STEPHANIE MITCHELL DRIVES THROUGH DOUBLE-HILLS FOR FLAMINGO BILLIARDS TOUR WIN
Photo (l to r): Sabra MacArthur-Beahn (2nd Place),
Gary Gilsinan (Ultimate Billiards), Stephanie Mitchell (1st Place)
Fort Pierce, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2009) – Gas money was no problem on the ride home for Stephanie Mitchell and Sabra MacArthur-Beahn as the two took home the top prizes in the October 24th Flamingo Billiards Tour stop. The pair had road-tripped together across the state to Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, Fla., where Stephanie found herself in the driver’s seat by defeating Sabra 7-5 in the finals.
But the road wasn’t easy for either player. Sabra had a shaky start with a loss to Shanelle Loraine (2-7), but grew stronger as the day wore on, defeating Janis Sessions (7-4) and Mimi McAndrews (7-1). After topping Amy Poulter (7-4), Sabra’s dead stroke was catching everyone’s eyes.
Stephanie defeated Vanessa Seaver (7-3) and Mimi McAndrews (7-3) before going hill-hill and losing to Niki Rasmussen (6-7). The BAAT Woman (www.baattour.com) quickly rebounded on the left side by defeating Robin Boggs (7-2).
On the modified double-elimination redraw, Jeannie Seaver defeated Helene Caukin (7-4), Christie Cloke squeaked by Emily Wilmoth (7-6) and Sabra defeated Michell Monk (7-4). In a rematch of their previous double-hill set, Stephanie and Niki Rasmussen paired up, and again went hill-hill, but this time Stephanie prevailed. When the dust settled, three of the four winners’-side finalists were now on the other side of the rail.
In the semi-finals, Sabra matched up with Christie Cloke, who made a very impressive showing in just her second Regional Tour event. Each player capitalized on 9-ball combos early in the match, but with the score 4-3, Sabra caught stroke and went on to win the next three games and the match.
For the third time in a long afternoon, Stephanie found herself in a hill-hill situation as she matched up with Jeannie Seaver. The game started badly for Jeannie with an inadvertent hand foul that affected the 1-ball’s roll. Jeannie fouled on both 1-ball safes by Stephanie, and the match ended on the 3-foul rule.
In the finals, Sabra went up 4-1 with well-timed safety play setting up long runouts. After a long day of double-hill matches, Stephanie called for a 5-minute break, and returned with renewed focus. She ran the table in Games 6 and 8, caromed the 9-ball early in Game 9, and capitalized on Sabra’s rare misses to take Games 10 and 11.
With Stephanie suddenly on the hill (6-5), Sabra made two balls on the break and left the 4-ball hanging – a roll that would end up being fateful. Later, with the 4-ball deep in the pocket and the 5-ball causing shot and shape problems, Sabra missed a kick at the 4 and gave up ball-in-hand. Stephanie made short work of the rack, running five balls and taking the match 7-5.
Stephanie pocketed 1st Place money, a trophy and a Sniper jump/break cue from tour sponsor Concept Cues (www.conceptcues.com). Special thanks to Flamingo Billiards Tour sponsors Boynton Billiards (www.boyntonbilliards.com) and Tweeten Fibre (www.tweeten.us), and to Ultimate Billiards (www.ultimate-billiards.com) for their top-notch equipment, atmosphere and continued support.
RESULTS
($250 added, modified double-elimination)
1st Stephanie Mitchell ($370)
2nd Sabra MacArthur-Beahn ($250)
3rd Christie Cloke ($130)
3rd Jeannie Seaver ($130)
5th Michell Monk ($80)
5th Emily Wilmoth ($80)
5th Niki Rasmussen ($80)
5th Helene Caukin ($80)
9th Amy Poulter
9th Christine Nevins
9th Robin Boggs
9th Vanessa Seaver
13th Mimi McAndrews
13th Debbie Barkley
13th Heather Barkley
13th Shanelle Loraine
17th Janis Sessions
17th Barbara Ellis
17th Cari Kousa
The next Flamingo Billiards Tour stop is Saturday, November 21 at Corner Pocket Billiards in Orlando (www.cornerpocketbilliards.com). Check www.flamingobilliardstour.com for all details.
