Helen Caukin, Nicolle Cuellar and Jeannie Seaver
The Tiger Florida Tour kicked off the 2020 season at Brewlands Billiards South in Lakeland, Florida, with 30 players turning out and where Jeannie Seaver took top honors, in more ways than one!
This event drew tough competition from out of state including US Amateur Champion Lisa Cossette, Marianne Merrill and Kelly Nickl, as well as several strong local players and newcomers. The tournament could have been won by any one of at least a dozen different players – the competition was that tough! In the end, and to no one’s surprise, Seaver won Tour Stop #1, and is four-for-four on the Tiger Florida Tour!
The women played a modified double-elimination format. The final four from the one-loss side drew back into the final four from the winners’ side, onto a single-elimination Final Board, race to seven. Early upsets saw top TFT players Stephanie Mitchell and Michell Monk, also a former US Amateur Champion; Sonya Chbeeb and Debbie Teichert leave the tournament early.
Caukin played flawlessly all day, and showed everyone that she came to win – with a surprise 7-3 win over Seaver early in the day. Caukin, Carrie Vetrono, Jessica Human and Lisa Cossette reached the Final Board undefeated. Nicolle Cuellar, Shanelle Loraine, Seaver and newcomer Christina Moxley reached the Final Board from the one-loss side. In the first round of the Final Board, Cuellar knocked out Vetrono; Moxley lost to Human, Caukin ended the day for Loraine, who shot lights out all day in one of her best events; and Cossette was stopped by Seaver.
In the semi-finals, Caukin defeated Cuellar 7-4; Human lost to Seaver 7-2, leaving Caukin versus Seaver in a rematch that Seaver took in Seaver-style 7-4. In addition to winning Tour Stop #1, Seaver’s top-line play, winning three of five events in 2019, also earned her the 2019 Tiger Florida Tour Champion title once again. Seaver’s win also earned her the paid entry to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Pro 9-Ball tournament.
Three paid entries to the Super Billiards Expo Women’s Amateur 9-Ball event, courtesy of Janis Sessions and the Florida Coastal Ladies Tour, were won by Cossette, Loraine and Moxley.
Thanks to all 30 players who came out to the TFT event! Thanks to room owners Larry Walthall and Mike Dauskart for hosting our event again this year and their continued support of the TFT – and for going non-smoking!
Thanks to Randi Allen, Director of Marketing & Events and staff for helping with the arrangements and making sure our event went off smoothly. Also, thanks to our title sponsor Tiger Products for their continued support of the tour/players; thanks also to Boynton Billiards, Great Lakes Billiards, AZ Billiards and Simonis Cloth for their continued support! And thanks again to Janis Sessions and the Ladies Coastal Florida Tour for sponsoring the amateur entries at the SBE, and thank you to Nicolle Cuellar, Stitch It To Me, for the embroidery on the TFT Member shirts. Some of the matches can been seen on the Tiger Florida Tour Facebook page.
