The third round of this year's senior challenge was held recently with Orange defeating Dubbo convincingly. Orange met a rare defeat in the opening round against Nu Vision Chester Hill while Dubbo beat Nu Vision in round two.Orange teams bowled well in the sixth and final qualifying round of the Central West Tenpin Pennants series last Sunday against Dubbo, winning nine of the twelve divisions.
Orange again dominated the qualifying rounds, with eleven teams making it to the finals that will be bowled on September 5. Eight of those teams qualified in first place with another tying for first.
A nail-biting finish was predicted in last week's "Fast Lane" column for the Orange men's threes who had the critical match of the round and needed to beat Dubbo by seven points. Orange won the encounter by 6.74 points and amazingly finished equal first with Dubbo, setting up another clash with that team in the final. In probably the closest Pennants finish ever; Bathurst missed a place in the final by just 2.2 points.
For Orange, Frank McGovern was the hero, averaging 171 after charging home with 228-206 in his last two games. Anthony Knudsen and Col Edwards also did well, averaging 165 and 164 respectively. Edwards won five of six games, best for his team.
In Dubbo, the men's ones scored a handsome 18 point win with veteran John Rapley topping the averages on 183. David Rosser won six of eight games with a 178 average, while Chris Collins finished on a 170 mark ahead of Henry Phillips on 162.
High games for the team included Rapley 221-205, Rosser 201, Collins 214 and Phillips 206.
The ladies ones scored another strong win, crushing Dubbo by 29 points. Marilyn Schwenke was in superb form, averaging 194 after opening games of 207-215 and winning all eight matches.
Sharon Trudgett averaged 166 while Dianne Gee averaged 159; with both players winning six games. Maree Brown was below her best on a 149 mark.
The men's twos lost by 7 points but scraped into top spot in the final where they will again meet Dubbo. Bob Waddell bowled well for Orange, winning 7 games and averaging 171. A 204 was his team's best game of the day.
Trevor Auliff and Les Gunner both averaged 161 while Allan Priest went without a win on a 145 mark.
Although bowling below their best, the ladies twos still managed to score a strong 15 point victory over Dubbo. Rhearne Trudgett averaged 154 ahead of Leanne McKell 151, Tennille Smith 150 and Clare Hodgson 130. Smith won seven games while Trudgett won six times.
The under-strength Orange junior boys were no match for Dubbo who beat them by 33 points. Greg Perry was Orange's top player with a 163 averaged ahead of Chris Lees 157, Kiel Bugden 149 and Joel Wiseman 140. Lees fired a 204 game for Orange while Perry shot a 201.
The junior girls didn't have it all their own way in a six point win. Tahnia Seers averaged 155 while Melanie Brown wasn't up to her usual standard on 153. Belinda Irwin and Sarah Wilson both won five games each, averaging 147 and 144 respectively.
The Orange ladies threes need a big win against Dubbo and while they won convincingly by 11 points it wasn't quite enough as they missed a finals berth by less than two points. Marg Birt averaged 153 and won five games. Jan Peters and Jannette Rowney averaged 151 and 148 respectively.
William Harvey was in top form for the men's fours as they won by eight points, winning five games and averaging 173. Garry Johnson averaged 166 while in a strong team effort Trevor Rowney averaged 160. Johnson had the high game of the day with a nice 247 while Harvey shot a 209 game.
Brigitte Eden and Kath Aurisch averaged 143 and 142 respectively for the ladies fours who suffered a ten point defeat. Vivienne Chaston averaged 127.
The mixed adult's team won by 12 points thanks to a great team effort. Kevin Carr averaged 172, including a 237 game while Murray Smith bowled way over his normal average to finish on a 147 clip. Lyn Priest averaged 136, also above her normal output.
Cameron Burley and Jeff Hunt bowled extremely well for the mixed junior's team that scored a big 15 point victory. Burley rolled a nice 201 game and won five times. Orange other player was Kristin Byrnes who averaged 116.
The finals match-ups will be as follows with the top qualifier mentioned first.
Venue: Dubbo
Men # 1 Orange vs Bathurst
Ladies # 1 Orange vs Dubbo
Men # 2 Orange vs Dubbo
Ladies # 2 Orange vs Bathurst
Junior Boys Orange vs Dubbo
Junior Girls Orange vs Dubbo
Venue: Orange
Men # 3 Orange vs Dubbo
Ladies # 3 Dubbo vs Bathurst
Men # 4 Orange vs Bathurst
Ladies # 4 Dubbo vs Orange
Mixed Adults Dubbo vs Orange
Mixed Juniors Orange vs Bathurst
***
The 1999 Nu Vision International will be held at the Nu Vision Bowl in Chester Hill tomorrow with the winner receiving $800 cash plus a spot in the Smoke Free Invitational at Manukau Bowl in Auckland, New Zealand from 24-26 September.
The adult and junior Bathurst City Championships commence next weekend and conclude on 29 August.
Entry forms are available for the 38th annual Australian National Championships that will be held in Adelaide from 29 September to 17 October.
The Orange City Championships start on 11 September and finish on 26 September.
***
The third round of this year's senior challenge was held recently with Orange defeating Dubbo convincingly. Orange met a rare defeat in the opening round against Nu Vision Chester Hill while Dubbo beat Nu Vision in round two.
High games in round three were bowled by David Collins (191) and Margaret Jones (181) while the high three game series were provided by Vince Mastronardi (483) and Dorothy Priest (487).
***
David Hayward competed in a Deaf Championships at Cannon Hill in Queensland last weekend, finishing a respectable fourth in the Mixed Individual section before being bundled out of the Masters in the third round.
Hayward set a new record 12 game tally of 2473 in the championships while he averaged 203 for the sixteen games of qualifying.
That saw him qualify in only fifth place though, as he had to give start to the rest of the field under the handicap conditions. He shot a 244 to win the first stepladder match but a 187 in the next match saw him bow out by ten pins.
***
Junior Ben Lees was this week's star bowler, firstly shooting a personal best 202 in the Monday 10am Triples before going even better with a hot 240 game in the Wednesday Junior league that was a massive 105 pins over average and included a seven bagger.
Jonathan Thatcher was also in good touch, shooting 223-210-223 or a 656 series in the Wednesday 10am league.
Joe Wilkins fired a 236 in the Tuesday 6:30 league while Carl Bishop shot a 209 game.
Frank McGovern was consistent in the Monday Mixed Singles with games of 201-202-202 while Trevor Rowney also shot a 201 game. Marisa Belmonte bowled a 207 game.
McGovern, as well as starring in the Pennants, also bowled well in the Sunday Mixed Singles with games of 236-207. Garry Johnson shot 200 in the same league.
High games form the Sunday Sabbath included Bob Waddell 208-202, Joanne Sullivan 228 and William Harvey 200.
Tony Richards was in great form in the Friday Triples, ripping out games of 244-248 for a 685 set. Jason Belmonte rolled a 605 series after games of 206-209.
Noteworthy efforts included Aldo Belmonte 215, John Cooney 206, Tony Glanville 201, Les Gunner 203, Lyn Handel 204-207, Mario Mastronardi 226, Jason Osborne 231 and Marilyn Schwenke 209-200. Henry Phillips, June Reil and David Rosser all rolled a 205 game.
Mark Lijic bowled a 223 game as part of his 613 series that saw his average slip back slightly to 220.
Ian Hazzard matched Lijic's 220 average after this week's round of the Wednesday Doubles, shooting 247-216-216 for a 679 series.
Others to fire a 600 series in that league were Brian Dinsmore 213 (601), Ray Tyquin 204-235 (600) and Glenn Robinson 213-206 (601). Other good games came from Mick Moorby 207, Dianne Gee 221, Wally Price 205, Marilyn Schwenke 203-201, Dianne Hazzard 222 and Pat Cass 213-201.
Bowlers haven't exactly been setting the world on fire in the new Monday Scratch Singles since switching to the low end of the house (lanes 1-6). No player managed to crack 1200/6 this week which is a real shock.
Mark Lijic started brilliantly with 202-278 (631/3) but then completely lost his way.
Games worth mentioning included John Rapley 210-232, David Hayward 238, Jason Brown 232-202, Wally Price 211, Steve Reil 202-201, Chris Collins 213-230 (629/3), Tim Irwin 202 and Rebecca Belmonte 201.
Also recording good games this week were Duncan Gibbs 206 (Monday 10am Triples) and Allan Kinghorne 246 (Friday 6:30)
Personal best games included Jayne Carr 102-103, Michael Price 104, Louise Hawkey 150, Greg Dean 167, Sharon Ryan 193, Belinda King 161, Karen Crowhurst 187, Joanne Onus 167
High games from the Golden Oldies seniors' league included Meg Burrell 188, Derry Fuge 185, David Collins 166 and Bob Burrell 142.
Get your own Free Home Page