Fisher Wins First Title for the Year

Fisher Wins First Title for the Year
by Inside POOL Staff
With a 7-4 slam dunk over Ga-Young Kim, Allison Fisher won her first WPBA title for 2007 July 1. Hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL, the Cuetec Cues Florida Classic was the fifth event of an odd season that has seen no repeat winners so far.
L.A.’s Melissa Herndon earned her second WPBA television appearance to face the hungry Fisher in the first semifinal match. She kept up with the WPBA’s number-one player until the score reached 4 apiece. Fisher came up empty on the following break, but Herndon had no out and ended up leaving her opponent a chance, which she took to gain the lead. Another dry break, this time by Herndon, put Fisher on the hill. “The Duchess of Doom” sank two balls on her final break and ran out cleanly for the 7-4 win to reach the finals.
The first half of the second semifinal match was a drag-out fight between Ga-Young Kim and Xiaoting Pan. A couple of errors by Kim gave Pan an early lead, but soon Kim was back in the mix and in the lead 4-3. Several unforced errors by Pan clearly put Kim ahead, and an overcut 1 ball by Pan sealed the outcome, with Kim winning the match 7-4.
With the alternate-break format and the short race still in effect, Fisher had the immediate advantage in the finals when Kim committed a couple of key errors and quickly reached a daunting 4-0 lead. Kim was able to pocket the next three racks thanks to a run-out, a dry break by Fisher, and then a failed safety attempt on the 2 ball by Fisher. Unfazed, Fisher broke and ran out the next rack and then reached the hill after a missed safety by Kim. A miscue put a dent in Fisher’s plans in the final rack, but though Kim cleared the table to the 6, she scratched when the cue ball kissed off the 7. With only two balls left on the table, Fisher was easily able to dish up for the win.
Results:
1st Allison Fisher
2nd Ga-Young Kim
3rd Melissa Herndon
Xiaoting Pan
5th Gerda Hofstatter
Helena Thornfeldt
Monica Webb
Kelly Fisher
9th Kim Shaw
Dawn Hopkins
Lisa D’Atri
Megan Minerich
Cathy Metzinger
Sarah Ellerby
Karen Corr
Jennifer Chen