Tarpon Springs Nurse Wins Women's U.S. Amateur Pool Championship

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — Jeannie Marie Seaver hardly fits the stereotype of a pool shark.

The Tarpon Springs resident works as a full-time licensed practical nurse and grows and sells orchids in her spare time.

But if she happens to challenge you to a game of pool at Stokers Sports Bar & Grill in Palm Harbor or Brewlands Bar & Billiards in Carrollwood, watch out.

Hand Seaver a pool cue and her persona undergoes a transformation. Her eyes fix on the pool table as she silently assesses all possible shots.

With one hand, she grips the butt of the stick that's as tall as she is. With the other hand, she forms a bridge to cradle the tip of the cue, and intently lines up her shot.

It's that ability to calculate the movement of the ball by sight and then effortlessly make a clean shot that has earned Seaver accolades as one of the top female pool players in the country.

On March 17-18, Seaver proved her pool prowess when she won the 2020-21 Women's U.S. Amateur Pool Championship hosted by the American Poolplayers Association at Strokers Sports Bar & Grill in Palm Harbor.

Seaver bested a field of top amateur pool players from across the United States, including champion player Julia Sheerman of Port St. Lucie, to win the sport’s most prestigious amateur women’s title.

Seaver was among 50 players who qualified for the championship rounds by winning one of several qualifying tournaments held across the country in late 2020 and early 2021.

The double-elimination tournament offers the top amateur players the opportunity to showcase their skills through a combination of 8-Ball and 9-Ball matches.

Seaver went undefeated in her first U.S. Amateur Championship appearance.

In addition to achieving the highest honor in amateur pool, the champion in each division earns a trophy, event jacket, and paid travel, lodging and entry to a 2022 pro billiard event with an automatic bid to return and defend her title next year.

Based in St. Louis, the American Poolplayers Association sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league. Nearly 250,000 members compete in weekly 8-Ball and 9-Ball league play.

Additionally, the APA produces four major tournaments each year – the APA World Pool Championships, the APA Poolplayer Championships, the APA Junior Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship. Together, these tournaments pay out $2 million in cash and prizes annually.

A military brat who moved with her family around the world, Seaver said her love affair with billiards began at the age of 19 when her older sister took her to a pool hall.

"That’s all it took," she said. "I was hooked hook, line and sinker. Within three years, I became No. 1 in the state of Florida. That same year, I played in my first professional tournament with the Women's Professional Billiard Association at the U.S. Open. I surprised myself and turned some heads as I went double hill with (Taiwanese pool legend) Jennifer Chen, but lost."

Seaver said she owes her championship to championship players Charlie Williams, Luis Viera and Adam Wheeler "who took me under their wings."

They also introduced Seaver to South Korean pool player Kim Ga-young. Ga-young lived with Seaver at her mother's house in Tarpon Springs for several years while the two women traveled the world playing in tournaments.

In 2009, Ga-young became the top female pool player in the world while Seaver achieved the not-too-shabby rank of No. 13 in the world.

"I had my first televised match on ESPN against Allison Fisher," she said. "I was so nervous. Most of my attempted shots rattled the pocket and stayed hung in the jaws. I finished fourth."

Following that tournament in Hollywood, Seaver flew straight to Taiwan for the 9-Ball World Championships where she finished third.

At that point, Seaver said she'd had enough of the life of a pool shark.

"I decided it was time for me to live a semi-normal life and get a normal job that I could rely on to pay bills, instead of hoping to do well or get lucky enough to win some cash," Seaver said.

In 2010, she entered nursing school and now works as a full-time nurse for a health care company and grows and sells orchids on the side.

"But every now and then, I’ll accept an invitation to a tournament," she said.

Watch Seaver win the Women's U.S. Amateur Pool Championship.