Top sides suffer losses in close encounters
Ladies Division 1 report by Peter Kirby
15 December 2022 (Round 9)
It was a tribute to intrepid bowlers, playing in wet, windy, wintery conditions, that all matches were completed in the final round before the mid-season break in Bowls South’s Women’s Thursday Pennant. Sides lower on the competition table, playing at home to top three sides, all had morale boosting wins against their more fancied opponents.
Claremont overcame their visitors, ladder leaders Kingborough, to pick up a much needed 1 shot win, 56-55, and 10 competition points. Meekie Salter and her rink led all day to defeat Kingborough’s Leonie Price, with Pauline Connell (lead) Colleen Dance, and new club member, Sonya Martyn at three, 24-17. With Claremont trailing by 2 shots overall, with 1 end to play and holding 1at the head, Salter played 2 excellent draw shots to win the day for Claremont. Di Peck’s rink, after a slow start, played some great conversions to take a 5 shot lead at the 19th end, and resisted a determined finish from Kingborough’s Vicki Bannister to hold on for a 19-18 win. Maree Morgan’s rink started the game in great fashion and held a 4 shot lead at lunch. Not to be denied, Kingborough’s Sue Clark, with Liz Rickards playing great bowls in the 3rd position, finished strongly to defeat Maree Morgan by 7 shots, 20-13, to be Kingborough’s sole winning rink.
At Buckingham, the home side defeated second-placed Sandy Bay by 5 shots, 62-57, for a 2 rink win. Sandy Bay’s Robyn Leggett and Jeannette Lane played a close game which could have gone either way. A four to Lane on the last end clinched the win for Buckingham by 3 shots, 22-19. Yvonne Buckley, skipping for Sandy Bay, was no match for Buckingham’s Christine Thompson, who was relentless in her 15 shot rink win, 24-9. Sandy Bay’s Jac Phillips, Helen Barnes, Gail Price and Jan Hobbs combined well, playing consistent bowls to overwhelm their Buckingham opponents on the Lynette Hall rink by 13 shots, 29-16, in a game which featured excellent heads.
Sorell had a great 3 shot win over Howrah at home. With her whole team contributing, especially Gwen Scott once again leading beautifully, Sorell’s Janet Cowen won by 1 shot against Charon Foster, 21-20. The match between Sorell’s Vicki Philp and Howrah’s Denise Tanner went down to the wire, being even after 20 ends. On the last end, Philp’s second, Shirley Hay, drew shot to help set up a thrilling win to the home side by 2 shots, 18-16. Kay Upchurch, in her first game as skip for Sorell, had a thrilling draw against Rosie Geeves, 21-all, with Geeves gaining 1 point for Howrah.
At Orford, the hosts lost to the visiting side, Glenorchy Rodman, on 2 rinks by 10 shots, 51-61. Rodman’s skip, Peta Barnett, with Jennie Suttie playing her first game for the club, set up the win in her defeat of Elaine Taylor, 23-12. Rodman’s other winning skip was Crystal Brooks, 26-19, against Dinah Bennett. Jenny Martyn won for Orford, 8 shots to the better of Roseanne McCann, 20-12.
In the final game of the round, after winning on 2 rinks, Rosny Park gained no joy from their visit to Glenorchy City, losing by 14 shots, 56-70. City’s Ingrid Makowski, her side’s sole winning skip, established a 21-shot buffer in her 32-11 defeat of Gaylene Ridgeway. Rosny’s winning skips, Judith Sherrin, 21-16 against Leonie Hyland, and Ailsa Milburn’s 2 shot win against Cheryl Ann Nielsenbeck, 24-22, was not enough to overcome the deficit.