LAURANCE UPSET IN EARLY MATCH
Mike Panozzo
Friday, December 05, 1997, 12:18 AM (Central)

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Laurance first seed to drop.
ESPN Slot Still Up For Grabs

Contrary to published reports, 1996 ESPN World Open women's champion Vivian Villarreal is not officially the "opponent in waiting" for January's live Ultimate Challenge event. The ESPN finale, slated for Jan. 31, features Allison Fisher against Dawn Hopkins for the Ultimate Challenge title. The winner of that match will either face (in order of preference) the '97 WPA World Champion (Fisher, in the event that Hopkins wins), the '97 WPBA National Champion (to be determined this weekend), or the ' 96 ESPN champ (Villarreal). The December issue of Billiards Digest reported, based on information supplied by ESPN publicist Dave Nagel, that Villarreal was to automatic fail-safe in event Fisher defeated Hopkins in the Ultimate Challenge final. Th e fail-safes are in place to prevent Fisher from playing herself in the grand finale ‹ which, in reality, could prove to be her toughest match of the year!

The second round of the $85,000 Brunswick WPBA National 9-Ball Championships featured the event's first major upset when 23rd-ranked Kerry Hartsfield upended fourth-seeded Ewa Laurance, 9-8. Leading throughout the match, Hartsfield saw an 8-5 lead evap orate, but managed to hold off Laurance's comeback bid in the case game. Hartsfield, who had never beaten Laurance in a Classic Tour match, advances against perhaps her closest friend on the Tour, Nikki Benish. Benish also watched an early lead slip away before dispatching Pat Tipton, 9-8.

In other early action at the Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Red Wing, Minn., defending champion and No. 1-ranked Allison Fisher captured the final three games against Tammie Wesley-Jones to pull out a 9-7 win. Wesley-Jones, who dominated the McDermott 9-Ball Tour in '95 and '96 before virtually dropping out of pool altogether in '97, displayed little fear against the game's top player. "Actually," said Jones, "I'd been wanting to play Allison. I thought I coul d win, but I didn't quite get there."

Winner's bracket matches resume Friday evening.

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