Khanh Ngo Claims Undefeated Win at Dog House Billiards – First TWCWT Stop of 2024 – News

Becky Simi, Khanh Ngo, Dar Domingo and Revelina Um

Since its inception in the early 1990s, the West Coast Women’s Tour has attracted a strong following of the region’s top players, while creating competitive opportunities for players of all levels. With a history spanning three decades, the backbone of the organization (originally known as the Western Women’s Regional 9-Ball Tour) was founded by players including Julie Hunter, Linda Silva and Christina Piona, while Emilyn Callado later took over the reins.

While the tour historically took place in Northern California as well as parts of Nevada, locations now focus on the greater San Francisco Bay area. After Emilyn Callado stepped down from management just over a decade ago, the West Coast Women’s Tour has since been led by director Cony Mendoza, alongside WPBA pro Eleanor Callado, who serves the tour as treasurer . In 2024, the tour will travel to seven different locations to take on some of the toughest women on the West Coast. Last year, some of the tour’s most notable players included current and former WPBA members Nicole Keeney, Kim Cuarisma, and former tour manager Emilyn Callado.

To kick off the 2024 season, on Saturday, May 4, TWCWT was hosted by a first-time tour sponsor, Dog House Billiards in Cotati, California. This event attracted a field of forty players from across Northern California and featured $500 in additional prizes donated by venue owner Ron Schisler. During its seven years in operation, Dog House has become known as one of the premier venues for leagues in Sonoma County and, by sponsoring the TWCWT, will help support the progression of women’s pool in the region.

While all forty players arrived for registration at 10 a.m., the tournament was nearly derailed after an unusual storm knocked out power at 9:30 a.m. that morning. Fortunately, power was restored shortly after 11 a.m. and the action was able to resume. For this opening leg of the tour, the match format consisted of one set of 9 balls and one set of 8 balls per match. If each player scored a set for a 1-1 draw, a shootout would determine the winner.

The tournament story would be dominated by one of TWCWT’s veteran players, Khanh Ngo. A San Francisco native, Ngo came away from the 2023 season with the No. 1 points ranking on tour and made her mark as an undefeated champion at Dog House Billiards. To advance to the final, Khanh Ngo defeated Shawn Modelo, Gaby Benuto, Nicole Keeney, Revelina Um and Becky Simi. As Ngo noted, Nicole Keeney was the only player in her path to force a shootout, which was closely contested.

One of the other impressive performances of the day came from longtime Bay Area player Dar Domingo. Although Domingo only won one match on the winner’s bracket, she caught fire on the losing side and won six straight matches, capped by a quarterfinal victory over Revelina Um. In the semi-finals, Domingo’s run would come to an end, after a close battle against Becky Simi that ended in a shootout against. The victory earned San Mateo-based Simi a rematch in the final against Khanh Ngo. However, the second meeting between these two players ended the same way, as Ngo stayed in top form to win 2-0 and claim the title.

Alongside the main event, a second chance tournament is also held at each stage. In this single elimination tournament, Lyndee Russell came out on top. Kacie Ragen took second place while Cinthia Minnear and Kathy Acherzer tied for third place.

The West Coast Women’s Tour would like to thank Dog House Billiards for hosting Stop #1 and providing excellent equipment, as well as contributing to a cue that was drawn during the event. Special thanks to our sponsors: Adam Sickles, Robbie Lyng Custom Cues & Repair and Diablo Valley Pool League.

The next stop on the West Coast Women’s Tour is June 29 at Hard Times Billiards in Sacramento. For more tour details and announcements, visit http://www.facebook.com/twcwtour/

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