DORCHESTER 91

BRIDPORT 62

DORCHESTER Ladies opened their campaign in the Yetton Trophy with a comprehensive 91-62 victory over Bridport.

Their intention was to repeat last year’s record-breaking success, when they reached the national semi-finals, played at Rugby Thornfield Bowls Club.

Their first-round opponents this year were forced to make last-minute changes due to the unavailability of some Bridport players and Dorchester, for their part, were fielding four bowlers – Val Cornick, Sue Lofthouse, Jan Meyers and Kay Johns – making their Yetton debut.

The match was shared two rinks each, but the Dorchester home rink performance of Jan Meyers, Sue Maggs, Kay Johns and skip Sue Jennings – who had a field day against fellow long established skip Sue Walsh and her rink – was the deciding influence on the ultimate result.

Jennings and company handed out a roasting to the Bridport four who could not get going and found themselves 30-1 down, before collecting three winning ends. It was however a case of too little, too late as Jennings posted a decisive 36-6 card.

Julie Corbin, Carol Baker, Eve Peavoy and Freda Yates had to battle hard on the adjoining rink, against the strong Bridport quartet of Frances Hewett, Liz Walker, Laura Taylor and skip Annie Legg.

Dorchester held sway at 8-6 before Legg built a comfortable 16-8 lead which increased to 20-12.

A strong finish over the final three ends allowed Yates and company to recover to lose by a couple of shots at 20-18.

Dorchester’s two travelling rinks played out containing exchanges. Sue Lofthouse, Val Cornick, Linda Hill and Margaret Cullip at skip fought to stay in contention, against Margaret Clapp and her supporting three, but thanks to counts of four and three on the run-in, managed to keep the deficit to four shots at 20-16.

It was left to Ros Gwatkin, Sylvia Lawley, Sandra Hubbard and the experienced skip Barbara Lacey to tidy up the match by gaining a creditable 21-16 win over the home Bridport rink skipped by Gill Hunt.

This ensured that Dorchester moved into the next round with the prospect of a tilt against Ilminster, who scraped home against Moonfleet by an agonising single shot at 73-72.

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