Hat-trick of titles to Riverside

IN nail-biting finishes Riverside teams won the Beetham Lifestyle Village Peck Shield, senior women’s interclub and the leads and twos event at Gisborne Bowling Club yesterday.
In the seniors’ tournament, Gisborne were unbeaten after two rounds but fell away with just one win in the next two rounds.
Riverside, with Bobbie Beattie playing well in the singles, Queenie Takurua and Lesley Seymour combining well in the pairs and Glenys Whiteman marshalling her troops — Carol Jukes, Sheila Grant and Francie Adair — into a devastating fighting force, deserved their success. But it wasn’t easy.
They took three wins in the third round to close to within one point of the lead.
Similarly, Kahutia — with Dianne Phillips in the singles, Lyn Trueman and Pat Murton in the pairs and Millie Allen skipping Ann Bates, Joyce Wagner and Mere Campbell into a strong fours unit — were unbeaten in the third round.
Te Karaka were also flexing their muscles. Maria Taukamo, singles, Ruby Tiepa and Wendy O’Connor, pairs, and Sarah Brown (skip), Janie Waititi, Janet Baty and Jackie Ferguson won all three fourth-round games to jump into contention.
The Gisborne team of Ronnie Crone, singles, Judy Taylor and Janet Munns, pairs, and Carol Hawes (s), Lorna Reeve, Joy Wallace and Hilary Allan also showed their class.
After four rounds Riverside (11pts, plus 19 differential), Kahutia (11pts, plus 15), Te Karaka (11pts, minus 9) and Gisborne (10pts, plus 10) were clear of Poverty Bay (5 pts, minus 44).
In the final round, the Gisborne team appeared to be in for a win until Riverside pair Takurua and Seymour, after trailing throughout, snatched a draw in the final end to win.
Riverside finished with 14 pts (plus 18), ahead of Gisborne (13, plus 29), Kahutia (13, plus 18), Te Karaka (11, minus 20) and Poverty Bay (9, minus 45).
Consistency was the key to Riverside’s win in the leads and twos, also at Gisborne Bowling Club.
They finished on 12 points, with Tolaga Bay on 11, Poverty Bay 9 and Wairoa 4.
Riverside’s team of Tanya Harrison, singles, Adrienne Smiler and Lesley McIntosh, pairs, and Leoni Renata (s), Del Tamanui, Ann Day and Jenna Clough (fours) began well and after two rounds had 10 points, with Poverty Bay on 9, Tolaga Bay 5 and Wairoa trailing.
But Wairoa’s Glenda Kapene, singles, Fay Johnston, and Madge Kyle, pairs, and Josie Taylor (s), Betty McNabb, Maria Tangiora and Kathleen Kyle finished strongly with two wins in the final round.
Sue Hollands of Poverty Bay was the comeback kid. Trailing 8-17 after 12 ends in her singles game against Kapene, Hollands levelled it 23-23 after 25 ends and won by a point when time ran out.
Poverty Bay faltered in round three as the Tolaga team of Joanne Atkins, singles, Nanette Kernohan and Sharon Olsen, pairs, and four of Ila Soames (s), Maude Climo (three), Ollie Wilkie (two), and Buddy Kururangi (lead) hit top form.
Tolaga finished with a flourish.
They triumphed 25-22 in the singles, 21-16 in the pairs and 13-11 in the fours.
One of the crunch games came in round two when Riverside’s Smiler and McIntosh won a 16-14 cliffhanger against Poverty Bay’s Jan Powell and Kym Walters.