There was no shortage of talent or fun at the Ladies Spirit tour stop at Kiss Shot Billiards in Coral Springs, Florida on March 19 and 20th, 2005. In the third WPBA qualifier of the year, made possible by tour sponsor LTLUniverse.com, the Spirit ladies were out in full force to determine who would rise to the top.
Top picks were Wendy Jans from Belgium and Spirit tour veterans Jeannie Seaver and Tracie Hines. These three ladies did not disappoint expectations and took the top three spots in the event, with a charged battle for victory at the end.
All three players were crowding the winner's bracket but only one was going to make it through. Jans and Seaver met late in the second day to determine who would play in the hot seat match. It looked like Jans was going to take the match until Seaver staged a comeback and won 7-6, sending Jans to the B side. Jans met up with Bonnie Coats who had just made a massive comeback of her own. Down 6-1 to Julia Gabriel, Coats got in gear and took the match 7-6. It was now between Jans and Coats to determine who would take the WPBA qualifier, as Seaver and Hines already had their spots. Jans was on a mission and took the match 7-0, leaving Coats in 4th.
Meanwhile, on the winner's side Seaver faced Hines in the hot seat match. It was just like old times to see these two on top of the charts and battling it out. Both players had record years last year and have been rising through the WPBA ranks and taking respectable finishes in regional open tournaments. For their meeting in the hot seat, Hines kept up her charge and took a 4-1 lead over Seaver. A scratch on the 7 ball by Seaver seemed to top things off and Hines went on to win the match at 7-3, sending Seaver left to play a rematch with Jans who was waiting for her in the semis.
Jans seemed to have Seaver's number this time and picked up her game, taking the match 7-2 to earn her spot in the finals. Points-leader Seaver had to settle for third place.
In the finals, Jans had no small task before her. Hines was undefeated and Jans would have to beat her twice in the true double elimination format. The first set started off close at 4-4 until an unfortunate miss on the 7 by Hines seemed to seal her fate. Jans won 3 of the next 4 games to take the first match 7-5. She wasn't done yet and seemed to have brought plenty of game with her for the extended race. Jans switched on run-out mode and took the second set 7-2, giving her the win and the WPBA qualifier. This marks Jans' third qualifier win this year in America; for more info on Jans and an inside perspective on her tournaments, go to her player website at www.wendy-jans.com. The Spirit tour will host their next event at Baron's Billiards in Bradenton on April 23rd-24th, 2005 for a WPBA qualifier, sponsored by LTLUniverse.com.
Complete Results:
1st Wendy Jans $750
2nd Tracie Hines $525
3rd Jeannie Seaver $375
4th Bonnie Coats $250
5th/6th Julia Gabriel, Crystal McCormick $175
7th/8th Debbie Schjodt, Helene Caukin $100
9th/12th Emily Wilmoth, Stephanie Mitchell, Lisa Hamilton, Sue Bedore $50
Photo courtesy of Roberta Case
