by InsidePOOL Staff

The OB Cues Ladies’ Tour has a new number-one player: Orietta Strickland, winner of the tour’s September 17-18 event. Hosted by Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, the tournament attracted 36 players to vie for the $750 top prize.

Strickland went undefeated through the event, besting Christy Powell 7-2 in the winners’ side final four and advancing to meet Tara Williams, who had just defeated Ming Ng earlier in a hill-hill affair. As Strickland and Williams were familiar with each other’s style, the hot seat match was a close one, with Strickland winning 7-5.

Ng ended up going home in fifth place, tying with Powell. Kim Pierce was having a great tournament, having knocked out both Ng and Lisa Marr, two solid opponents, before being eliminated herself in fourth place by Leslie Anne Rogers.

In the semifinals it was Williams versus Rogers. These two had played each other earlier Saturday, where Williams handed Rogers her first loss 7-6. The semifinals were no different—once again it was a 7-6 match with Williams the victor.

The OB Cues Ladies’ Tour has a new number-one player: Orietta Strickland, winner of the tour’s September 17-18 event. Tracie Voelkering, Orietta Strickland, Leslie Ann Rogers, Tara Williams, and Kim Pierce

In the true double-elimination format, Williams had to best Strickland twice in the finals to take the title. Though Williams won the first set 7-6 to force the second, Strickland pulled through to emerge the winner 7-5. Strickland not only earned top prize but is now the new tour points leader going into the final stop of the year.

Results:
1st Orietta Strickland $750
2nd Tara Williams $550
3rd Leslie Anne Rogers $400
4th Kim Pierce $280
5th Ming Ng $160
Christy Powell
7th Lisa Marr $110
Kim Tipton
9th Jennifer Pavlovick $60
Lisa Henderson-Major
Julie Stephenson
Shayla Neris

by InsidePOOL Staff

Terry Petrosino notched her first OB Cues Ladies’ Tour victory during the tour’s championship stop, taking first place over Jennifer Kraber in the finals. The November 13-14 event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX, and featured a $2,000-added prize purse.

As it was the championship event, it was announced that the points leader for the year was Lisa Marr, with Kraber in second. The award for the most improved player went to Michelle Prince.

Terry Petrosino notched her first OB Cues Ladies’ Tour victory during the tour’s championship stop, taking first place over Jennifer Kraber in the finals.

Of the 32 players who started in the main event, 8 returned for Sunday’s matches. On the one-loss side, Kraber eliminated Ricki Lee Casper, while Amanda Lampert ousted Deanna Kinola. Finishing in a fifth-place tie were Angela Garza and Lampert. Michelle Cortez had a solid year of high finishes, and in this event, she was defeated by Kraber to take fourth place.

In the semifinal match, it was once again the top-two-ranked players, Kraber and Marr. These two have waged plenty of battles against each other all year long, and this time was no different. Kraber was again triumphant at this event, sending Marr home in third place.

Kraber, after losing her first match against Julie Stephenson 7-6, came back and won eight matches to earn her spot in the finals against Petrosino, who was undefeated. She defeated a number of strong shooters, starting out with Tara Williams, Julie Stephenson, Lisa Henderson-Major, Michelle Cortez, Marr, and then Kraber in the finals 7-5. Petrosino always has been a strong contender, but this time there was no looking back. She stayed on target and focused to achieve her first OB Cues Ladies’ Tour win ever, capturing the first-place prize money of $750.

Results:
1st Terry Petrosino $750
2nd Jennifer Kraber $550
3rd Lisa Marr $400
4th Michelle Cortez $260
5th Amanda Lampert $160
Angela Garza
7th Deanna Kinola $100
Ricki Lee Casper
9th Lisa Henderson-Major $50
Natalie Mans
Julie Stephenson
Ashley Nandrasy
13th Monica Anderson $30
Yvette Reyes
Amber Stone
Belinda Lee

by InsidePOOL Staff

Amanda Lampert earned her second consecutive victory on the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour the weekend of October 9-10, defeating Lisa Marr in the finals. The tour’s eighth stop was hosted by Fast Eddie’s in Round Rock, TX, and drew 38 players to vie for the $2,000-added prize purse.

Lampert (pictured right) earned her second consecutive victory on the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour the weekend of October 9-10, defeating Marr (pictured left) in the finals.

Eight players returned for Sunday’s action. On the winners’ side, Lampert and Marr faced off for the first time in the event, with Lampert sending Marr to the west side of the chart 7-2 and moving on to face Michelle Cortez, who had just bested Helen Laiche 7-6, in the hot seat match. It was a lopsided affair, as Lampert whitewashed her opponent 7-0 to claim the winners’ side final.

It looked that the finals would be a rematch of the hot seat match, as Cortez was ahead of Marr in the semifinals for a time. But the rolls left Cortez coming up short, and she was defeated 7-5.

In the double-elimination finals, Marr had to defeat Lampert twice for the title. As the match progressed, it looked like Marr was trying her best to take it to a second set, as she held an early 4-1 lead. But Lampert kicked into gear to tie up the set 4-all. It seemed Marr was going to force the second set when she took the lead at 6-4, but Lampert once again dug deep to make it hill-hill. When Marr missed the 9 ball to force a second set in the final rack, Lampert had a clear shot and made it to take the title.

Results:
1st Amanda Lampert $750
2nd Lisa Marr $550
3rd Michelle Cortez $400
4th Orietta Strickland $270
5th Helen Laiche $150
Rachel Hurst
7th Kim Pierce $100
Nancy French
9th Alicia Stanley $60
Jennifer Kraber
Ahsley Nandrasy
Tara Williams

Lisa Marr went head to head with Kraber for the hot seat, and the hard-fought win went to Kraber in a hill-hill finish. Angela Garza and Julie Comitini finished seventh, Michelle Cortez and Lisa Henderson-Major tied for fifth, Orietta Strickland took fourth, and Julie Stephenson finished in third place.

Kraber, who just this year has been in the finals three additional times, considered herself “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” This day, though, she defeated Marr in the finals with a score of 7-3. Kraber has been a consistent player on the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour, and with her first tour win ever, she is at the top of the rankings.

Results:
1st Jennifer Kraber $750
2nd Lisa Marr $550
3rd Julie Stephenson $400
4th Orietta Strickland $280
5th Lisa Henderson-Major $160
Michelle Cortez
7th Angela Garza $110
Julie Comitini
9th Monica Anderson $60
Kim Pierce
Melinda Bailey
Corina Campbell
13th Michelle Prince $35
Rebecca Riley
Annie Doyle
Tara Williams

by InsidePOOL Staff

Janet Atwell escaped a close call in her double-elimination final match with Ashley Nandrasy to claim the title of Oklahoma State champion at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s July 24-25 stop. Hosted by Magoo’s Billiards in Tulsa, OK, the $750-added tournament attracted 28 ladies to play, including three current WPBA pros.

Atwell (pictured left) escaped a close call in her double-elimination final match with Ashley Nandrasy (pictured right) to claim the title of Oklahoma State champion at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s July 24-25 stop. Hosted by Magoo’s Billiards in Tulsa, OK, the $750-added tournament attracted 28 ladies to play, including three current WPBA pros.

But Nandrasy had managed a tough bracket and had come too far to back down. After ousting Williams at third place 7-3, she went up against Atwell in the double-elimination final match. As the first set commenced, Atwell missed critical shots while Nandrasy finished games to win 7-2 and force a second set. The second set was a back-and-forth battle that saw the score ultimately reach hill-hill. It all came down to Atwell’s kick at an 8 ball—with a little nudge off the 9 ball, the 8 went in, leaving a straight-in shot on the 9 for the win.

Results:
1st Janet Atwell $750
2nd Ashley Nandrasy $550
3rd Tara Williams $335
4th Melinda Bailey $235
5th Belinda Calhoun $150
Lisa Marr
7th Jennifer Kraber $100
Tracie Voelkering
9th Lisa Henderson-Major $50
Cindy Parvala
Julie Comitini
Amanda Lampert
13th Michelle McDermott $30
Kathy Knuth
Theresa Wilson
Veronica Perez

by InsidePOOL Staff

Lisa Marr took on all comers at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s June 12-13 event, defeating Jennifer Kraber in the finals. Click’s Billiards in Carrollton, TX, was a first-time host to 41 ladies who came out for the festivities.

On the winners’ side final four, Kraber met Kim Pierce while Marr matched up with Corina Campbell. The hot seat match turned out to be between Kraber and Marr, and in their first meeting of the tournament, Marr secured her spot in the finals 7-1.

Pierce and Campbell tied for fifth place, while Orietta Strickland attained the fourth-place position. Tara Williams, who had a bye the first round and then lost to Julie Comitini, was on a hot streak—she won her next eight matches to play in the semifinals against Kraber. Both players were in stroke as their match saw back-to-back break and runs, but ultimately Kraber ended up the 7-5 victor.

As the final match commenced, it looked like Marr would walk away with the win at a score of 6-1. But Kraber, never one to say die, pulled out all the stops and fought back to close in with a 5-6 score. Unfortunately for Kraber a long bank on the 9 ball fell short and provided Marr an easy shot in the corner pocket for her second tour win for this year.

Marr took on all comers at the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s June 12-13 event, defeating Jennifer Kraber in the finals. Click’s Billiards in Carrollton, TX, was a first-time host to 41 ladies who came out for the festivities. Pictured (L-R) Jennifer Kraber, Royce Brunnel, Lisa Marr

by InsidePOOL Staff

Lisa Marr defeated Jennifer Kraber in the finals of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s March 6-7 event, winning the title and the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse. The event was hosted by Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX.

Marr and Kraber met first in the hot seat match, and it was Kraber who handed Marr her first loss with a 7-4 win. But Marr was not down for the count just yet. Peters, who had just won a hill-hill struggle against Ming Ng, faced Marr in the semifinals. A motivated Marr defeated Peters 7-1 for another chance at Kraber.

As the double-elimination finals began, Marr had to beat Kraber twice. With a first set score of 7-5 and a second set score of 7-3, Marr captured the first-place spot and the guaranteed $750. Kraber finished her highest tour finish to date in second place and earned $550.

A second chance tournament was held with 21 players competing on Sunday for the $310 payout. Belinda Lee went undefeated to take first place, and board member Monica Anderson finished second.

Marr defeated Jennifer Kraber in the finals of the OB Cues Ladies’ Tour’s March 6-7 event, winning the title and the lion’s share of the $2,000-added prize purse.

Results:
1st Lisa Marr $750
2nd Jennifer Kraber $550
3rd Courtney Peters $400
4th Ming Ng 270
5th Amanda Lampert $155
Helen Laiche
7th Ashley Nandrasy $100
Melinda Bailey
9th Terry Petrosino $70
Kyu Yi
Tara Williams
Julia Rapp

(From left to right: Jennifer Kraber, Courtney Peters, Roy Robinson, Lisa Marr, and Ming Ng)

by InsidePOOL Staff

The OB Cues Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour held their championship stop November 21-22 at Legend’s Billiards in League City, TX. Of the 49 players who came out for the event, it was Orietta Strickland who ended up in the winner’s circle, taking her first tour title.

Before the tournament started, the year-end awards were given out. The 2009 OB Cues Ladies’ Tour Champion was awarded to Lisa Marr, while the Most Improved Player award was given to Lisa Henderson-Major.

As the main event commenced, there were many strong matches right out of the chute, and there were some early favorites who found themselves on the left side of the bracket sooner than expected. On Sunday, Strickland was on a winning mission and was taking no prisoners. For the hot seat match, it was Amanda “The Natural” Lampert versus Strickland, and at first it was looking like Lampert, who was ahead 5-3, was going take the hot seat. But Strickland knotted the score at 5-all and won the next two for a 7-5 victory to wait for her finals contender.

Lampert was not done yet and wanted a rematch. After soundly defeating Tara Williams 7-1, she beckoned for Strickland to bring it on again. But Lampert sat out most of the finals match, as Strickland kept control of the match with some superb play, finishing off the set at 7-1.

Of the 49 players who came out for the event, it was Orietta Strickland who ended up in the winner’s circle, taking her first tour title. Left to Right: Orietta Strickland, Mindy Cohen, and Amanda Lampert

Results:
1st Orietta Strickland $750
2nd Amanda Lampert $560
3rd Tara Williams $405
4th Julie Comitini $270
5th Lisa Henderson-Major $155
Leslie Anne Rogers
7th Jennifer Kraber $105
Terry Petrosino
9th Jennifer Pavlovick $80
Michelle Cortez
Deanna Henson
Courtney Peters
13th Lisa Marr $50
Ming Ng
Kim Pierce
Rebecca Riley

by InsidePOOL Staff

The OB Cues Ladies’ 9-Ball Tour held its seventh stop of the 2009 season at Rusty’s Billiards in Arlington, TX, the weekend of October 24-25. Forty-one players arrived on Saturday morning to compete in the $2,000-added event, with Lisa Marr going all the way through to the finish.

After late play on Saturday night, only 8 ladies returned in the main event on Sunday morning. On the winners’ side matches, Amanda Lampert defeated Melinda Bailey, while Marr bested defeated Deanna Henson. Finishing in seventh were Cristina De La Garza and Kim Pierce, both out of Austin, TX, while local area players Melinda Bailey and Ashley Nandrasy finished in a fifth-place tie. Henson finished fourth, while Orietta Strickland moved up one spot from her last event to capture third place.

For the hot seat match, Marr sent Lampert to the west side of the bracket 7-3, which she captured over Strickland to earn a rematch. Marr was trying to avoid a repeat of the last stop, when Lampert took the win against her in a two-set finals. Marr managed to stay in control and won by a margin of 7-4. With this win, she not only took home $750 for her efforts, but she also clenched the tour champion spot for the second year in a row.

In the second chance event, 21 players competed on Sunday morning. Tara Williams took the top honors, finishing just after the main event. Michelle Cortez finished second, while Borana Andoni finished third.

From left to right: Marr, Strickland, and Lampert

by InsidePOOL Staff

There was a lot of sweating going on June 13-14 in Houston, TX, at Bogie’s Billiards, as the action rolled in from the 44 players who signed up for the fourth stop on the OB Cues Ladies Tour tournament trail. There were a lot of top-ranking tour favorites in the house, including Tara Williams, Amanda Lampert, Lisa Henderson-Major, and Kyu Yi, but Lisa Marr was the one who walked away with her first tour win.

Right out of the shoot Saturday, Marr had a tough draw against Amanda Lampert. Marr won 7-4, and after that match, it was pretty evident that she was going to be pretty tough to take down. Marr then defeated Kim Pierce 7-0, Cristina De La Garza 7-4, and Melinda Bailey 7-3. Sunday saw Marr come back to play Deanna Henson, whom she bested 7-5, and then play Yi for the hot seat, winning 7-5.

In the semifinals, Kyu relegated Henderson-Major 7-3 to advance to the finals and attempt to avenge her earlier loss to Marr. But Marr hadn’t lost a match yet and didn’t plan to start then. She completed her tour win with a score of 7-3. Yi earned the qualifier spot at the WPBA Pacific Coast Classic in Lincoln City, OR.

There was a lot of sweating going on June 13-14 in Houston, TX, at Bogie’s Billiards, as the action rolled in from the 44 players who signed up for the fourth stop on the OB Cues Ladies Tour tournament trail.

Results:
1st Lisa Marr $750
2nd Kyu Yi $550
3rd Lisa Henderson-Major $400
4th Michelle Cortez $260
5th Deanna Henson $160
Kim Pierce
7th Melinda Bailey $100
Julie Comitini
9th Cristina De La Garza $75
Amanda Lampert
Ashley Nandrasy
Elissa Jordan
13th Sherri Palma $40
Michelle Abernathy
Shayla Neris
Sherri Smith