Victorian Open glory evades local bowlers
GEELONG bowlers have returned from the Victorian Open, which involved more than 1800 competitors over seven days in Shepparton.
Unfortunately for our region, no players will compete in today’s finals, however some consistent performances are deserving of a mention.
In the blue ribbon singles event, Ocean Grove’s Leigh McIlvenny was on track for a quarter-final berth in his match with Bendigo East’s Brad Marron.
Dominating in the early stages, McIlvenny was in good touch before Marron staged a comeback.
Scores were 17-19 with the Ocean Grove skipper holding two shots before a storm hit and play was halted for 30 minutes.
The end was declared dead, the match was moved to the indoor surface and play resumed where Marron succeeded in getting the two shots required to take the match 21-18.
Geelong Cement’s Helene Gilmore and Julie Connolly performed exceptionally well in the ladies’ pairs, making their way into the quarterfinals before going down to the local pairing of former under-25 world champion Stacey Collier and Kerri Leask.
Ocean Grove Australian under-18 champion Kira Bourke teamed with Australian representative Dawn Hayman in the ladies’ triples, along with former Australian Open singles champion Lisa Phillips, who were pencilled in as hot favourites to take the title.
Their campaign came to an end in the quarter-final as well, going down to a team skipped by Ruth Phillips.
Yours truly was a case of close but no cigar.
Teamed up with under-18 stars Jarryd Davies and Cooper Wescombe in the triples, one shot was the margin in the semi-final loss.
Quarter-finals of the pairs alongside Altona star Dane Mackinnon, and another oneshot loss in the mixed pairs round of 16 with Ocean Grove teammate Marg Carroll. TUNE in today to Bowls Victoria’s Facebook page, or go to the Bowls Victoria website to watch the finals from 8.30am.