History in making for teen star Bruce
will
be
a It’s Canterbury versus Wellington in the women’s singles final at the New Zealand bowls championships in Dunedin.
Helen King, of the Victoria club in Wellington, will meet Tayla Bruce, of the Burnside club in Christchurch, in the final on Saturday, after both posted surprisingly comfortable semifinal victories yesterday.
King defeated Taradale’s Angela Boyd 21- 13, while Bruce accounted for Silverstream’s Clare McCaul 21- 11 in the semis.
The final players.
King is a vastly experienced Wellington representative, with 20 centre titles to her credit. Her previous best showing at the nationals was thirdequal in the pairs with McCaul.
She powered away from the midpoint in her game with Boyd, after they had been locked at 10- all. ‘‘ I was not worried then,’’ King said, ‘‘ as I felt I was playing well.’’
A four on the next end was followed by two singles and a three. Suddenly, King was in charge at 19- 10. Boyd pulled back three shots on the next end, but King closed the match out with a brace on the following head.
Bruce, 18, will become the youngest winner ever of any discipline, male or female, at the nationals should she triumph.
She is in her sixth year of bowls and impressed immensely with a cool and controlled delivery and very accurate draw play.
She did not become
first
for
ruffled,
both
either, when McCaul grabbed a four on the seventh end to lead 8- 6. Rather, it seemed to coax her into concentrating even harder. Bruce claimed the next three ends to lead 12- 6. Four heads later the score had become 17- 9 and Bruce was in a dominant mood.
McCaul tried, firstly with a fulllength end and then with the mat up close to the peg, but both times Bruce jumped straight onto her weight to ensure victory.
In the earlier quarterfinals, Bruce broke free over the last three ends to deny Paritutu’s Cathy Andrews 21- 16, after they had been locked at 16- all. The other quarters saw King beat Leanne Chinery ( Birkenhead) 21- 7, Boyd defeat Colleen Earl ( United) 21- 9 while McCaul ended the host club hopes in overcoming Janet Swallow ( Taieri) 21- 8.
Meanwhile, heavy rain forced the semifinalists in the men’s pairs to a premature halt yesterday afternoon. Play will resume on Friday afternoon.
In the semis, Andy McLean and Mitchell Will ( North East Valley) are tied at 4- all after four ends against the Munro brothers, John ( Morphett Vale Adelaide) and Ross ( Forbury Park). The other semi has Tony Grantham ( Birkenhead) and Michael Nagy ( Taren Point) 7- 6 in front of Gary Lawson ( Victoria) and Ben King ( Wilton) after eight of the 18 ends. Lawson had led 4- 0 after two ends, before Grantham, a current New Zealand representative, scored seven in a row. A two to Lawson as the heavens began to open brought the game to an intriguing adjournment.
In the quarterfinals, Bob Sanders ( Stirling) McLean beat 16- 13, Munro eliminated John Cross ( Fairfield) 16- 13, Lawson cruised home 24- 10 over Paul McKinnel ( Elmwood) and Grantham sneaked through 15- 12 over Australian under- 18 rep Sean Ingham ( Broadbeach). Grantham held a twoshot lead playing the last end and produced a top second bowl to secure shot when two down.
It was in the last 16 round where sparks flew the most. Alvin Gardiner ( Elmwood) and Blake Signal ( Stokes Valley) went out 18- 17 on an extra end to Sanders, while Chris Le Lievre ( Eastbourne) and Richard Girvan ( Onehunga) were beaten 22- 14 by McLean. The other surprise was the elimination of Havelock’s Ali Forsyth, the defending champion, and Andre Smith. They were beaten 17- 8 by Ingham. Results of post section play at the national championships in Dunedin yesterday:
Women’s
singles,
Men’s pairs, round 4:
T Bruce ( Burnside) 21 C Andrews ( Paritutu) 16, C McCaul ( Silverstream) 21 J Swallow ( Taieri) 8, A Boyd ( Taradale) 21 C Earl ( United) 9, H King ( Victoria) 21 L Chinery ( Birkenhead) 7. Semifinals: Bruce 21 McCaul 11, King 21 Boyd 13.
J Cross ( Fairfield)/ G Wilson ( Kaikorai) 17 P Houlahan ( Alexandra)/ B Andrews ( West End Timaru) 11, R Munro ( Forbury Park)/ J Munro ( Morphett Vale Adelaide) 18 B Dyhrberg/ G Allan ( Kaikorai) 5, J Nicol, B Sanders ( Stirling) 18 A Gardiner ( Elmwood)/ B Signal ( Stokes Valley) 17, M Will/ A McLean ( North East Valley) 22 C Le Lievre ( Eastbourne)/ R Girvan ( Onehunga) 14, B King ( Wilton)/ G Lawson ( Victoria) 21 E Mason ( Forbury Park)/ S Bagrie- Howley ( Gore) 17, T Cockerill ( Gore)/ P McKinnel ( Elmwood) 21 T Ludlow ( Alexandra)/ R Dawe ( Port Chalmers) 12, E Kelleher ( Cobden)/ S Ingham ( Broadbeach) 17 A Smith/ A Forsyth ( Havelock) 8, M Nagy ( Taren Point)/ T Grantham ( Birkenhead) 19 S Chisnall/ R Botting ( Timaru Town and Country) 9. Quarterfinals: Munro 16 Wilson 13, McLean 16 Sanders 13, Lawson 24 McKinnel 10, Grantham 15 Ingham 12. Semifinals progress: McLean 4 Munro 4 ( after 4 ends), Grantham 7 Lawson 6 ( after 8 ends).
quarterfinals: