Stacey Hillyard

Stacey Hillyard (born 5 September 1969) is a former English professional snooker player, who won the 1984 amateur World Women's Snooker Championship at the age of 15, making her the youngest winner of the tournament. She reached the final of the competition on five further occasions.

Stacey Hillyard

Born	(1969-09-05) 5 September 1969[1] England
Sport country	England
Professional	1991–1995
Highest ranking	1 (Womens')[2] 276 (WPBSA)

Biography

Hillyard won the 1984 Amateur World Women's Snooker Championship[3] aged 15,[4] defeating Canadian player Natalie Stelmach 4–1 in the final. Although Hillyard reached the final five additional times, she did not win the event again. Three of the finals were lost to Allison Fisher, the dominant player of the era.[5]

In 1985 in Bournemouth, Hillyard, still 15, became the first woman to compile a century break (114) in a competitive snooker match.[6]

When the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association opened membership for events to anyone over the age of 16 in 1990, Hillyard was one of six women to join, along with Allison Fisher, Ann-Marie Farren, Georgina Aplin, Karen Corr, and Maureen McCarthy, whilst 443 men joined at the same time.[7] In the 1991 Dubai Classic, Hillyard started in the second qualifying round, and defeated three male players, Dermot McGlinchey, Paul Hefford, Chris Carpenter, to progress to the 5th round, in which she lost to Alex Higgins.[8]

On 23 February 1992, Hillyard recorded a new highest break in competitive women's snooker, making 137 during the General Portfolio Women's Classic held in Aylesbury.[9]

Away from snooker, she served as a police officer.[10]

Tournament results

• Women's World Snooker Championship
  • 1984 (Amateur) Champion – Beat Natalie Stelmach 4–1
  • 1985 Runner-up – Lost 1–5 to Allison Fisher
  • 1987 Runner-up – Lost 1–5 to Ann-Marie Farren
  • 1990 Runner-up – Lost 4–7 to Karen Corr
  • 1993 Runner-up – Lost 3–9 to Allison Fisher
  • 1994 Runner-up – Lost 3–7 to Allison Fisher
• 1991 World Masters
  • Women's Singles Runner-up – Lost 2–6 to Karen Corr.
  • Women's Doubles winner (with Allison Fisher)
• 1993 World Mixed Doubles Final – Runner-up (with Stephen Hendry) – lost 4–5 to Allison Fisher and Steve Davis.[4]

References

1. World Records Archived 28 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine snooker.org. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
2. Yates, Phil (9 November 1991). "Corr reaches final with a whitewash – Snooker". The Timess. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019 – via NewsBank.
3. World Champions Archived 18 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Women's World Snooker. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
4. Syed, Matthew (7 December 1991). "Hallett advances after making a bad start – Snooker". The Times – via the Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
5. Women’s World Snooker Championship – A Potted History Archived 21 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine Women's World Snooker. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
6. "Birthdays and Anniversaries". The Independent. 12 January 2004. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019 – via NewsBank.
7. Acteson, Steve (13 October 1990). "A motley cast of hundreds waiting for the cue – Snooker". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019 – via NewsBank.
8. 1991 Dubai Classic Results Archived 9 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine www.snookerdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
9. Turner, Chris (23 February 2009). "On This Week". Eurosport.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
10. Everton, Clive (12 September 1999). "Snooker: First Night – Jane Holland: Paperback fighter". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.