The WPBA Masters event was unforgettable. Not only did I place the highest I ever have on the WPBA Tour, but my twin sister Emilyn came with me to witness it. Alex, my sponsor, also accompanied us and it was nothing but fun, exciting and memorable.

I wanted to share my draw and results here: (The scores are to the best of my recollection)

Round 1 vs Tina Hess- Win 9-1

Round 2 vs. Line Kjorsvik- Win 9-6

Round 3 vs. Kelly Fisher- Loss 2-9

Round 4 vs. Jessica Barnes- Win 9-5

Round 5 vs. Gerda Hofstater- Win 9-3

Round 6 vs. Brittany Bryant- Win 9-5

Round 7 vs. Ewa Laurance- Loss 2-9

I lost to the women that took 1st and 3rd place and finished 7/8th myself. VERY HAPPY!!! :D

It's hard convincing yourself that you can compete among the best in the world knowing that you're working a 40+ hour work week and not practicing as much as you like. But this much I know: Each time I reach a pool table it feels damn good! I miss it and am dying to play each time I get a chance to get on a table. This is how I know that I still want to try and will continue to! It's also knowing that I have support from friends (both old and new), family and loved ones that keeps me motivated and holding my head up high.

Congrats to my sis, Emilyn, for cashing in her first pro event! And thank you to Alex, my sponsor, for believing in us and continuing to!

Emilyn and I will have a feature on ESPN March 18th about growing up as twins and competing together. This will air with the WPBA Masters event starting at 10:30AM. Check it out along with a solo interview I took for my high finish.

I am participating in my 2nd annual "Making Strides" walk benefiting the fight against breast cancer. My aunt, who acted as a second mother to me, passed away September 19, 2010 and since then I've been doing my best to join the fight with other supporters against this!

I set a personal goal for myself and am asking you to join in and help me reach my goal. You can read more on the event and what I'm doing here: https://secure3.convio.net/tacs/site/Donation2?idb=615966734&df_id=1009502&1009502.donation=form1&FR_ID=35954&PROXY_ID=23292715&PROXY_TYPE=20&JServSessionIdr004=jgn70kgv63.app310a

This is my fund-raising page on the "Making Strides" website where you can not only track my progress, but see where you can help make a difference.

Thank you for your time and support.

I realize I haven't written since my challenge match and Marilyn asked me last night "Are you planning on blogging about the event?" I said "Yes, but I'm a little disappointed with my performance, but had a really great day!" So, with that said, please allow me to elaborate...

The morning of the event, I woke up early to ease into the day. I got to the Rack by 10:30 to warm up, make sure set-up was going well & help with the last little details that had to be taken care of. I felt fine, practice was great, was rested, in-stroke & prepared for the battle with Allison. But because it was such a big day for me, I wanted everything to go smoothly. I found myself scrambling around making sure there weren't issues with tickets, the food or production. Things were fine & everything seemed to be running seamlessly.

After all of that, the doors were opened for the VIP group to come in, have some food and spend some time with Allison and me. Everyone was cracking jokes and enjoying the spread that was prepared for them and of course, getting VERY excited for the match to begin! Then, that moment came...

So, yes, I got my butt kicked, but I tell you what: I will NEVER forget this day! It was an honor and a pleasure to be put up against someone who was a strong influence with the growth in my game as a young girl. I got very emotional when I was speaking her to after the match sharing with her that I used to watch her on tv growing up and now to be here in this moment with her is something irreplaceable. I don't care what the score was! How many people get a chance to do something they love and especially have a memory such as this one that will last a life time :D

THANK YOU to mom, dad, Em and Phil for supporting me since I was a kid!

THANK YOU to the Broken Rack for hosting and planning, especially Marilyn who worked very closely with me to get all the details worked out.

THANK YOU to my friends and loved ones, especially Naomi, Dee, Alex Ragle and Alex Bradley for helping with the production and of course, rooting for me! 

THANK YOU for those who were THERE! This event wouldn't have been successful without YOU!!!

I was reflecting back on how much of a role model and influence she was growing up in the sport. And now, here I am, set to play a match with her in only 3 days! I've been very blessed and fortunate for this opportunity.

Tickets are going fast so please, call the Rack or contact me if you'd like a ticket :)

It's funny, a lot of people are asking me how I managed to make this happen. So, I thought I'd share the story here:

I was at the Niagara Falls tournament early this year and ended up taking the same hour-long shuttle ride with Allison. We've chatted before, but only casually, so knowing that she'd have no other choice than to talk to me :P hahaha!

Well, we ended up having a great conversation, getting to know one another. From that conversation, we came to the conclusion that it'd be fun to have a challenge match together and here it is!! After a one-hour shuttle ride, tea and sandwiches... June 25th is when the fun happens :)

Tickets available now! For sale at the Broken Rack:

$35 General admission (challenge match, autograph and Q & A sessions, and free photo of Allison)

$75 VIP which includes everything listed above including attendance to our 2-hour reception where you'll be able to hang out with Allison and me before the match

We are also selling raffle tickets where we'll be giving away an Cuetec cue signed by Allison!

$5 a ticket or $20 for 5

See you there?!

Thank you to all who continue to support me! <3

I went to the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in Texas a couple weeks back. Started off really strong, winning my first two matches at 7-2 and 7-1. Playing really strong even with the tough playing tables. The Diamonds they had set up were not very forgiving at all! But I felt good, however, 3rd round I ran into Vivian Villareal. I started off really strong and had a 4-0 lead, then my game left me and I didn't have my mojo any more :( I guess that's how it goes when I don't condition like I should. I got very frustrated, but didn't let it affect my mental game. I did what I could and lost the match at 7-5. Live, learn and move on. My next match, I played an opponent that had a strong safety game. I'm curious to see how many safeties were played in that match. I lost case game to get in the money! But, playing different opponents, especially one like her, was good for me. It took me out of the norm of playing run-out pool. I learned a lot about my safety and kicking game and that it's not too bad! I was pleased with how I played and I stayed patient through out.

Over all, I had a great tournament. Definitely could have done better, but I had a great trip. I would do it all over again! Saw my friends on the pro tour and got to take a breather from life at home. Good time for sure.

Things that are coming up:

- BCAPL Championships, Las Vegas, NV: I am playing in the team event with some very close friends of mine. If you want to follow us along, our team name is Secret Sauce :D The event starts Wed, May 18th and goes through Sat, May 21st.

- US Open, WPBA Tour, Tulsa, OK: June 15th-18th; I'm looking forward to this! It's been a while since the last stop. It'll be nice to compete on tour again. Exciting stuff!

- I just confirmed my CHALLENGE MATCH AGAINST ALLISON FISHER!! Saturday, June 25th at the Broken Rack in Emeryville, CA! I'll share details asap!

That's enough for now, I've rambled long enough. I'll make sure not to blog so late again.

More later!

192 players came out to play and I've never seen so many pool enthusiasts packed into one pool hall before! What a great turn-out.

I enjoyed myself and got to meet a lot of great players. I ended up placing 33rd-48th in the event, winning 6 matches and losing 2. I definitely could have played better, but am glad I participated. I lost my second match on Saturday, which kind of discouraged me a little. It's hard keeping that fighting spirit being on the one-loss side that early, but I did my best and won 5 matches after that and made it to the second day. Sunday, I lost to a well-known local (Lori is his first name, but I can't recall his last name). I heard he's won that tournament before and is definitely not someone I should be upset losing to.

Overall, the tournament was a joy and I'm glad I made it out. It was a great experience.

Have a wonderful day!

However, my journey there was not all peachy-keen...

It started with a 2 hour flight delay due to engine problems, then led to me missing my connecting flight and waiting another 6 hours for the next flight out (it was originally 8 hours, but I switched to arriving to another airport... bad idea). When I arrived to my destination, my luggage didn't make it's way out onto the conveyor belt. It was sent to my original destination, the airline didn't note the change so the luggage didn't come along with me.

I was originally scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning at 8:30 and got in at 4:00pm instead, my luggage FINALLY arrived Friday evening around 11:45pm!!! Before this, I was scrambling around town buying clothes, contact lenses and other essentials I had in my luggage. My cue was in my luggage too! I borrowed cues from friends. It was just a big mess!

BUT I made the most of it... Managed to win 3 matches.

Thursday, 1/6

Match 1 vs. Melissa Rademakers, Win 9-5

Match 2 vs. Karen Corr, Loss 3-9 (No contact lenses yet! Played with my glasses... strain on my neck. Terrible!)

Friday, 1/7

*I rallied to get my contact lenses this morning and got to my 2pm match with 2 minutes to spare!!! Nail-biter! Completely worth the hassle since I saved my neck!*

Match 3 vs. Cheryl Pritchard, Win 9-5

Match 4 vs. Amy Chen (one of my tour BFF's), Win 9-5

Match 5 vs. Helena Thornfeldt, Loss 3-9 (She played great and I made a bunch of mistakes which she capitalized on)

My match against Helena ended around 11:30 or so Friday night and my luggage came in 15 minutes after!!! Can you believe that?! Honestly, I was just relieved to have it. Everything was fine.

What did I learn:

A.) Carry my contacts in my carry-on/purse

B.) Bring an outfit in my carry-on

C.) Bring a carry-on (LOL!!! :D)

Live and learn, I still had a great time despite this. It would have been easy for me to let it affect me, but I kept my head up. I didn't travel all this way to be down on myself. Gotta keep smiling and movin' along. Until next time.