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Posted Dec. 7, 2001
Right on cue again
Richland's Hopkin marks return
to competition with berth
in national championships
Photo by Molly Van Wagner
By Jeff Morrow
Herald sports editor
Richland's Mary Hopkin remembers the first competitive billiards tournament she entered in the Tri-Cities.
"It was a B tournament at The Pub in February or March," she said. "People didn't recognize me because I was living and working in Hermiston. But I was the only woman entered."
And out of the 40 or so competitors, Hopkin, 37, took second.
"My first competitor was like, 'Oh, I got the girl,' "she said. "By the time I was in the championship, most of the men were cheering for me. The men pool players around here treat me so great. They have respect for me."
Today, Hopkin realizes a goal of hers when she competes in the Cuetec Cues National Championships in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The double-elimination tournament runs through Sunday.
She's one of 64 women competing for the national title. The field also includes Jeanette Lee, known as "The Black Widow" and who has been featured on ESPN and appeared in HBO's Arli$$.
Hopkin was a member of the Women's Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) tour in 1993 and 1994, when she worked for a Los Angeles-area law firm.
Back then, she was ranked among the top 40 women's players in the nation while competing in pro tournaments only along the West Coast.
But in 1994, her father became ill. She quit her job, quit the pro tour and moved to Montana to care for her dad.
Since then, Hopkin entered in tournaments here and there. But her level of play wasn't that serious. Until this year.
"This year, I really put my heart into it," she said. "My goal was to get into one pro tournament this year."
To do that, she joined the Association of Cue Sports for Women, a Northwest semi-pro tour that plays in Tacoma, Portland and Seattle.
With 50 competitors in the region, Hopkin finished second to Seattle's Linda Carter in overall points during the tour's seven tournaments this season. Both qualified for this weekend.
Hopkin doesn't get a chance to practice eight hours a day, like she did when she was a pro in 1994. Her job as a Herald news reporter keeps her from that.
"I practice a couple hours a week now," she said. "I don't feel 100 percent. But I'm a really good tournament player. I try drill shots. A lot of people don't have the tenacity to shoot the same shot 25 to 50 times. I'll do that, then I'll say to someone 'Let's play a bit.' "
The WPBA invites the top 32 women in the nation for the Michigan event.
The top two out of each of the eight regional tours also get invites. The
remaining 16 invitations are given to other ranked players, and players
from the Japanese and European tours.
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