It was an amazing weekend at the APA Ladies 8 Ball and Open 9 Ball City Championships at the Hungry Stick. 5 teams qualified for the APA National Team Championships and 5 more teams will have qualified the following weekend. These tournament weekends are some of the toughest hours our teams put in each year, and yet they are some of the most rewarding hours. We never get tired of seeing teams earn their place as one of the best teams for that year while also locking up that trip to Nationals to compete against the best teams from all over the country. When the last match finished, the two Ladies teams were hill/hill going into the 5th match, the 5th match went to the hill/hill game and the final table had only one single ball left on the table when the last 8 Ball dropped in the pocket. While that might be enough to paint the picture of an amazing tournament weekend, it doesn’t even come close to defining how that last match finished. Both players pulled off what appeared to be shots of the match in their final shots. The safety shot by Carolyn Testa (8 Ball Busters, The Library) on that final ball to hide the cue ball from the 8 Ball was an absolute picture of beauty, and brought hope to the 8 Ball Busters Ladies team that had a 2-1 advantage going into the 4th match. I don’t know if anyone recorded that kick shot on the 8 Ball by Pamela Cabaniss (Study Buddies, The Library), but I cannot describe in words how awesome it was. The entire building erupted when she banked the cue ball down the long rail and cut the 8 Ball into the corner pocket to make Study Buddies our first Ladies team to earn a second trip to the National Championships.
The whole weekend featured matches that came down to just a ball or two or a point or two from going one way or the other. “For Pete’s Sake” from On Cue Billiards made a legendary comeback in 9 Ball when they were down 35-5 after two matches in the finals. Players of every skill level made their imprint on an event that we proudly say we were a part of this past weekend. The following teams will be representing San Diego in the APA Nationals in August:
Ladies 8 Ball
Study Buddies (The Library, Allied Gardens)- Captain Jonnette Tucker, Kimberly Crouse, Wendy Hauffen, Brandy Pamintuan, Tracy DeRango, Pamela Cabaniss and Kathy James
9 Ball
UrackemIsmackem (New York Joe’s Place, Poway)- Captain Thomas Trebilcock, Kristin Mullen, Kevin Korstad, Michael Armstrong, John Justice, Ann Korstad, Steven Bellant and Timothy Sullivan
For Pete’s Sake (On Cue Billiards, La Mesa)- Captain Peter Aufsesser, Theresa Dimapilis, Christopher Moore, Calvin Lee, Sebastian Figueroa, Lauren Heinz, Rick Hemphill and Steven Morlan
Black Cat Bar (Black Cat Bar, City Heights)- Captain Michael Ciolino, Ben Regalado, Franco Bressanutti, Al Domingo, Matthew Parker, Donny Blough and James Pink
That’s What We Do (Players Sports Bar, Kearny Mesa)- Captain Wayland Lim, Meinardo Cruz, Saogalemu Panapa, Daniel Smith, James Norcross, Jason Vitug, Sunita Willson and Christina Martinez
Our sincerest thanks to the Hungry Stick and staff, and also to all of the referees that helped us out this weekend.
Non members are not allowed to be listed on rosters after the 4th week of the session. Any players who aren’t paid by the 4th week will be dropped from the team. You can add them back to your team after the 4th week, but they must pay their membership fees before they play. If they play without paying, the team will be marked past due.
We are starting the new and improved Ladies divisions back up this week. Wednesday night South Bay starts up at Stoney’s at 7pm and Library in house league will start on Friday at 7pm. As of this writing, we are still waiting to see if we have enough support for a North County Ladies division and we still need teams for the Hungry Stick in house division. The ladies new and improved format is 5 person teams with 3 that play each match. The skill level limit is 13 for the 3 players in a team match and we are using the new 3 point system for 8 Ball. This new format is how the Ladies format will work across the country and it’s also how the National event will work starting with the 2014 APA National event. For every 10 Ladies teams, we get a spot to the National event. If you have a team or are interested in playing on a team, please contact the league office. We play a pretty relaxed schedule with the Ladies divisions, so the commitment is a bit easier on everyone participating. The thing that is nice about this new format is that it makes it a little easier for the higher level skill players to be able to compete. Teams will compete in regular session scheduled, end of session playoffs and City Championships to earn their slots for Nationals just like before.