The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Ruby and Chelsea complete the treble for super Spalding club
What a fantastic English Indoor Championships it turned out to be for the Spalding club.
They completed a terrific title treble at the weekend as the event drew to a close at Melton Mowbray and also played a major part in Lincolnshire’s triumph in the women’s intercounties competition.
Ruby Hill and Chelsea Tomlin became the third Spalding champions when they took the honours in the women’s pairs.
They beat a vastly more experienced pair, the defending champions from Sittingbourne, 16-13 in a thrilling final.
And that followed Graham Smith’s win for Spalding in the men’s two-bowl singles the previous weekend when Matt Whyers, Smith, Martin Spencer and Matt Orrey also won the men’s fours.
The win crowned a great season for Tomlin, a 24-yearold cardiology nurse at the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, who was runner-up in the national women’s under 25 singles, won the national mixed fours title, captained England to the British Under 25 team title, and has now won the national women’s indoor pairs title.
In doing this - with her clubmate, 18-year-old sensation Ruby Hill - she followed in the footsteps of her dad Martin and grandfather Mick, who won the national men’s indoor pairs title out of the Boston club exactly 29 years ago - five years before she was born.
Hill and Tomlin were both in the England teams that won the British junior and senior team titles this winter - and their ages add up to just 42 years - considerably younger than either of their distinguished opponents in the final - defending champions Sandy Hazell and Wendy King, from the Swale club in Sittingbourne.
Hill, who is doing her A levels in business, geography and psychology, and hopes to take up a business apprenticeship, looked as cool as a cucumber on the green - even when the Spalding pair trailed 11-5, after 11 ends.
“We just kept plugging away, and it all came right in the end,” said Tomlin.
“We started playing more aggressively, and things went our way in the second half.”
Their success owed much to the drawing skills of Hill, and the knack that Tomlin has in playing conversion shots.
They were still 13-9 adrift with only four ends left to play, but they picked up a treble, a single and a double to lead 1513 as the last end got underway.
Brilliant play from King set up a lie of two shots for Swale, but Tomlin sent the jack into the open, and drew the winning shot with her very last bowl for a memorable 16-13 victory that had neutral spectators buzzing.
“That’s the best game I’ve ever seen,” said one.
Hill and Tomlin also helped Lincolnshire land the coveted Atherley Trophy for the eighth time in 28 years since the national women’s inter-county team championship was introduced.
They were part of a rink that won 31-9 as Lincolsnhire overcame Dorset 126-101 in the final.
And six other Spalding players were in the Lincolnshire team. They were Betty Deaton, Gloria Haney, Val Bowker, Louise Catchpole, Lauren Finbow and Sylvia Wade.
Haney was in the Lincolnshire side that won the Atherley Trophy for the county for the first time 25 years ago in 1993.
CAMBS LEAGUE
The Peterborough men’s senior team collected maximum points from their home match against Cambridge Chesterton B following a 105-50 victory which moves them up to fifth place in the Cambs League.
RESULT
Peterborough 105 (10), Cambridge Chesterton B 50 (0) – (Peterborough rinks only):
Mick Fuller, Don Paul, Terry English, Ray Keating won 34-11.
Les Sharp, Steve Johnson, Phil Afford, Mick Linnell won 26-6.
Norman Gray, Steve Watson, John Barker, Rod Maplethorpe won 29-20.
Joe Martin, John Steels, Mick Greaves, Wilf Redhead won 16-13.