Bowlselite Women’s State Pairs Champions
By Cameron Harris
Noelene Abe and Kerry Andersen have won their fourth State Pairs title winning 2015/16 Bowls Elite Women’s State Pairs final at Hilton Park Bowling Club on Friday. The win extends their lead as the event’s most successful combination in its history with the pair having a one in three strike rate since their first title in 2004/5. In the final they defeated Angela Gunson and Cathy Taylor who are on the other side of spectrum in terms of experience on the big stage. In a classic youth versus experience showdown it was shown that nothing can prepare you for the big occasion like having already been there.
The two sides had vastly different paths through the semi-final stage. Abe and Andersen set the tone early in their semi-final against Lee Poletti and Vicki Spragg, picking up three shots on the first end. Although they didn’t score a count higher than two the rest of the match their consistency saw them drop only one multiple for the match to run out comfortable 18-9 winners. Conversely Gunson and Taylor encountered Lisa Featherby and Linda Warburton in their semi-final matchup in a thriller. The match was tight from the start with the score 4-4 after five ends. Two ends later the score was 5-5 and after eleven ends Featherby and Warburton were in front by a single shot. Finally, with a three on the fifteenth end Featherby and Warburton broke the deadlock and backed it up the next end to a score one shot, giving them a six shot lead heading into the last two ends. Remarkably it wasn’t enough as Gunson and Taylor stormed home picking up a four and a three to win the match 15-14.
In the final the Abe and Andersen train rolled on early picking up nine shots in the first four ends to put a stranglehold on the match. Gunson and Taylor rallied, winning four of the next five ends but the consistency of Abe and Andersen ensured that they were only able to manage ones. Then the most critical juncture of the match came on the tenth end when, with the score at 10-4, the umpire was called to determine who had shot. When the umpire tipped an Andersen bowl out as shot the momentum Gunson and Taylor had developed was sucked away as Abe and Andersen regained control. Going on a four end to one run of their own they took their lead out to ten shots after fourteen ends of play. Although they dropped a shot the next end a count of three on the sixteenth put Abe and Andersen in an almost unbeatable position, holding an 18-6 lead with just two ends to play. Needing at least a four to be a chance of repeating their semi-final heroics Gunson and Taylor put their opponents under pressure and held a chance of picking up the four they needed. Unfortunately though they were only able to manage three, their first multiple of the match, and Abe and Andersen claimed their fourth title 18-9. Consistency was the hallmark of their championship run conceding just two counts larger than one in semi-finals and final combined.
