SUE Jennings was celebrating after winning her Dorset semi-final to qualify for the national stages of the EWBA singles championship.

The county president from Dorchester was not only delighted at earning her place in the line-up on August 8 but was also overjoyed at adding the final piece to her Royal Leamington Spa jigsaw.

Jennings has gone through in the pairs, triples, fours, Champion of Champions and two-woods in past summers and completed a wonderful achievement by beating Blandford's Freda Yates 21-14 in the four-woods at Wimborne.

At 15-5 Jennings looked set for a comfortable victory but Yates - a Leamington regular herself - battled back off shorter jacks and narrowed the gap to 17-12 before Jennings at 19-14 sealed matters by taking out the Yates shot wood and then calmly rolling in for a second.

Jennings could be double-booked in Warwickshire as she is also in the Dorset Champion of Champions final against Sue Hosking of Bridport - only the winner of this event goes to the nationals.

Joining Jennings in the four-woods at Leamington is Dorothy Alner, the Ferndown bowler reaching Leamington for the first time 21-16 after another high-quality tussle with Pamela Daters (Bridport).

Although Daters was 12-6 up Alner edged 17-15 ahead and was 19-16 in front when producing two touchers that Daters could not dislodge.

Reigning county two-woods champion Frances Hewett (Bridport) reached the final again - and Leamington - by overcoming Carol Baker (Dorchester) 17-9 in the semi-final.

Baker, who had defeated her Dorchester clubmate and quarter-final opponent Gwen Caundle 15-14 on an extra end earlier in the day, was smartly away at 4-1 but Hewett moved 10-7 in front and then took six of the last seven ends played.

Kath Desmond (15-10) always had the whip hand against Hosking in the other semi-final. The Greenhill bowler's lead was reduced to 12-9 and Hosking was holding two shots until Desmond shunted the jack into the ditch to earn a double herself on the 18th end.

There was sympathy all round in the pairs semi-final when Irene Wilkes and Sheena Willis lost 18-16 to Irene Button and Penny Cresswell of Poole Park. The Wellworthy duo had missed out at the same stage of the triples and fours last month.

After trailing 10-3 Wellies eased 13-12 in front on the 17th. Willis then dropped a three and single to lag 16-13 behind but scored a three to level on 16 apiece only to drop a last-end double.

In the other tie Margery Bayley and Margaret Carey of Swanage led 15-4 but were pegged back to 15-15 before accounting for Joan Nicholls and Elsie Dickson (Shaftesbury) 26-20.

n County finals are at Dorchester on Friday (10.30am) apart from the pairs which will be at the same venue on Saturday morning along with the Dorset Top Club final between Greenhill and Sherborne.

n Margaret Ridd (singles) and the Blandford pair of Sally Burton and Liz Males had a pleasant surprise after winning the Dorset finals in the over-55 championships.

In a competition change this summer the county winners now qualify for the national finals at Royal Leamington Spa next month - in previous years county winners have progressed through regional rounds to the nationals.

Neither Ridd or Blandford realised this until after they had triumphed at Wimborne. Ridd prevailed 21-16 in a 26-ender against Greenhill colleague Margaret Crawford while Blandford stormed 19-5 ahead on their way to a 27-12 success against Jan Parsons and Chris Barber from Lyme Regis.

Dorset's Walker Cup match against Wiltshire at Street was rained off last Thursday and will now be held today at the same venue.