Finals loom at the Champ of Champ pairs
Australian Champion of Champion pairs kicked off on a wet and windy Sydney afternoon with two rounds completed at the host venue Taren Point Bowling Club. Tournament favourites for the women’s title Kay Moran and Karen Murphy didn’t have it all their own way, winning only eight of the total 18 ends played. Their South Australian opponents Helen Hutton and Jody Kragulijac were gallant in defeat pushing the Australian Super 6 Champions to the death, winning the last five ends straight. Murphy and Moran led 15-8 with five ends to play and on the last end NSW were two shots in front; however when the skips crossed over Karen Murphy was looking down the jaws of defeat. In typical Murphy style, Australia’s best female bowler drew second shot to win the game by one, and in doing so keeps their title hopes alive. ACT men Darren Fitzpatrick and Trentan Healy didn’t hit the front until the second last end in their first round match against Tasmania; ACT scored a four on the second last end and held on to win the match 19-16. ACT then came up against the father and son combination from South Australia, Scott and David Thulborn. Scott Thulborn had suffered mixed fortunes today, winning the Champion of Champions singles final this morning and then suffering a first round pairs defeat at the hands of Queensland. The ACT v SA clash was a quality match and the only one across the board where the scores were close for the entire match. South Australia was the first to make a move on the scoreboard jumping out to a 12-8 lead after 14 ends. However the never die attitude of Trentan Healy, a previous Australian Open Triples winner, and partner Darren Fitzpatrick saw the ACT pair pick up a five with three ends to play. ACT went on to win the match 17-12 and retain the desired position on top of the table with one game and four shots clear of second place; one game left to play. New South Wales’ Issac Rayner and David Ferguson from Wagga Wagga opened their account with a victory over Western Australia. NSW led 13-1 after six ends but after only managing to win five of the next 12 ends, they went on to win the match by just five shots. In their second round match the boys from NSW were up against Victoria who had also won their opening round match against Northern Territory. Bryce Young and Brett Mahoney made light work of the NSW boys, jumping out to a 20-3 lead, going on to win the match 23-13 and sit on top of their section as the only two game winners. Victoria is one win and five shots ahead of Western Australia’s Frank Carbone and Blake Nairn who they meet in the last sectional game tomorrow morning at 9am. ACT ladies Paige Dowsett and Margaret Bacchetto suffered a first round defeat however came out in the afternoon with everything to play for. A do or die match against Queensland saw the duo from Western Creek pile on the shots trying to counteract their margin from the first round. ACT defeated QLD by 10 shots but still have a margin of negative five, leaving VIC in the box set to win the section and progress to tomorrow afternoons final. For more information and results from the Australian Champion of Champion Pairs click here .
