Sun Bowls Club: Finals Weekend 2023
At the end of another busy season, members of the Sun Bowls Club came together for the annual Finals Weekend, with 17 titles being contested. In perfect conditions, the first final actually took place on the Friday afternoon and saw Norman Queree (who had successfully made it to 5 finals) take on Don Le Quesne in the Over 55s Singles. Norman got off to a quick start and was soon 10-0 up on the board. But Don fought back and at one stage took a narrow lead before eventually losing out 21-16.
Saturday morning saw three finals being contested. The Mixed Drawn Fours resulted in a 20-10 win for Ross Davis, Jo Le Quesne, Blake Albert and new bowler Joe Finnigan over Matt Herve, Abbey Andrieux, John Bewhay and Moira Larkin. The Married Pairs final was a keenly contested match in which Andy and Kate Achler overcame Norman and Linda Queree 17-15. The Open Pairs saw the well-established pairing of Greg Davis and Cathy Le Sueur take on the new pairing of mother and son, Eileen and Bradley Vowden. Greg and Cathy won the title 20-11 but the game was much closer than the score suggests.
The afternoon session featured 4 matches – the Men’s and Ladies pairs and the Men’s and Ladies Saturday singles. Norman Queree, playing this time with Andy Achler, quickly found the green to their liking and overcame Bob Le Sueur and Bradley Vowden 25-11. The ladies equivalent was a close affair and was nip and tuck for much of the game. But Kim Hutchings and Sheila Baudains held on to triumph 19-17 over Cathy Le Sueur and Jo Le Quesne. In the Saturday Singles, there were wins for Russell Eyre over David De Gruchy and for Sue Cockle over Jackie Knight.
On the Sunday morning, in slightly damp conditions to start, the stand out game was arguably the Ladies Novice. Although it was competitive, it was played in a tremendous spirit with lots of laughter between the two players. Helen Wood got off to a good start and opened up a big lead but Ellen McNally clawed her way back in to the contest. But Helen held on to win 21-18. The Mixed Drawn Triples could not have been closer, with Norman Queree, Jo Le Quesne and Ron Romeril winning 22-21 over Russell Eyre, Christine Langlois and Tony Morton. In the Ladies Handicap singles, in spite of giving her opponent 4 shots on handicap, Cathy Le Sueur beat relatively new bowler Carmella Knight 21-11. In the Men’s Handicap, Ross Davis also overcame a four shot handicap deficit to defeat another relatively new bowler Bradley Vowden 21-7.
In the final session on the Sunday afternoon, in glorious weather conditions, John Le Gros and Christine Langlois needed an extra end to claim a very narrow victory over Norman Queree and Anne Moon 19-18 in the Veteran Pairs. Another very close and highly competitive game was the Men’s Novice which saw Don Connolly claim a hard fought win over Joe Finnigan 21-20. In the Open Singles, Greg Davis overcame Bradley Vowden 21-6. In the Ladies Championship Singles, Abbey Andrieux had a 21-16 win over Cathy Le Sueur. But the highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly the Men’s Championship Singles between Ross Davis and Malcolm De Sousa. This was a contest of an exceptionally high standard from two bowlers who have competed on the world stage and who are together the reigning British Isles Pairs Champions. They had the watching spectators enthralled throughout the game with the quality of their play which ultimately Ross went on to win 21-15.
Full results:
Mixed Drawn Fours: Ross Davis, Jo Le Quesne, Blake Albert, Joe Finnigan 20-10 Matt Herve, Abbey Andrieux, John Bewhay, Moira Larkin
Mixed Drawn Triples: Norman Queree, Jo Le Quesne, Ron Romeril 22-21 Russell Eyre, Christine Langlois, Tony Morton
Married Pairs: Andy and Kate Achler 17-15 Norman and Linda Queree
Veteran Pairs: John Le Gros, Christine Langlois 19-18 Norman Queree, Anne Moon
Ladies Saturday Singles: Sue Cockle 21-13 Jackie Knight
Men’s Saturday Singles: Russell Eyre 21-14 Dave De Gruchy
Open Pairs: Greg Davis, Cathy Le Sueur 20-11 Eileen Vowden, Bradley Vowden
Ladies Pairs: Kim Hutchings, Sheila Baudains 19-17 Cathy Le Sueur, Jo Le Quesne
Men’s Pairs: Norman Queree, Andy Achler 25-11 Bob Le Sueur, Bradley Vowden
Ladies Novice: Helen Wood 21-18 Ellen McNally
Men’s Novice: Don Connolly 21-20 Joe Finnigan
Ladies Handicap: Cathy Le Sueur 21-11 Carmella Knight
Men’s Handicap: Ross Davis 21-7 Bradley Vowden
Over 55s: Norman Queree 21-16 Don Le Quesne
Open Singles: Greg Davis 21-6 Bradley Vowden
Ladies Championship: Abbey Andrieux 21-16 Cathy Le Sueur
Men’s Championship: Ross Davis 21-15 Malcolm De Sousa
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