A Second Wind

EUROTOURS, WPBA Classic Tours, a smattering of events across Asia in China, Taiwan and the Philippines — the first nine months of 2009 have offered little rest for the professional pool player, especially one as active as Jasmin Ouschan.

So heading into the final quarter of the year, a three-month span that offers the potential of solidifying her spot on a short list of Player of the Year candidates, it was that much more important that she get off to a hot start.

The WPBA Pacific Coast Classic — held Oct. 14-18 at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Ore. — was a step in that direction. Ouschan ran unbeaten through the fifth stop of the Classic Tour, escaping two early hill-hill scares and pulling away late in the final against Xiaoting Pan.

The win, Ouschan’s second WPBA title of the year, marks the first time the 23-year-old has won multiple titles on the women’s tour. “It has been a long and tough year,” she said. “And I can tell that I am getting a little tired, but this victory gave me all the energy that I will need.”

While the win turned out to be a second-wind for Ouschan, it nearly turned into a complete downer. After a pair of easy 9-3 victories over Joanne Ashton and Jennifer Chen, Ouschan edged 15th-ranked Sarah Rousey in a 9-8 thriller to advance to the round of 16.

In the first match of single-elimination, Ouschan drew Kim Shaw, who eliminated Ouschan in a hill-hill match in the very same round at September’s Colorado Classic. Again, not much separated the two, as they both traded racks until Shaw grabbed a two-game advantage late in the set. But Ouschan took the next two to tie the match, then cleaned up the case game to stave off elimination, 9-8.

In the race-to-7 format, shortened for taping by ESPN, Ouschan eased past Line Kjorsvik and Allison Fisher, allowing each just four games, to take a spot in the final.

She faced No. 2 Xiaoting Pan, who was making her first appearance in a final in 10 events. Pan coasted through the early rounds in Oregon, only to find herself in a massive hole against Gerda Hofstatter in the quarterfinal. Pan lost a few of safety battles early, allowing Hofstatter to get on the hill, 6-2. But as quickly as she fell behind, Pan cleaned up two dry breaks from Hofstatter and ranout from her break to knot the match at 6-6. In the decisive 13th game, Hofstatter faltered first, scratching on a masse attempt on the 1. Pan then ranout for the match. She then edged Karen Corr, 7-4, to meet Ouschan.

Opening the final, both women held serve on their first two breaks, before Ouschan cleared the table after a Pan push-out and won a safety battle for a 4-2 lead. Pan got back to even at 4-4, thanks to a miscue from Ouschan, but that would be the last mistake from the Austrian. She won a safety battle to get on the hill, then buried a 4-9 combination in the next rack to win the title.

While Ouschan had her way in the TV rounds, she built up her confidence with the two close calls earlier in the event.

“I think you need to have these matches in order to win an event,” she said. “When you can overcome matches like that, where you cannot play up to your level and have to fight all the time, that is where you learn a lot and get stronger.”

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