Samantha’s success at state champs
From p80
In the semi-final, the Strzelecki representatives from Drouin Bowling Club defeated Sharon Jarvis, Anita Jenkins, Sandra McColgan (skip) of Mornington Peninsula 22-13.
They were ahead 9-8 after 10 ends before winning 13 shots over the next four ends to seal a big win.
They followed up in the grand final against Claire Sanders, Laureen Smith, Anne Miles (skip) of Ovens and Murray. A five-shot fifth end was one of only three ends won in the first 11 ends to see the locals trail 8-10. In a tight match, Samantha edged her team to an 11-10 lead before trailing 11-12. A single made the scores level after 16 ends before four shots on the penultimate end gave them some breathing space. They went on to win the gold, 17-12.
After scoring a five in a thrilling last end victory to win through to the mixed pairs semi-final, Samantha and Toby started slowly on Friday against the Lakes Entrance pair of Joanne Martin and Brad Lancaster. After losing a three and a four on the first two ends, they were down 10-0 after five ends. Despite their excellent effort playing bowls at the highest level, they went down 18-6 to finish third.
In the singles event, Samantha had a 25-23 win over Canadian international Kelly McKerihen of Sandbelt before a 26-10 quarter final win over Sharon Jarvis from Mornington Peninsula.
In the semi-final, her Wimmera opponent Karen Brennan raced away to a 14-1 lead after eight ends. Samantha fought back to trail 13-18 and continued to 17-22, before Karen steadied to win 25-18.
The Drouin team of Maureen Leighton, Jan Aubrey, Samantha and Sheryl Atkinson had a good win over Sandbelt 22-13 in the first round of the fours competition on day one. However, they went down 12-20 to a Melbourne team in the quarter final.
After qualifying for four out of a possible five events, Strzelecki Bowls Region congratulated Samantha on an excellent tournament, playing bowls of a consistently high standard throughout the week.
Only the top 16 across the state qualify for the Victorian championships.
For the 28-year-old, the event was pivotal in putting her name forward for Victoria team selection.
Traralgon's Matt Ogilvie made it two golds for Strzelecki Region, winning the men's novice singles championship on Saturday.