Three medals for Poverty Bay East Coast indoor bowlers at nationals

Brothers Dylan and Matthew Foster won bronze in the open pairs of the national indoor bowls championships in Ashburton and Dylan was also runner-up in the singles.

Poverty Bay East Coast indoor bowlers picked up three medals at the national championships in Ashburton.

A 10-strong contingent of players and supporters headed south for the week-long event.

The champs got off to a positive start with four PBEC players making the post-section rounds of the open singles and one getting through in the masters singles.

Nineteen-year-old Dylan Foster, who played outstanding bowls throughout the competition, made the final of the open singles, where he was beaten 13-7 by another young talent – Matthew Farquhar, 24, of Auckland.

Foster won his quarter-final 14-9 and semifinal 11-10.

His runner-up placing emulated older brother Matthew’s achievement at the nationals last year.

Matthew made the last eight this time, losing 11-7 to Farquhar in the quarters.

The Foster brothers teamed up to reach the semifinals of the open pairs and claim a bronze medal. They won their quarter-final 12-9 before losing 10-2 to Hutt Valley pair Marcus Trlin and Denise Clarkson in the semis.

Malcolm Trowell and Auckland-based son Nathan reached the last eight, where they lost 6-5 in the quarters.

Warren Gibb and Lois Lamont qualified for post-section play in the masters pairs but lost 8-7 in round 2.

The Fosters combined with Otago player Daniel French, while the Trowells teamed up with Nelson player Hayden Warnes in the open triples.

Both triples made the quarter-finals – the Foster team losing 9-7 and the Trowell crew 8-6.

In the masters triples, Gibb, Bryan Pulley and Lamont reached the quarter-final round, where they were beaten 11-7.

The Fosters and Trowells joined forces for the open fours, while David Lynn and Kayla Trowell teamed up with Waikato couple Wayne and Annelies Baker.

Both teams lost narrowly in the last-16 round – the Foster/Trowell combo going down 10-9 and the Trowell/Lynn/Baker team 8-6.

The masters team of Gibb, Pulley, Nanette Treloar and Lamont qualified in the masters fours event, but Treloar was unable to play the post-section rounds because of illness.

Methven player Louise Mason replaced Treloar and the four went on to reach the semifinal round, where they lost 12-10 to a Timaru four who went on to win the final.

The PBEC crew’s bronze-medal finish maintained their top-level performances in recent years. It was their fourth medal in this event.

Gibb, Pulley and Treloar also helped the Masters Northern Zone team defeat the Southern Zone, while the Foster brothers and cousin Nathan Trowell were named in the North Island team to play the South Island in August.

The success of PBEC bowlers at the nationals follows on from top performances at the New Zealand Island Championships in Rotorua.

The Fosters and Nathan Trowell were runners-up in the triples, Kayla Trowell and Upper Hutt players Wayne Tough, Nicholas Sinclair and Maria Tough were runners-up in the fours, and Lynn, Keith Setter and the Bakers made the last 16 of the fours.

Matthew Foster and Nathan Trowell, Dylan Foster and Tough, and Lynn and Setter also made the last 16 in the pairs.