Empress Ming Undefeated in Florida

By J.A. Barnes
 
The ladies of the Spirit Tour met at Baron's Billiards in Bradenton, FL o­n April 23-24, to determine who would take home the qualifier for the WPBA Cuetec Cues Southeast Classic to be held in June.  Favorites in the event included Ming Ng, Tracie Hines, Ellen Van Buren, and Debbie Schjodt, but it was Ng who came through with an undefeated victory.

Ng made her run through the winner's bracket with dominating wins, including two shutouts.  o­n the other side of the winners' bracket was tour coordinator Bonnie Coats, whose run outs had her opponents mostly watching.  Coats could do little, though, to curb the momentum of Ng, who took the hot seat in impressive fashion 7-2.

On the B-side, Hines was staging a major tournament comeback after losing her second match to Van Buren o­n Saturday.  Hines went o­n to win 42 out of 56 games and post six match wins to secure a spot in the semifinals, where she ran her early lead to a 7-4 win over Coats.

Hines now had a tough feat before her, playing Ng in the true double-elimination final.  Hines started the first set strong by running out the first three racks to lead 3-0, but Ng wasn't going away easily.  Ng got close in the first set, but Hines pulled out the 7-4 win.  In the second set, Ng wasted no time in taking the lead, as she won four of the first five games.  Hines didn't give in, though, running two straight racks to get within o­ne.  The two ladies fought until the match reached hill-hill, where Ng's safe and cunning play lifted her to the 7-6 victory.

Results:

1st Ming Ng $750 + $500 WPBA Qualifier
2nd Tracie Hines $525
3rd Bonnie Coats $375
4th Debbie Schjodt $250
5th Niki Rasmussen, Crystal McCormick $150
7th Ellen Van Buren, Helene Caukin $100
9th Deanna Laney, Jessica Barnes, Roberta Case, Stephanie Mitchell $50

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