Irish Invasion at Great Lakes Ladies’ 9-Ball Open
Mid-American Ladies’ Tour / Evansville, IN
by Lea Andrews
“The Irish Invader” Karen Corr and fellow countrywoman Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly were two of the fourteen women vying for the biggest chunk of the prize money at the second stop of the Mid-American Ladies’ Tour, a $1500-added WPBA qualifier event hosted by O’Brian’s Sports Bar and Grill in Evanston, IN, May 16-17. Corr, while not eligible for the qualifier spot, was certainly eligible for every penny of the $679 she put in her pocket after crushing everyone in her path to first.
Corr started off Saturday with a shut-out performance over strong amateur player Tina Hess and followed up the win by sending road partner Kelly to the one-loss side 7-1. Next up for Corr was Nicole Palescuk, who managed to put one game up on the string before being sent west. Making her way through the bracket to meet up with Corr in the match for the hot seat was Kathy Moon, who also began the day with a shut-out match, sending Mary Cavanaugh to the left. Moon followed that up with a hill-hill win against Christy Dickerson before sending Becky Todd to the one-loss side with a score of 7-5.
Over on the one-loss side, Hess finished off a hill-hill match against Diana “Dee” Minor, who’d succumbed to Kelly in the first round 7-3, while Kelly bested Lisa Deboer 7-3. Kelly went on to shut out Krystle Hoover, while Hess put away 7-2 win over Christy Dickerson.
Play began on Sunday with match-ups between Kelly and Todd, and Hess and Palescuk. In the fourth shut-out of the tournament, Kelly swept by Todd, while Hess fell to Palescuk 7-5. In the match for the hot seat, Moon marked up more games than everyone else put together against Corr, but it wasn’t enough, and she moved to the one-loss side with a score of 7-3. Waiting for her was Kelly, who’d held Palescuk to just one game. Kelly was able to keep Moon at one game, giving her third place as well as the qualifying spot to the WPBA Great Lakes Classic.
In the finals, a single race to 9, Corr once again held Kelly at bay, putting her into second place with a score of 9-3.
Corr and fellow countrywoman Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly were two of the fourteen women vying for the biggest chunk of the prize money at the second stop of the Mid-American Ladies’ Tour
Results:
1st Karen Corr $679
2nd Julie Kelly $466
3rd Kathy Moon $225
4th Nicole Palescuk $190
5th Tina Hess $140
Becky Todd
7th Christy Dickerson $100
Krystle Hoover
9th Tonya Wiser $65
Samantha Patton
Teresa Gifford
Lisa Deboer
13th Diana Minor $50
Mary Cavanaugh