Then along came Smiler. Her last-round win over Harvey put Mum in the box seat for overall honours.
In Division 1, three teams were tied on six wins apiece. Harvey and Grimshaw topped the division with 58 ends won, followed by Smiler and Taingahue with 50 ends. Michelle Brown and teenaged Angela Gibson-Sam were third with 42 ends won.
Playing in Division 2, Takurua and Nepia, with their seven wins, were clear winners.
Del Tamanui and Bay Plenty rep Jasmine Merrick clocked up five wins and a draw to finish second, ahead of Glenys Whiteman (skip) and Dayvinia Mills, with four wins and a draw.
Young stars Paige Richter and Lucy Shanks also had four wins and a draw but were beaten into fourth place by Whiteman’s superior number of winning ends.
In only its third season this women’s pairs event, which mixes two different pairs formats, has established a popular spot among the main events on the bowling calendar. It has become a firm favourite with local bowlers and teams from the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay.
Alex White TriplesTWO wins and a draw were enough to secure Jan Powell (skip), Beverly Davy and Peter Allan bragging rights in the Ryman-sponsored Alex White Triples last Wednesday.
Ian Carroll (s), Joe Wimutu and Ray Young, with two wins and 14 ends won, were second, ahead of Lorna Reeve (s), Mo Kapua and Barbara Gibson, two wins and 13 winning ends.
In all, four teams finished with two wins.
The event, which completes the Gisborne Club’s tournament programme for the season apart from closing day, had been originally rained out in January.
Kahutia
KAHUTIA Bowling Club held the DB Men’s Pro Pairs for the McFarlane Cup.
The tournament drew 24 teams, which made for a successful bowling weekend.
In a thrilling and closely contested final, Robin Jefferson and Ricky Miller from the Gisborne Bowling Club won on an extra end against runners-up Lance (Koro) and Marcus Merrick, from Bowls Kawerau.
Jefferson and Miller looked to be cruising to an easy win with a three-shot buffer. However, on the 12th and final end, the Kawerau pair picked up three shots.
Miller, under pressure, was unable to reduce the count so the teams were all square and an extra end was required to determine the winners.
The Kawerau pair won the toss and elected to have the last bowl.
Miller could have lost the game with his last bowl when Jefferson made a mistake with his call and instructed his skip to put their existing winning bowl in the ditch. Fortunately for them, Miller questioned the call and Jefferson quickly rectified his faux pas . . . the spectators were amused.
Lance Merrick was unable to secure the win with his final bowl.
Third-equal were Mark Bain and Bruno Lourie, and Boon and Adam McIlroy.
In the plate final, Murray Murton and Gary Tocker, from Kahutia, come from behind on the last end to beat Arthur Hawes and Dave Beattie, from the Gisborne club.
In the Top Flite section, Steve Goldsbury and John Kanawa of the Gisborne club won their section against Alastair Macpherson and Charlie Ure, from the Kahutia and Gisborne clubs.
Mike Howse and Chris Hewson won the consolation, with fellow Kahutia bowlers Harry Green and Alic Brown runners-up.
Campbell McFarlane and his sister Francie Adair presented the family trophy, the McFarlane Cup, and other section prizes.
