Fancied Names Tumble In Open National Women's Singles Bowls

04 January 

Just four players remain in contention for the Open Women's Singles at the 2025 Summerset National Bowls Championships in Auckland.

The finals day, to be hosted at Browns Bay Bowling Club on Sunday, will feature the Women’s Singles along with the Men's Pairs quarter-finalists and the Open Disability Singles finals.

The defending women’s singles champion Leeane Poulson was beaten in a close round one match, and other major names also fell by the wayside as the day progressed. They included the 2023 World Champion Tayla Bruce, who was dispatched by New Zealand selector Trish Croot, and Gold Star holder Selina Goddard, who lost to up-and-comer Olivia Mancer.

The talented Briar Atkinson also came unstuck against veteran Wendy Jensen.

The four players through to the semifinals comprise Debbie White, who won this title in 2019 and has been a regular performer at a national level for many years; former BlackJack Wendy Jensen, ; Kirsty Hill who hails from the famous Hill Bowling Dynasty and Catherine Bein, who has an exceptional record in the Auckland region but is largely unknown to the wider New Zealand bowls community.

The final, to be broadcast live on Sky Sport Three and the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel, starts from 11.30am on Sunday.

Meanwhile a record threepeat in the men’s pairs for 2023 and 2024 national champions, Gary Lawson and Tony Grantham is over after they failed to make it past the first round of post section, losing to Marty Kreft and Brian Coyle.

It proved an agonising one shot defeat, with Kreft playing a millimetre-perfect drive shot to take the win.

There were many close games in every round of post-section, with play at Browns Bay Bowling Club extending through to the evening.

Lance Pascoe and Jamie Hill, who won this event in 2021, are the only former champion team left in the field.

World singles champion Shannon McIlroy, playing with Robbie Reed, will fancy their chances, as will the well-performed pairs combinations of Seamus Curtin and Paul Prior, Taylor Horn, and Jesse Russell along with Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and Aidan Zittersteijn.

The other quarterfinalists have all beaten great teams to make it to this stage of the event, and the finals day is sure to be well contested.

The final will be broadcast live on Sky Sport Three and the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel from 2.30pm on Sunday.

Adam Baillie and John Lavell will contest the Open Disability Singles final on Sunday after former champion Darron Wolland was defeated by Lavell in the quarterfinal.

Many close games were contested in post section, and the final is set to be a great battle.

It will be broadcast on Sky Sport 3 and the Bowls New Zealand YouTube channel from 8.30am on Sunday.

Full results can be found here: https://results.bowlshub.co.nz/competition/1800042b-84f1-4323-b237-3846835aeca7#matches

Details: bowlsnewzealand.co.nz

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