Melanie proves she is the champ
IT WAS the competitions finals week for Bowls Loughborough with both the Men’s Monday League and Men’s Thursday League Trophy Finals being played alongside the Men’s and Ladies Champion of Champion Finals.
East Leake Bowls Club was the setting for the Men’s Monday Final between Division 1 highfliers Shepshed Rams and Division 2 strugglers Wymeswold Wolds where the form guide went out of the window. Wolds took the initiative from the first end and built up a steady lead to go in at the tea interval nine shots up.
At fifteen ends the lead had increased to eleven shots but Wolds found themselves level on points at this stage with Shepshed up on two rinks to one rink for Wolds, and by the last end the Rams had reduced the deficit to four shots 55-59 and level on points 4-4 so an extra end was needed to determine the winner. The head changed several times until Wolds secured the one shot to get them victory over their illustrious rivals.
On Monday evening Shepshed hosted the Final of the Men’s Champion of Champions between Michael Brown of Quorn Mills Park BC and Eric Peat of Thringstone BC. The experienced Peat was in excellent form and went on to win 21-6. Thringstone BC hosted the Thursday Evening Men’s Trophy Final between Syston Fosseway and East Leake Willows alongside the Ladies Champion of Champions between Melanie Bowling of Loughborough Greenfields and Carol Burton of Shepshed.
There was a display of outstanding bowling in both of these games in front of a large crowd and under the floodlights, this being a new experience for a number of the bowlers. Melanie Bowling built up an early 8-1 led and extended this to 18-7 but Carol Burton fought back well to reduce the deficit to three 20-17 before Melanie claimed the vital shot (21-17) to become the first winner of the Bowls Loughborough Ladies Champion of Champions.
The Thursday Trophy game was a real cliff hanger with the lead changing at regular intervals, Fosseway built up an early 30-9 (9-1) lead that was reduced at ten ends to 40-35 (7-3) but by the fifteenth end Willows found themselves in command of the game with a 59-58 (6-4) lead and held that lead through the next two ends only to see Fosseway collect the important two shots to across the last end to claim the Trophy 68-67 (6-4).
Loughborough Phoenix held their Club Finals over the weekend when Chas White and Helen Stirling were crowned Men’s and Ladies Club Champions respectively, White defeated Danny Hilferty 21-20 in a game that swayed from one to the other player, White taking three shots on a measure to claim the title whilst Stirling was a 21-12 victor over Anne Billson in another excellent display of bowling.
Hilferty and White also met each other in the Men’s Handicap Final and again White was victorious 21-17 whilst Dot Price came from behind to beat Kath White 21-18 in high quality Ladies Handicap Final. Danny Hilferty finally claimed a title when he contested his third final of the weekend against Ron Forster in the Men’s Two Wood Singles where he held off a late challenge to win 16-13.
In the Ladies Two Wood Singles, Anne Billson had a comfortable 18-7 win against Dot Price. Eileen Forster and Chris Jackson won the Mixed Pairs 19-18 against Clair Morris and Ron Forster whilst Chas White and Chris Jackson defeated Ian Brown and Brian Relf 23-7 in the Men’s Pairs.