by Anne Craig – WPBA

Kelly Fisher arrived in Norman, OK, ready to defend her WPBA U.S. Open title against 63 other hopefuls at the Riverwind Casino. The event began July 30 and will conclude August 2.

K. Fisher is making a strong bid for the title, having won her first-round match against Erica Testa 9-2 and then escaping a hill-hill squeaker against Nicole Keeney. Her next battle will come from Allison Fisher, who has notched wins over Helene Caukin 9-1 and Ramona Biddle 9-2.

In a surprising turn of events, last event’s champion, Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, was sent to the one-loss side by Kim Shaw 9-3 after surviving a hill-hill bout with Susan Mello in the first round. Shaw goes on to face Ga Young Kim, who has bested Liz Lovely 9-3 and Jennifer Barretta 9-8.

Monica Webb is going strong after two close victories over Sueyen Rhee 9-6 and Joanne Ashton 9-7. Her next match will be against Kyoko Sone, who has allowed only one game between her first two opponents—she bested Maureen Seto 9-0 and then Line Kjorsvik 9-1.

Fisher arrived in Norman, OK, ready to defend her WPBA U.S. Open title against 63 other hopefuls at the Riverwind Casino. The event began July 30 and will conclude August 2.

Perennial favorites Karen Corr and Xiaoting Pan are undefeated as yet—Corr bested Kim Jones 9-1 and then Morgan Steinman 9-4, while Pan went through Caroline Pao 9-3 and Cristina De La Garza 9-4. Corr’s next opponent will be Tracie Hines, and Pan will face off against Helena Thornfeldt.

Jeanette Lee easily handled Julia Gabriel 9-1 in the first round to face a tougher challenge in the next against Pam Cimarelli, whom she sent west 9-7. Lee’s next opponent will be Yu Ram Cha, who survived her first two matches against Tina Larsen 9-6 and Angelina Paglia 9-3.

Only eight players will return for Saturday’s matches, with the four semifinalists returning Sunday for the final day. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.