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Seaver secures top ranking spot with undefeated day on the Bay Area Amateur Tour

Stephanie Mitchell, Mary Lou Mendez, Jeannie Seaver, Jeff Mendez, and Lisa McElroy

Jeannie Seaver shut out 72-year-young Mary Lou Mendez twice to win her second of three stops on the Bay Area Amateur Tour on Saturday, July 21. As a result, Seaver moved into the top spot in tour rankings. With two stops to go on the tour, Seaver finished five ranking points ahead of Lisa McElroy and Cassidy Mulligan, tied for second place. The $400-added event drew 16 entrants to Stix in Palm Harbor, FL.

Seaver went into the tournament ranked at the bottom of the top five players on the tour, and was one of only two among those five who made it to the winners’ side final four. She faced the other, Echo Pinkley, who entered the stop in fourth place. Mendez, in the meantime, squared off against Deanna Foster. Seaver sent Pinkley west 7-2, as Mendez was busy downing Foster 4-3. Seaver shut Mendez out and sat in the hot seat to await her return.

Pinkley moved over to meet up with McElroy, who’d been sent to the loss side by Mendez, and defeated Jessica Barnes 3-2 (Barnes racing to 6), and shut out Jamie Toennies 3-0. Foster drew Mulligan, who’d been sent west by Seaver, and then, shut out Barbara Ellis and given up only one rack against tour director Stephanie Mitchell. Foster chalked up the fourth of five shutouts among the event’s final 12 against Mulligan, and in the quarterfinals, faced McElroy, who’d ended Pinkley’s day 3-1. 

In those quarterfinals, McElroy again gave up only a single rack, defeating Foster 3-1, and turning to a grudge match semifinal against Mendez. For the second time, Mendez defeated McElroy with a tie score. In their first meeting, Mendez had won 4-4, with McElroy going to 6, and in their second, Mendez won 3-3, with McElroy racing to 5. Though a victory on this year’s tour has eluded her, McElroy has finished third twice and second, once, which has left her in second place in the overall tour rankings.

Though Seaver would shut Mendez out for the second straight time in the finals to capture the event title, Mendez chalked up her best finish on the tour, ever. She had previously finished in 7th place in a November 2011 tour stop. 

The event scrambled the rankings of the top five players on the tour. Seaver moved from fifth place to first, while seventh place finisher, Jessica Barnes, who’d held the top stop previously, dropped to fourth. Mulligan came into the tournament in second place, just ahead of McElroy, and the two finished, tied for second. Echo Pinkley rounded out the top five, dropping from fourth to fifth on the heels of her 5th place finish. The women will have two more chances to re-arrange that list. The tour will stop at Stroker’s in Palm Harbor on September 1 and hold the tour’s Grand Finale at Capone’s in Spring Hill on October 20.

Chris Fields wins first FBT event

The room was full with players and spectators as the Flamingo Billiards Tour Qualifier got under way Saturday at Cue-Phoria Billiards & Cafe in Winter Park, Florida. Twenty-four of the top 9-Ball women competitors from around the state came to play.  The format was a modified double elimination, playing down to the final eight, four from each side. The four on the one-loss side redrew one of the four from the winners bracket. 

Chris Fields got off to a rough start, losing her first match to Kim Richeson, 7-1, but made it to the redraw by defeating Chelsea Hardwick, who was in town and is a regular player on the Miss Cues Regional Tour. Field also got past Cassidy Mulligan and Laura Clay. Also making it to the redraw from the one-loss side was Jeannie Seaver, who initially lost a close match on the hill to Nicolle Cuellar. Not to be stopped, Jeannie knocked out Jane Freeman, Stephanie Mitchell and Kelly Cavanaugh to make it to the final eight. Also making it to the redraw from the one loss side was Kira Brown, who went west after losing to Kim Richeson, but fought her way back with wins over Janis Sessions, Vanessa Seaver and Kelly Coyle. Tour Director Mimi McAndrews also made it to the redraw after losing to Richeson, but defeating Barbara Ellis, who played a strong game all day, and newcomer Darlyne Petrovit.

Filling the final eight bracket from the winners side was Crystal McCormick, who won over Stephanie Mitchell, Chelsea Reeves, and Laura Clay.  Also on the winners side was Shanelle Loraine, who sent Janis Sessions and Kelly Cavanaugh west. Kim Richeson also came from the winners side, beating Kira Brown, Fields and McAndrews. Nicolle Cuellar stayed on the east side sending Susan Roberts, Jeannie Seaver and Kelly Coyle west. 

In the redraw, Brown drew Cuellar, but lost hill-hill. McAndrews matched up against McCormick, but couldn’t get in stroke with McCormick easily taking the match. Seaver ended the day for Richeson, and Fields won a tough match over Loraine, who has been playing a much improved game this year.

The semi-finals matched Cuellar against McCormick, but McCormick seemed to be having stamina problems on this night, and Cuellar took advantage, making it to the finals by winning 7-2.  Fields, who had never won a match against Seaver, the favorite to win the event, beat the odds and won the match 7-5.

With the momentum going her way, Fields was not going to stop at this point. She played strong and won her first Flamingo Billiards Tour event over Cuellar 7-2. Not too disappointed, Cuellar won the qualifier!

Many thanks to room owner Faheem Zia and house pro Adam Wheeler at Cue-Phoria (www.cuephoria.com), for inviting the FBT and for being great hosts, and to Boynton Billiards for their continued support.