Bowls Canada Boulingrin  – Canadian Lawn Bowlers continued their push to the podium to make the Lawn Bowls playoffs at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with the Women’s Triples already through to the Semi-Finals and both Women’s Pairs and Men’s Singles advancing to quarter-final play.

Women’s Pairs Win Section

The women’s pairs team of Leanne Chinery (Victoria, BC) and Kelly McKerihen (Toronto, ON) battled New Zealand’s Val Smith and Jo Edwards in their third match of sectional play. The Canadians came out of the gate slow, and found themselves down 7-2 after seven ends. McKerihen put the team on her back and picked up consecutive ends of 3 to change the game in their favour and take the lead 12-10 after thirteen ends. With a two-point lead, the Canadians dropped a 5 to go down 16-13 with two ends to go, but rebounded quickly to tie the game 16-16 going into the last end. McKerihen came up huge in the last end and, thanks to a close miss by Edwards, Canada grabbed two to win 18-16. 

The final round robin game for Canada came against Tonga. A win would secure Canada’s place in the quarter-finals, while a loss would leave things up to fate. Knowing this, the Canadian duo decided to take matters into their own hands. In a steady performance, Chinery and McKerihen led 11-4 at the halfway mark. Despite a small pushback from Tonga, the Canadians surged forward and finished the game 20-12. With the win, the Canadian women’s pairs team claimed first place in their group and will face Norfolk Island in the quarter-finals.

Men’s Singles – Ryan Bester remains Undefeated

In the men’s singles, Ryan Bester (Hanover, ON) played his final round robin match against Northern Ireland’s Gary Kelly. Kelly came out aggressively, firing drives right from the get go, but Bester’s drawing was top notch. Throughout the game, Bester’s first bowl would prove to be absolutely deadly, and the Canuck had more touchers than you could count. Despite Bester’s deadly touch, Kelly managed to keep things close by playing through the head and crashing on Bester’s bowls. Never going away, Kelly forced Bester to keep his draw game sharp. The Ontario native did just that and came away with a 21-12 victory. With the win, Bester finishes first in the group and will face second seed Petrus Breitenbach of South Africa in the quarter-finals in the opening rounds of Day 8 of Competition.

Men’s Fours Fall to Strong New Zealand Rink in Sectional Play

The men’s fours team of Cameron Lefresne (Enfield, NS), Greg Wilson (Calgary, AB), Chris Stadnyk (Niagara Falls, ON), and Ryan Stadnyk (Niagara Falls, ON) faced an undefeated New Zealand rink in their third sectional game.  The Canadians came out of the gate strong with a five-point end early in the game which saw them take the lead over NZ 6-3.  Trading points back and forth, the Canadians held their own throughout the first half of the game.  Scoring a five in the 8th end allowed the Kiwis to settle back into their stride in the second half where they would maintain their lead throughout the remainder of the game.  Final score 21-11 for New Zealand.

All four Canadian rinks will be back in action for the opening rounds of Day 8 (April 11th at 7:01 pm EDT in Canada).

Follow the action on the Bowls Canada Twitter feed @BCBBowls.  Fans can also find results on the official Gold Coast website at https://results.gc2018.com/en/lawn-bowls/daily-schedule.htm

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For more information, please contact:  
Anna Mees, Executive Director, Bowls Canada Boulingrin 
amees@bowlscanada.com  
 
About the Commonwealth Games 
The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport event that takes place every four years amongst the Commonwealth countries. The 2018 event will take place along the Gold Coast of Australia, with the bowls portion of the event being hosted at the Broadbeach Bowls Club from April 4 – April 13, 2018.   

 

About Bowls Canada Boulingrin 
Bowls Canada Boulingrin (BCB) is the governing body responsible for lawn bowls in Canada.  The BCB mission is to advance the sport of bowls in Canada.  For more details on Bowls Canada Boulingrin and the sport of lawn bowls, visit  
www.bowlscanada.com.