Five through in the Women’s Singles at the AO
The Women’s Singles qualifiers and knockout draw are now known as play has concluded on the Gold Coast in the 2023 Australian Open.
Not a great day for our hopefuls in the Women’s Singles with none of our six players winning their section. Both Wendy Flack and Jenny Jones went into the final rounds simply needing a win but neither could find that win. The second chance qualifiers were kind to Flack however as she advances to the knockout rounds with 19 shots up.
That means WA has five players remaining in the Women’s Singles field. Joining Flack are section winners Irene Arndt, Leanne Gale, Laura Butler and Kristina Krstic, with Krstic drawing a tough first knockout encounter against NSW star Kate Walker. The Women’s Singles continues on Saturday.
Check out the Women’s Singles Knockout Draw here
The Men’s Fours also commenced today with some excellent WA performances. Mount Lawley’s Mick Erceg, John Fielding, Ray Povey and Bryan Hunter had two big wins early and then a nice 17-12 win in the last to see them through. Yanchep sent a great crew across to the event, and have been rewarded with David Bird, Stephen Ellis, Callum Arnold and Leon Smith also through.
Jack East, with Blake Butler, Matthew Ngui and Scott O’Brien moved through comfortably, while Shane Loftus, Shane Rixom, James Groves and Sean Niven survived a scare early before double figure margins in the next two saw them advance safely.
Doubleview’s Ryan Moyle, with Brad White, Sam Scott and Brad Pearce were untroubled in their section, and while Cody Packer’s composite team lost one game, a healthy margin sees them survive as second chance qualifier.
Warnbro’s Darryl Wagstaff, Scarborough’s Glenn Martin and Brian Whitehead, also from Scarborough, all joined separate Eastern states talent and have won their way through.
Check out the Men’s Fours Knockout Draw here
Men’s Fours Knockouts…
No rest for our Fours qualifiers as they are straight back into action tomorrow. By tomorrow’s end, just 16 teams will remain in the race for the Men’s Fours title.
The toughest ask for our qualifiers appears to be Wagstaff’s mixed crew that faces some stars of the sport in Ali Forsyth, Aaron Wilson, Sean Ingham and Wayne Turley at McKenzie Park. Also at McKenzie, Packer’s star studded line-up, Martin’s quartet and Whitehead.
The Loftus line-up also faces a tough first knockout round against a team featuring former Perth Sun Ray Pearse, and Bird’s Yanchep quartet meets a team of South Australian young guns headed by Nathan Black.
All up nine teams in action today that feature our WA competitors.
Women’s Fours starts tomorrow…
16 teams in the draw have at least the one WA player involved, with plenty of teams having a mixture of players across the various states. Of the all-WA quartets, Irene Arndt with Norma Henderson, Cathie Smith and Catherine Chappelle looks strong, as does the country crew of Sian Smith, Jenny Jones, Lynda Coxon and Sue Collins. Leeming’s Maggie Newton also skips an all-WA team, as does North Perth’s Sally Wilke.
Kristina Krstic joins a handy combination of Ellen Ryan, Ellen Falkner and Brianna Smith and would be one of the favourites for the title, while Laura Butler is also in a good team with Chloe Stewart, Katelyn Inch and Olivia Cartwright.
Lisa Featherby is another in a multi-state combination with WA’s Linda Warburton and Victorian duo Anne Miles and Claire Sanders.
26 second chance qualifiers means managing margins in any matches not going your way is crucial.
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