Pao Knocks Out Competition to Take First Place

Playing consistently earned not o­nly a first place win for Caroline Pao, but also a paid entry to a WPBA event.  The New England Women's Classic 9-Ball Tour held a qualifying event at Country Club, USA in Chelmsford, MA o­n June 26-27, 2004, and drew a field of eight ladies.  Hoping the qualifying events will boost attendance, this relatively new tour has two more scheduled, o­ne each in July and August.

Defeating Melanie Balisano 7-5 in the quarters, Erica Testa o­nly had to wait for the completion of the hot seat match to know who her opponent would be in the semis.

The final two o­n the winners' side of the chart were Stacey Lantz and Pao.  As the result of a few costly mistakes, Lantz allowed Pao to shoot out to a 3-0 lead.  Executing some difficult shots in the next two racks was not enough for Lantz to take the win in either, and Pao furthered her cushion by taking it to 5-0.  Lantz claimed the next two racks and got o­n the board, although trailing Pao 5-2.  Taking command of the table, Pao ended the match with a final 7-2 score.

With the semifinal match going fairly quickly, Lantz and Testa found themselves knotted at 3 in no time.  Succeeding with a thin cut o­n the 8 ball to make the 9, Lantz took the lead 4-3.  However, Lantz again made a series of costly mistakes, which her opponent was quick to capitalize o­n to take the win with a final 7-4 decision.

With a WPBA qualifier o­n the line, each shot was well thought out, and both Testa and Pao played the final match with control and accuracy.  Testa had good run outs o­n several racks, but Pao played good safes and ran out a couple of racks of her own, inching her closer to the win.  Allowing Testa o­nly o­ne more rack, Pao captured first place with a 7-4 win.

Results:
1st Carline Pao $300 + Qual.
2nd Erica Testa $150
3rd Stacey Lantz $100
4th Melanie Balisano $50

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