The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Ruby Hill and Chelsea Tomlin are hoping to make a little slice of Spalding Indoor Bowls Club history after progressing in the Lincolnshire ladies’ singles play-offs at Horncastle.
The duo enjoyed successful days as they both got through to the semi-finals – and, having been placed on opposite sides of the draw, they are hoping to set-up a first-ever all-Spalding final.
Hill beat Mary Johnson, from the host club, 21-14 and Jenny Rowe (Scunthorpe) 21-10, while Tomlin saw off Ann Birchell (Louth) 21-5 and Wendy Brown, from Lincoln, by an emphatic 21-2.
On the same day, Spalding’s Stephen Harris successfully reached the final of the Lincolnshire under-25 singles at Louth IBC.
Harris enjoyed comfortable straight sets wins against James Staples (Lincoln – 7-5, 14-4) and Paul Oke (Sleaford – 11-1, 9-7) to set up a final against Sam Ashton, from Lincoln.
Elsewhere, Spalding’s Martin Spencer and Tomlin also got through to the semi-final of the county mixed pairs with a comfortable 18-2 win in the quarter-final away at Lincoln against Rene Walker and Colin Barks, who conceded after only 13 ends.
In the semi-final, Spencer and Tomlin will play Gloria Davies and David Bristow from Sleaford or Helen Holroyd and Chris Ballard from Stamford.
Matt Whyers, Spencer and Graham Smith have also got through to the semi-final of the men’s triples with an 18-9 away win against Louth’s Simon Reeson.
In a competition they won back in 2016, they will play a triple from either Grantham or Horncastle in the semi-final.
In the men’s fours, David Staples, Nick Wilkie, Maurice Elding and John Needham, enjoyed a 19-10 win in the quarter final away at Boston against a rink skipped by Richard Vinter.
They will play the winner of an all-Lincoln clash in the semi-final.
Spalding do still have some interest in quarter-finals which are yet to be played.
Current national fours champions, Matt Whyers, Graham Smith, Martin Spencer and Mathew Orrey will face Richard White’s Boston quartet in the men’s fours quarter final.
An all Spalding clash will see Whyers and Jordan Philpott face Harris and Smith in the men’s pairs, while Ruby Hill and Chelsea Tomlin will play a Sleaford pairing in the ladies’ pairs.
The play-offs for the ladies’ county fours are also yet to be played and take place on March 17 at Boston.
The ladies’ county semi-finals are being held at Sleaford on March 23, while the men’s semi-finals are a week later at Horncastle on March 30.
The joint men’s and ladies’ county finals are at Boston on April 28.
- Meanwhile, Spalding IBC’s John Needham has qualified for the county semi-finals of the Lincolnshire over-60’s singles competition.
In the last 16 and quarter final, which was played at Boston Indoor Bowls Club, Needham battled hard to win 13-12 against John Withers.
He followed that up with a fantastic 19-13 win against former champion Martyn Dolby, from Stamford.
Needham will be attempting to regain the title that he won back in 2011 and will play Lincoln’s George Draper in the semi-final.
- Spalding IBC was well represented as Hartlepool IBC hosted the national mixed pairs and mixed fours finals.
Lauren Finbow, Danielle Wild, Matt Whyers and Jordan Philpott qualified in the mixed fours event, while Finbow and Philpott also qualified in the mixed pairs.
First up was the mixed fours and in the last 16, Spalding’s quartet faced a rink from Cumbria. The set skipped by Philpott showed their class as they ran out comfortable winners, 19-11.
In the quarter-final, however, Spalding came up against an in-form rink from Worthing Pavilion and went down 2-19.
In the mixed pairs event, Finbow and Philpott started in the last 16 against Dorchester’s Martin Puckett, who recently won the national champion of champions.
The Spalding pair opened up an early lead as they went 11-3 up at five ends, which was extended to a comfortable 22-9 win.
This set up a quarter-final clash against local rivals from Boston, Chantal Spencer and Jonathan West.
The Boston pair gained the initiative early on and unfortunately, for Finbow and Philpott, the Spalding pair crashed out at the last eight stage for the second time at the championships as they lost 10-20.
