Michelle Abernathy went undefeated to capture her first Gulf Coast Tour Event, defeating Marilina “Big M” Nieves in the first set of the true, double elimination final, 7-1. Nieves scored her highest finish to date, along with third place finisher, Terri Resendez, and fourth place player, Brenda Gunter.
On June 4th-5th, sponsors Poison by Predator Cues, Predator Cues, APA of North Harris County, Alamo Billiards, Outsville Billiards, and Team Straight Pool Eye, produced another successful event for the women of the Gulf Coast Tour. The event was hosted by Slick Willies Family Pool Hall in Houston, Texas, who provided 23, 8’ tables for match play, in a smoke-free environment. Predator provided brand new, Predator Arcos II ball sets, and Outsville Billiards supplied Accu-Rack template racks for each table.
The winners’ side final eight witnessed Brenda Gunter defeat Ruth Paine, 7-7, while Michelle Abernathy shut out D’Andrea Leassear, 7-0. Marilina Nieves of San Antonio overwhelmed Vania Davila, 7-3, and Terri Resendez ousted Danni Ladd, 7-5. In the following round, Abernathy overpowered Gunter, 7-2, while Resendez stopped Nieves, 7-4. In a first-time, hot seat match up, Abernathy made quick work of Resendez, 7-1, and one step closer to her first, Tour victory. On the west side, in the final eight, Mary Mikita of Corpus Christi bested Verda Jones, 5-1, but fell in turn to Gunter, 5-4. Paine eliminated Beth Tindell, 5-2, but lost to Nieves, 5-3. Nieves was on fire, taking out Gunter, 5-2, and Resendez, 5-3, to meet Abernathy in the finals. In the first set, Abernathy exploded out of the gate, and never looked back, ending Nieves’ run, 7-1. The Tour would like to congratulate Michelle on a well-deserved, first-ever, Tour win.
Congratulations to Ximena Duarte who took first place in the second chance 9-ball event, with Ruth Paine finishing a respectable second. This is a second, consecutive win for Ximena, in the second tournament. The Tour would like to welcome all new members who attended this event, and thank Gulf Coast Tour Board Members, Ruth Paine and D’Andrea Leassear, for running a seamless, two-day competition. The next event will be held July 9th-10th at Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas.
For more information about the Gulf Coast Tour, please visit www.GulfCoastWomensTour.com.
Payouts – Total $740
1st Michelle Abernathy $370
2nd Marilina Nieves $220
3rd Terri Resendez $150 4th Brenda Gunter – free entry