Jeannie Seaver
Jeannie Seaver has been very active during the pandemic. She’d finished first and third on two stops on the Tiger Florida early in 2020; the win in January and the third place finish in March. She then cashed in two of the WPBA’s Ghost Challenges; 4th place in June and then, third place in the Ghost Tournament of Champions in September. Both of those ghost events were won by Kelly Fisher, who seemed to find a ‘home’ playing against pool’s ‘ghost.’ In October, Seaver won the Tiger Florida Tour’s 12th annual Cues for the Cure event, a breast cancer fundraiser that she has won the last five out of six years (’15-’17, ’19 & ’20). And going into the last weekend of February, 2021, she’d already won a stop on the Tiger Florida tour and finished 9th at a stop on the Predator Sunshine State Pro Am Tour.
In the first of what Tour Directors Janene Phillips and Nicolle Cuellar are planning on being four events this year, the Sunshine State Pro Am Ladies Tour held an Open tournament on that last weekend in February (Feb. 27-28) at Brewlands in North Lakeland, FL. Jeannie Seaver went undefeated to claim her second 2021 title. The $450-added event drew 26 entrants to Brewlands.
Seaver faced separate challenges in the hot seat and finals of this event. After an opening round bye, Seaver defeated both Sherie Hensley and Sonya Chbeeb 7-3, which set her up to face Candice Garcia in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Nicolle Cuellar, in the meantime, while maintaining her co-tour directing role in the event, downed Lisa Anderson 7-5, survived a double hill fight against Julia Sheerman and dispatched Katie Bowse to the loss side 7-1, to face Kaylee McIntosh in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Seaver advanced to the hot seat match with her third straight 7-3 win, this time over Garcia. Cuellar joined her with a 7-3 win, as well; hers, over McIntosh. Seaver claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Cuellar and waited on what turned out to be the return of McIntosh.
On the loss side, McIntosh picked up Sofia Mast, who’d been sent over in a winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Garcia and then defeated Cami Becker, double hill and Alissia Alvarez 5-2. Ness Seaver, who’d also lost a winners’ side quarterfinal match, to McIntosh, defeated Ashley Delaney 5-2 and Katie Bowse 5-3.
The quarterfinals set up as a rematch. Ness Seaver eliminated Garcia 5-3, as McIntosh downed Mast 6-1. McIntosh was apparently on a roll, because she not only defeated Ness Seaver a second time, she shut her out. McIntosh completed her three-match trek on the loss side with another rematch, a solid 5-1 victory over Cuellar in the semifinals, and an aggregate loss-side score of 16-2.
McIntosh carried that momentum with her into the finals against Jeannie Seaver. The two battled to double hill before Seaver completed her undefeated run to claim the event title.
Phillips and Cuellar thanked the staff and crew at Brewlands for their hospitality, and gave a shout out to Central Florida USA Pool League, Poison Cues (for cue donation), Stitch It To Me Embroidery and AZBilliards. The next stop on the Sunshine State Pro Am Ladies Tours is yet to be determined. Stay tuned and check the tour’s calendar for information about the exact date.
