Women’s bowls titles

Press, 4 February 1982, Page 4

Women’s bowls titles

PA Auckland Only four teams finished section play in the women’s fours national bowling tournament with a perfect record of six wins from six games. One hundred and fifty-six teams have qualified for postsection play today at the Bell Tea tournament. The pressure will now go on as teams will have to play three games on the straight knockout system, rather than the two games a day they have been playing for the last three days. Last year’s singles champion, Barbara Kunicich (Bayswater), is among the unbeaten skips. Jean McLean (Walton), who led for Elsie Wilkie when they won the pairs title in 1969, was also undefeated, as were Viola Willetts (North Shore) and Enid Rogers (Wellington). A further 22 teams qualified with five wins, but many of them did not bother to play their last game yesterday, preferring to keep out of the stifling Auckland humidity. They were drawn to play teams who had no chance of qualifying or other sides which

already bad the minimum four wins required. Among the qualifiers was Lexie Kimber (Linwood), the runner-up last year in Dunedin, who had two comfortable wins yesterday, beating Edna Reilly (Tauranga), 35-8, and Cathy Bow (Onehunga), 21-16. Elsie Wilkie . (Matamata) started the day needing just one win, but lost her morning game to Wihi Brooke (Arawa), 18-20, and was trailing Maureen Carter (North Shore) in the last round before scoring a seven and a five to win, 31-20.

The defending champion, Rhoda Ryan (Matamata), scored her fourth win in the morning and sat on the bank in the afternoon, as did . her fellow international, Joyce Osborne (Manawatu).

Cis Winstanley (Marewa), Pearl Dymond (Stratford), and Alice Shaw (Papatoetoe), who all needed a fourth victory yesterday, were successful in the fifth round.

Other Christchurch fours to qualify were .P. Watson (Linwood) and K. Williamson (Mount Pleasant).