THE LAST two places to represent Wiltshire at the ladies national championships in the singles at Royal Leamington Spa were decided last Saturday at Wroughton.

Jean Collier (Box) and Chris Mitchell (Purton) emerged victorious from the quarter and semi-finals of the county ladies singles championship and will meet in the final at Devizes this Saturday, while securing their place to represent the county in early August.

Collier beat Amesbury’s Janice Bull in the semi-finals while a late run saw Mitchell eliminate Devizes player Sue Ochyra in her semi-final.

In the top half of the draw Collier was tied 7-7 with Bull at ten ends but then pulled away to lead 14-8 at 14 but was pegged back to 14-14 at 16.

But she then sealed a 21-15 victory in the next four ends.

In the quarter-final games Collier enjoyed a comfortable 21-11 success over fellow Box player Karen Funnell while Bull in a tight match edged out North Wilts’ Fizz Mace 21-17 after 25 ends.

The bottom half of the draw saw Sue Ochyra (Devizes) and Mitchell trade blows in their semi-final with the scores tied at 10-10 after 15 ends, but then Ochyra moved 18-12 up at 20 only for Mitchell to win the next five for a 21-18 success.

In the quarter-final matches in bottom half of the draw Ochyra, despite leading 17-11 at 16 ends, had to come from 19-17 down at 21 to beat Alison Fail (Purton) 21-19 on the 23rd end while Mitchell enjoyed a comfortable 21-7 success over Wanborough’s Deanne Davis.

The semi-finals in the junior ladies singles (25s) were also played at Wroughton last Saturday and saw the Smith sisters both victorious.

The holder, Wootton Bassett’s Lucy Smith was always in control against Chippenham Town’s Kara Little leading 13-4 after nine ends and just powered away to a 21-6 victory.

In the other semi-final Lucy’s younger sister Katy made a good start and led fellow Wootton Bassett player Charlotte Daniell 8-5 at nine ends and then pulled away to a comfortable 21-11 victory.

The Smith sisters Lucy, 20, the winner for the past two seasons and three out of the last four years will meet sister Katy, 18, in the junior singles final at Devizes on Saturday while both will represent Wiltshire at Royal Leamington Spa in the ladies U25s singles championship event.

RESULTS

Singles quarter-finals: Karen Funnell (Box) lost to Jean Collier (Box) 11-21; Janice Bull (Amesbury) beat Fizz Mace (North Wilts) 21-17; Chris Mitchell (Purton) beat Deanne Davis (Wanborough) 21-7; Alison Fail (Purton) lost to Sue Ochyra (Devizes) 19-21.

Semi-finals: J Collier beat J Bull 21-15; C Mitchell beat S Ochyra 21-18.

Junior singles semi-finals: Charlotte Daniell (Wootton Bassett) lost to Katy Smith (WB) 11-21; Kara Little (Chippenham Town) lost to Lucy Smith (holder, WB).

SEVEN clubs only will be represented at the Bowls Wiltshire Ladies finals day being held at Devizes this Saturday (10.30am).

Only two of the seven clubs, Box and Stratton Churchway, will compete in more than one of the six events to be decided, although Wootton Bassett supply both finalists in the junior (U25) singles.

It will be a very busy and tiring day for two players - Jean Collier (Box) and Stratton Churchway’s Janet Willis.

The former will contest three finals - four and two wood singles against Chris Mitchell (Purton) and holder and Box club colleague Sue Cooke respectively plus county triples.

Willis has reached two finals and defends the pairs in the morning with Jacki Pearce against Wilton and then faces Collier in the ladies triples.

The U25s junior singles is an all-Wootton Bassett affair featuring the Smith sisters while the fours final sees the Chippenham Town rink of Barbara Shepheard, Jan Boden, Viv Baskerville and Barbara Land face Alderbury skipped by Maureen Woolley.

All the players taking part in finals day at Devizes have qualified to represent Wiltshire in the national championships at Royal Leamington Spa in August.

PROGRAMME

County ladies finals at Devizes, Saturday, July 25

10.30am Four Wood Singles: Chris Mitchell (Purton) v Jean Collier (Box); Junior Singles: Lucy Smith (holder, W Bassett) v Katy Smith (WB); Pairs: Jacki Pearce & Janet Willis (holders, Stratton Churchway) v Dawn Toomer & Lesley Trattles (Wilton).

1 pm Two Wood Singles: Jean Collier (Box) v Sue Cooke (holder, Box)

2pm Triples: Karen Funnell, Jean Collier & Carol Grenfell (Box) v Lil Dalrymple, Wendy Anderson & Janet Willis (S Churchway) Fours: Mary Austin, Jean Duffield, Margaret Webber & Maureen Woolley (Alderbury) v Barbara Shepheard, Jan Boden, Viv Baskerville & Barbara Land (Chippenham Town).

4pm approx: Presentation of trophies.

ALEX JACOBS has booked a place at Royal Leamington Spa again and will defend her senior (O55s) singles crown that she won last year in the final when beating Sue Latham (Olveston, Glos) 21-8.

The Box star opened in this season’s O55s singles competition with a 21-9 win in the preliminary round over team mate Sue Cooke and followed that up with a 21-15 win over another Box player Jean Collier.

In round two Jacobs had a comfortable 21-9 win over Margaret Annetts (Salisbury) and booked her Leamington place with a 21-19 victory in round three, the county O55s singles final, over Sue Ochyra (Devizes).

Jacobs has also qualified to represent Wiltshire at Leamington in the senior pairs with Sue Cooke.

In the Wiltshire section they had a bye then beat Wendy Gaisford (Devizes) 22-14, Sandra Bartlett (Winsley) 26-12, Fizz Mace (North Wilts) and in the county final sealed their spot at Leamington with a 25-17 success over Alderbury’s Margaret Webber and Maureen Woolley.

WILTSHIRE Ladies South-West Counties brilliant run of four straight wins out of four came to an abrupt end as they crashed to a heavy defeat away to Devon last Thursday.

Following wins over Cornwall (13 shots), Somerset (72), Worcestershire (36) and Herefordshire (8) they collapsed in the second-half of their latest SWCL match with Devon at Tiverton West End.

They lost by 53 shots as they went down 147-94 and only collected four of the 22 points on offer.

Wiltshire took the honours on the two rinks skipped by North Wilts’ Fizz Mace (seven shots) and Spencer Melksham’s Delia Godwin (four shots) but went down heavily on two of the other four losing rinks.

Wiltshire in fact led 29-22 after five ends across the board and 57-56 at ten but trailed by 34 shots 104-70 at 15 ends and it got steadily worse.

The last 2015 SWCL game was home yesterday to Dorset at Amesbury.

RESULTS

Rink 1: Babs Salter lost to W Barnard 13-24: Rink 2: Fizz Mace beat M Robertson 22-15; Rink 3: Margaret Annetts lost to J Pinney 15-21; Rink 4: Sue Ochyra lost to V Hingston 11-39; Rink 5: Delia Godwin beat K Page 21-17: Rink 6: J Bull lost to L Smerdon 12-31.

Score: Wiltshire lost to Devon 94 (4pts) - 147 (18pts)