Abbink is Queen of the Mountain

Abbink is Queen of the Mountain By InsidePOOL Staff The Canadian Women's Pool Tour concluded its season November 20-21, 2004, with its Queen of the Mountain Championship at Dooly's in Waterloo, ontario. Rachael "Road Warrior" Abbink took another step in her career by claiming the championship trophy and a WPBA qualifier package. Tour owner Carolina Fernandez started the event with prizes for the ladies for their season-long accomplishments. The top three points finishers were Naomi Williams, Sheryl Richmond, and Sharlene Watkinson, while Anne Beattie took home the hardware for most 9 balls made on the break. Williams also won an award for most 9-ball runs, and by a slim vote, Richmond took home the Most Improved Player award. Once the tournament started, the ladies put their game faces on. Abbink, who had three straight convincing wins, took on Williams in front of a packed crowd. With the score tied at 2-all, it was clearly anyone's match. After Abbink went up 3-2, Williams pulled out all the stops, banking the 7, cutting the 8 ball, and leaving herself perfect shape on the 9. After three straight wins, Williams held a 5-3 advantage, but Abbink came back to put the match on the hill. Williams had a chance to run out the final match, but left an easy 7 ball, and Abbink finished off the rack for a 7-6 win. In the west side, Anita McMahon was working hard to get back to the finals, including a comeback against Denise Belanger in which she was down 4-0. McMahon then ousted Cathy Lafreniere to reach Williams in the semifinals. In the semifinals, Williams and McMahon both proved to be streaky. With the score tied at 2 apiece, McMahon ran off three straight wins, followed by Williams taking three straight racks to even the match at 5. With the help of her defense and safe play, McMahon mustered two more victories to win the match 7-5. McMahon had to win two sets in the double-elimination finals to steal the win from Abbink, but she knew it wouldn't be easy. The ladies battled back and forth, and it looked like there might be a second set. Down 6-5, McMahon broke and ran to put the match on the hill. After Abbink came up dry on the break, they played a safety battle back and forth on the one ball, until McMahon is able to gain control of the table until a scratch on the 7 ball. With ball in hand, Abbink ran out for the 7-6 victory. Championship Results:1st Rachael Abbink $1,5002nd Anita McMahon $3303rd Naomi Williams $2254th Cathy Lafreniere$1655th Sheryl Richmond, Denise Belanger $90.00 Amateur Results (Highest Finish):1st Sophie Houle $2502nd Krista Walsh $1003rd Penny Devos $50 Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from teh Canadian Women's Pool Tour.

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