Kim Caso relinquished the hot seat to Keva Hevener, but came back from the semifinals to win both sets of a true double elimination final to take first place in the Bay Area Amateur Tour (BAAT) stop on Saturday, March 20. The $500-added event, which drew 28 entrants, was the first tournament held under the auspices of the Corner Pocket in Largo, FL's new owner, Stephanie Mitchell, director of the BAAT Tour.
“Between running the tour and the hall,” said Mitchell of her 9th place finish on this, the first tournament held in the room she now owns, “it didn't leave much time for much good play out of me.”
From among the winners' side final four, Caso sent Jamie Toennies west in a double hill win, as Hevener was busy with a 4-2 win over Michell Monk. Hevener gained the hot seat by shutting Caso out 5-0 and presumably with a measure of justifiable confidence waited for her to return.
On the one-loss side, Bettina Chase and Helene Caukin were waiting for Toennies and Monk, respectively. Chase had defeated Stephanie McFarlin and Margie Soash 5-3 to draw Toennies. Caukin moved past Barbara Ellis 6-2 and Patti Mitchell 5-3 to face Monk. Toennies moved into the quarterfinals with a 5-3 win over Chase. Monk joined her with a 7-1 win over Caukin. Monk got into the semifinals with a 7-2 win over Toennies, and then faced a rather determined Caso, who defeated her 4-1 for a second crack at Hevener.
With Hevener needing to reach five games before Caso chalked up four, the two battled to double hill in the opening set, before Caso won it. Caso won the second set 4-3 to capture the first place prize.
