Bay of Plenty women secured themselves a place in the National Intercentre final yesterday in Wellington, narrowly escaping dismissal earlier in their semifinal against Southland.
Falling short in the singles 25-18 but winning the pairs 18-14, the pressure was on the fours team to progress the Bay of Plenty sideto the final. Proving their worth in the tournament, the team came from behind to pick up a 15-12 win and take one step closer to victory.
Having last won the trophy in 2005, the women in blue and yellow took to the green with confidence and went head-to-head with Counties Manukau. Sue Hodges drew first blood, beating Gaylene Harvey in the singles 25-12.
This time it was the pairs who couldn't quite make the cut, going down 17-10. Again it was left in the capable hands of Mere Eden and her team to push the side to success, which they did after 15 ends to win 16-9.
Over in the men's division, it was a whitewash for the Cantabrian team who completed a 3-0 win over North Harbour.
First up was a battle between the past and present Blackjack squad members Andrew Kelly (Canterbury) and Tony Grantham (North Harbour). In a see-saw showdown, Kelly eventually eased into a 25- 17 win.
Gary Lawson and Stephen Ditford (pairs) lead from the beginning and didn't look back, taking a convincing win 19-6 against Bart Robertson and Wayne Wrack (North Harbour). The fours also ended their time in Wellington with a 16-14 win.
