Fryer continues her magical summer
There’s not much Mere Fryer can do wrong this summer, having added the Manawatu open pairs title to her season’s haul.
Fryer and her Terrace End club-mate Lynley Rogers beat Julianne Mills and Carol Davidson 17-16 in a tight final on the Palmerston North greens yesterday, which was Fryer’s 17th centre title.
That gives Fryer four centre titles this season - the 2x4x2 mixed pairs crown and the three major ones - the pairs, the singles and the triples, which have all earned her a spot at the national finals.
The only one she is missing is the fours title this season, but Fryer will be going to the national fours final because her club-mate Hine Bennett-davis died last week, so Fryer will be her replacement along with Rogers, Bev Budd and Georgie Kahui-rogers.
Johnston Park’s Stephen Love has also won three centre titles this season, having won the triples, fours and singles, but was beaten in the pairs quarterfinals.
Fryer couldn’t put her finger on why she’s had such a good run.
‘‘I don’t know, I’m just in a good space,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re good mates [her and Rogers], we know one another’s game.’’
The final was close most of the game and the Northern pair had briefly taken the lead.
But Fryer grabbed three shots on the second-to-last end to give them a three-point lead, which Mills and Davidson couldn’t beat on the final end.
In the women’s semifinals, Davidson beat Faye Symons and Lois Goss of Palmerston North 27-5, and Fryer’s pair beat Kahuirogers and Budd 18-12.
In the men’s competition, Shane Rogers and Clayton Simpson of Terrace End were too good for Johnston Park’s Adam Johnston and Jason Hawe, winning 17-5.
For Rogers it was his seventh centre title and the second time he’s won the pairs. It was Simpson’s fourth.
In the semifinals, Johnston and Hawe beat Brian Wesche and Scott Crawford from Terrace End 14-12, and Rogers and Simpson beat Brian Little and Ross Ellery of Palmerston North 17-10.
In the men’s quarterfinals Rogers beat Brian Look and Alan Morley (Palmerston North) 16-7, Little beat the Johnston Park pair of Love and Michael Sinclair 22-12, Crawford beat Wally Parker and Ted Hodgson of Terrance End 22-13 and Johnston beat Palmerston North’s Matt Pearson and Ray Boffa 17-15.