Pool Brings Lee's Talents To Surface -- National Pool Circuit Makes Seattle Stop

Jeanette Lee was 18 years old when she walked into a Manhattan pool hall and it changed her life.

"I saw a man playing pool, and it was like I was hypnotized," she said. "There was an aura about him. He was so calm and cool and would make the balls drop one by one with no effort at all. There was such a peace about him, yet there was a lot of power."

Pool became the driving force in her life. Lee would practice her stroke on subways, make left-hand bridges in restaurants, even try to force herself to dream about pool.

"I feel like the day I found pool was the day my real life as a happy person began," said Lee, who calls pool "my oxygen."

Lee got an early break when the owners of La Cue pool center in Queens took her under their wing, providing free table time and food. Some days, she would practice 18 hours.

Now a Los Angeles resident, the 24-year-old will compete in the $40,000 Huebler Cues Seattle Classic tomorrow through Sunday at Jillian's Billiard Club on Westlake Avenue near Lake Union. This is the fifth tournament on the 11-stop 1996 Women's Professional Billiard Association tour. Lee leads in earnings with $21,295 after top-five finishes in every tournament this year.

A lot of players in any sport develop the skills before they get the mental toughness to be the best. With Lee, the process was reversed.

"The thing that's most impressive about Jeanette is that when she first came on tour, she always believed she could be No. 1," said fellow pro Michelle Adams. "That made it easier as she developed the skills she needed."

Indeed, Lee has made it clear her objective is to be the best.

"I want to be the best pool player who ever lived,"she said.

Lee once sank 122 consecutive balls, believed to be the second-longest run by a woman.

Lee sometimes has to play in pain, which sounds funny for pool until one learns that she has a metal rod in her back. She was diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine) at age 13. Her spine was broken surgically and the rod inserted. Rest breaks and heat treatments are part of her daily regimen.

So are practice sessions with pool pro George Breedlove, her husband of six months.

Breedlove's nickname on the men's tour is "The Flame Thrower."

Her nickname is "Black Widow," earned early in her career because of her competitiveness. She dresses the part, usually wearing black.

And usually shoots the part, too.

HUEBLER CUES SEATTLE CLASSIC

Tour: Fifth stop of Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) Tour.

Format: Nine ball. Double-elimination.

Site: Jillian's Billiard Club & Cafe, 731 Westlake Ave. N.

Field: 16 regional players and 32 national professional players including defending champion Gerda Hofstatter of Sweden, Jeanette Lee of Los Angeles, Robin Dodson of Garden Grove, Calif., Ewa Mataya Laurance of Charlotte, Vivian Villarreal of San Antonio, Loree Jon Jones of Hillsborough, N.J., Allison Fisher of Canada. Top Northwest challengers are Jillian house pro Kimberly Kirk and tour member Kerry Hartsfield of Everett.

Schedule and prices: Tonight "Cue Up for Kids" charity event benefiting Children's Trust Foundation, 7 p.m. (tickets $5); Friday - Session 1, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (general admission $4, VIP $5); Session 2, 6-11 p.m., (general admission $7, VIP $8); Saturday - Session 1, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (general admission $6, VIP $8); Session 2, 6-11 p.m. (general admission $10, VIP $14). Sunday - Quarterfinals, 11 a.m. (general admission $6, VIP $8); Semifinals and final, 5:30 p.m. (general admission $12, VIP $17).