There was little time for reflection as Cathy King raced away from a tight semifinal of the Bowls Dunedin mixed pairs tournament against the composite pairing of Oliver Mason and Faye Cosgrove at the St Clair Bowling Club yesterday.
Straight from earning a place in the final yesterday with Andersons Bay club-mate Grant Simpson, King was straight out of the gate and on her way to Ashburton for the week-long Chartered Clubs Tournament.
But she was quick to downplay her success as she departed the green.
“I played so s... yesterday, I told him [Simpson] to get another partner,” she said referring to her form in section play.
The Andersons Bay pair heaped pressure on the Mason and Cosgrove combination, who until the semifinal stage appeared to be odds-on for a place in the final. That is until Simpson and King took the fight to them in the semifinal.
It was a golden knock from Simpson, who maintained pressure on the head and complemented King's ability to draw shot after she rediscovered her bowling mojo.
Little separated the two combinations throughout, with the game locked up at 7-7 after five of the 16 ends.
Simpson and King scored a three on the sixth end to heap pressure on Mason and Cosgrove as they attempted to claw their way back, but were only managing to stay in the hunt with low numbers until jumping out to a 15-12 lead on the 12th end.
But that proved to be their final scoring opportunity as Simpson and King registered single shots on the 13th and 14th end, then a two on the penultimate 15th end to take back the lead 16-15.
Then up to the mat stepped King, placing three shots on the jack in the final end and leaving Simpson to play for cover and force misdirected drives from their opponents to win 19-15 and earn a place in the final against the St Clair pairing of Marty Kreft and Vicky Robinson.
The St Clair pair accounted for the tournament favourites Terry and Sarah Scott — the father and daughter combination representing the North East Valley club — with a 16-14 victory.
Kreft and Robinson dominated their semifinal, dispatching the mother and son combination of Phil and Mary Stevenson 25-9, who in the quarterfinal eliminated one of the other tournament favourites, Andy Callander and Bronwyn Stevens, 19-1
The tournament was testament to the growth in the sport locally, with the Green Island greens called upon to assist the host St Clair club cater for the 58 pairs, 30 of which qualified for post-section.
The final will be played on a date yet to be arranged.
- Wayne Parsons
