The Ladies Spirit Tour brought together some of Florida’s toughest amateurs and pros for their 6^th stop at Stroker’s Billiards in Palm Harbor on July 23-24.  With a qualifier to the WPBA Midwest Classic on the line, players were in top form.

Back on the winner’s side, Jans and Schjodt faced off for Queen of the Hill.  In the first racks, Jans had the upper hand as Schjodt started off tentatively and Jans capitalized to take a 2-1 lead.  Schjodt played a safe on the 3-ball in the next rack but Jans jumped it in and ran out to a 3-1 lead.  Trailing at 4-2, Schjodt picked it up a bit and ran the 1 through 6, played a safe, and then finished off the rack to go 4-3.  A ball-in-hand for Jans in the next game saw her run out from the 2 to go 5-3 but a missed 7 cost her the next rack 5-4.  Jans missed a long tough 5-ball in the next rack for Schjodt to capitalize and run out to tie 5-5.  A safety on the 4-ball by Jans looked secure until Schjodt jumped it in.  Schjodt then attempted a safe on the 5 but Jans could see it and ran out to get on the hill 6-5.  It looked like Schjodt was coming back in the next game but a miss on the 7 let Jans back to the table to win 7-5.

Schjodt’s loss to Jans sent her to the B-side semis to square off with Hines.  Hines started off with a 3-9 combo to capture the first game while Schjodt took care of the end game to take the second rack and tie it up 1-1.  A ball in hand for Hines on the 4-ball led to her running out to lead 2-1 and steal the momentum.  Hines proceeded to play faster and more confident, navigating the table layouts to jump to a 4-1 lead.  She ran out the next rack from the one to go 5-1.  Schjodt was able to secure a 3-9 carom to get to 6-2 but Hines got a shot at the 1 in the next rack.  Hines took a daring backwards cut and played perfect shape on a 2-9 combo to finish the set 7-2. 

In the final rematch between Hines and Jans, Hines would have to beat Jans twice to win the tournament in the true double elimination format.  Jans had already defeated Hines 7-6 earlier in the day, but it was a close race.  Hines cleaned up the first rack, ending with a tough cut up table on the 9-ball to lead 1-0.  A scratch on the break meant ball in hand for Jans on a 1-9 combo and a 1-1 score.  Jans ran out from the 4-ball in the next rack to lead 2-1 and secure the break.  Jans had to push out after the break, leading to a safety battle ending with Jans leaving Hines a tough shot on the three.  Hines put the shot away and ran out to an 8-9 combo to tie at 2-2.  Hines missed a jump shot on the 1-ball and Jans took ball in hand to run the table and lead 3-2.  Hines returned the favor and ran out the next game from the 1 to again tie at 3-3.  A critical position error by Hines in the next rack gave Jans ball-in-hand on the 9 to reestablish the lead at 4-3.  Hines recovered in the next game by running out from the 4 to tie at 4-4.  The next rack saw Jans run out from the 1 to lead 5-4 but Hines fought back and ran the next game from the 1 to again tie at 5-5.  To get on the hill, Jans ran out from the 4-ball but Hines followed suit in the next rack to tie at double hill, 6-6.  The final rack started off with a safety battle over the two which ended with Jans having a shot on the 2 with tough position on the 3.  Jans missed the 2 but left the table safe and Hines had to kick.  Hines made contact on the 2 but left another shot for Jans and this time Jans ran out the table for another close 7-6 win.