Another warm day and great bowls were the order of the day at the Ulverstone Bowls Club yesterday when Bowls Tasmania’s State Open Fours Championships were finalised
In the men’s fours championship grand final, Ulverstone’s Dylan Fischer and Lachie Thurley and Port Sorell’s Codi Marshall and Bailey Bellchambers started strongly and raced out to a nine-shot lead after three ends against Ulverstone’s Rob McMullen, Port Sorell’s Aaron Jago, Turners Beach’s Archie Burton and Invermay’s Chris Lee, before McMullen fought back to level the scores at ten all after nine ends. McMullen broke the game open and jumped out to lead by six shots after fourteen ends but Fisher scored six shots on the fifteenth end to level the scores again with thee ends to go. However, McMullen steadied and won the final three ends to win a very exciting and high standard grand final by four shots.
In the men’s semi-finals, McMullen easily defeated North Launceston’s Nick Webb, Ollie Wetzel, Owen Hansen and Brad Halton by 20 shots and Fisher comfortably beat Longford’s Mark Strochnetter, Chris Roach, Craig Felmingham and Fletcher Felmingham by twelve shots.
Invermay’s Rebecca Van Asch and Jess McMullen teamed up with Sandy Bay’s Courtney Hobbs and Port Sorell’s Ashlee Woolley to take out a high-class women’s fours championship when they defeated Port Sorell’s Amity Bickley, Bruny’s Charlie Harkness, Ulverstone’s Chloe Flanagan and Westbury’s Jessie Willis in the grand final. Bickley started well and led by three shots after nine ends but Van Asch finished strongly winning the last five ends to win by ten shots.
In the women’s semi-finals, Van Asch comfortably defeated Cressy’s Diane Byard, Westbury’s Julie Bannon, Railton’s Wendy Smith and Cosgrove Park’s Shaz Hyland by twenty shots and Bickley beat Latrobe’s Jenny Stevenson, Vicki Gaffney, Wendy Rataj and Alice Gaffney by eleven shots.
The championships continue today with sectional play in the Men’s and Women’s Open Pairs Championships at Ulverstone, Latrobe and Penguin Bowls Clubs.