Women’s Country Week Wrap
Singles
Sian Smith (York) has taken out the 2020-21 Women’s Countryweek Singles after leading for all but one end in the final up against Kathy Gobbart (Gingin)
In the first Semi Final, Smith had to fight for the whole match against Paula Reid (Kojonup). First one player would have a small lead and then the other player would level it up and go ahead. 2 all, 6 all, 10 all and 14 all along with multiple lead changes made for an entertaining game before a final end three put Sian Smith into the final.
Th second Semi Final saw Gobbart have small leads multiple times only to see her opponent Vicki Spragg (Dudley Park) level it up. At 12-11 to Spragg it was anybody’s game in the race to 17, however two big ends from Gobbart saw her quickly finish the game with first a three and then a four to reach the final.
With Kathy Gobbart a twice winner of the event and Sian Smith chasing her first title it was an intriguing matchup in terms of experience and style. Smith was behind after two ends 1-2 but that was to be the last time. A run of two, three and one, saw Smith move to a 7-2 lead. The players then traded doubles to see Smith still leading 11-6 but a full count of four to Smith on the 11th end saw her stretch out to a 15-7 lead in her chase to get to 21.
Gobbart settled to win six of the next seven ends to close within one at 15-16 and then traded ends to level up at 18-18. A two to Smith on the 20th end put her within one of the trophy and although dropping a single put Gobbart within two, a final end single saw Sian Smith close it out to be the 2020-21 Women’s Countryweek Singles Champion.
Pairs
Busselton’s Jennie Bruce and Kerry Scott claimed their first Women’s Countryweek Pairs trophy by defeating Irene Grout and Tanya Groves (Dudley Park) in the final at Osborne Park.
In the first Semi Final, Bruce had an up and down match against Karlgarin pair Leonie James and Jill Fotheringhame. Bruce jumped to a 6 -0 lead but was rounded up by James and passed to be down 10-12. It was then that Bruce and Scott kicked into another gear to win the last four ends, including two threes to win 19-12.
Grout ran into another Busselton pairing of Gail Botting and Helen Paganoni in her semi final encounter. Grout and Groves looked to be cruising after building a good lead at 14-6 with only three ends to play. However, a late charge by Botting, including a second last end four made it a last end contest. After only dropping a single, Irene Grout held on for a 14-12 victory.
The final started as a close contest with the first four ends alternating between the teams. However, that was not to last as the Bruce and Scott pairing started to win consecutive ends. Over the next eleven ends, Bruce won nine of them and only drop singles on the ones she lost. At 18-5, the game finished slightly early with Jennie Bruce and Kerry Scott as the Champions.
Fours
The Boulder team of Chris Ace-Watson, Irene Leahy, Pauline Rolton and Lorraine Pettit were too strong for Karen Miller, Beryl Cooper, Christine Radford and Gwen Anning (Composite) in the final of the Women’s Countryweek Fours to claim their first Fours title.
In the first Semi Final, Ace-Watson had to come from behind to beat Paula Reid, Beverley Broom, Sally Carey and Shelley Bilney (Kojonup) 14-11. The Reid team raced to a 6-0 and then a 8-2 lead halfway through the contest. Ace- Watson then strung together four ends in a row including two doubles and a three to take the lead 10-8. Reid went on to three of the last four ends but could only get singles, while the only end that Ace Watson won was a four to keep them in front and onto the final.
The Miller team took on the Meadow Springs team of Pat Huckson, Gayle George, Aileen Manderson and Jennifer Forrest in the second semi final and like Ace-Watson had to work hard to get on top. While Miller won ten of the fifteen ends, Huckson was able to make her wins count by getting both a four and a five during the game. Miller was able to win multiple ends I a row including the last three ends to take the win 16-12.
The final started with the Miller team off to a flying start by winning the first five ends and leading 7-0. But once Ace-Watson got on the board, her team was able to put together six ends in a row including a five and two threes to jump away 15-7. A single and double to Miller put them within reach but that was snuffed out quickly with Ace-Watson getting a five on the second last end to make it a 20-10 score line and out of reach of their opposition.
Bowls WA Shield – Women’s Most Outstanding Country Club During Countryweek
A number of clubs had players in multiple disciplines making the overall winner of the shield very tight. After the final points were tallied, York and Busselton could not be separated, with both clubs awarded the honor of outstanding country club during countryweek. This was the first time York has won the Bowls WA Shield and the third time for Busselton.
