in her last six attempts, downing Shea 7-4 to claim the event title.
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Tour director Linda Shea thanked the ownership and staff at Triple Nines for their hospitality and ongoing support for the tour. She also thanked title sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Bitzel and Associates PTPA Physical Therapy (event sponsor), George Hammerbacher, Advanced Pool Instructor, Baltimore (stream commentator), and angle aim Art (Britanya E Rapp) for sponsoring the live stream.
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