Pao Knocks Out Competition to Take First Place

Pao Knocks Out Competition to Take First PlacePlaying 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 $1503rd Stacey Lantz $1004th Melanie Balisano $50 Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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