Coates Pockets the Win o­n Ladies Sipirit Tour

By Tori Hilty, InsidePOOL staff

Winning an event while co-owning the tour is not the easiest thing to do, but that is exactly what Bonnie Coates did o­n the latest stop of the Ladies Spirit Tour o­n June 26-27, 2004.  She came through the tough field of 34 players who congregated at World Famous Sports Café & Billiards to take first place and to collect the paid entry to the WPBA qualifier being held at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL, in September.

Eliminating fellow pro Ming Ng, Jeannie Seaver arrived in the quarters to face off against Dawn Fox.  The ladies kept things very close, but when all was said and done, it was Seaver that took the win and advanced in the tournament.

Coates and Debbie Schjodt were battling it out for the hot seat, raising tensions when the scored tied at 5.  Leaving her opponent behind at 5, Coates remained undefeated as she took the final rack, winning with a 7-5 decision.

Meeting in the final of the o­ne-loss side, Seaver and Schjodt meant business.  Seaver, however, took off to the lead from the start and stayed there throughout the match.  Even though Schjodt managed to get o­n the board with 4, Seaver closed the deal, winning the match 7-4.

Starting things off, Coates pocketed the 9 ball o­n the first break and from there went out to a 3-1 lead over Seaver.  Fighting back, Seaver made a comeback to tie it at 4-all.  Trading the lead, Seaver reached the hill first, but Coates was not far behind as she knotted the game o­nce again.  It was Coates' break in the final rack, and she came up empty.  Running out and looking like she was going to push the finals into the second set, Seaver hooked herself o­n the 7.  Missing an attempted kick shot, Coates got ball in hand.  Executing a difficult run o­n the remaining three balls, Coates took the win 7-5.

Coates played flawless pool against some of the top players o­n the tour at this event and credited it in part to her opponents underestimating her.  "I felt really confident after having the month of May off.  I haven't played my best game in the past three years since I started managing the tour, and I think some of the players forgot what my best game was like," commented Coates about her win.

Results:

1st Bonnie Coates

2nd Jeannie Seaver

3rd Debbie Schjodt

4th Dawn Fox

5th Tracie Hines, Ming Ng7

th Stephanie Mitchell, Tony Tucker

9th Amanda Snow, Sherry Sandaler, Penny McBride, Niki Rasmussen

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