2022 Nationals: Golden day for host-state
It was a golden day of Multi-Disability Championship play for Queensland at Mermaid Beach on Monday, collecting three of four gold medals up for grabs.
As women’s singles and men’s pairs action came to a conclusion, the home state managed to win one final and finish on top in two round robin competitions.
Men’s singles sectional play also commenced, with just one match played before concluding pool play tomorrow.
Women’s Singles B5/6
Queensland’s Serena Bonnell was unstoppable on her way to claim the B5/6 women’s singles title, topping the round robin group of five.
Bonnell won all four of her matches across Sunday and Monday to steer herself to a gold medal victory.
Going into the day 2-0, she faced off against NSW’s Jo Hunter, also 2-0, in the first session of the day to play a key role in determining the title winner.
Bonnell came away with a 17-12 win to put herself in prime position for the title.
That would be Hunter’s only loss of the competition, finishing with the silver medal.
Tasmania’s Colleen Fellows collected two wins, falling short to Bonnell and Hunter, to take out bronze.
Gold: Serena Bonnell (QLD)
Silver: Joanne Hunter (NSW)
Bronze: Colleen Fellowes (TAS)
Women’s Singles B7/8
Tasmania had plenty to celebrate in the B7/8 women’s singles, taking out the gold and silver medals while also taking a crack at a bronze.
Three of the four competitors remaining to battle it out in semi finals on Monday morning were Tasmania, with a guarantee of at least one playing in the final.
Tasmania’s Debbie Maher bested Victoria’s Alison East to mean Tasmania would take gold and silver, with Tasmanians Marijke Raine and Shannon Hyland meeting in the other semi. Raine would mount an impressive comeback to advance to the final.
With strong winds at Mermaid Beach, it was Maher who was able to grapple with the conditions best to take out the title with a 21-13 final win over Raine.
Maher led 18-7 at one point, before Raine mounted a spirited comeback, but falling eight-shots short in the end.
East was able to defeat Hyland 21-7 in the playoff for bronze to prevent an all Tasmania podium.
Gold: Debbie Maher (TAS)
Silver: Marijke Raine (TAS)
Bronze: Alison East (VIC)
Men’s Pairs B5/6
It came down to the final match of men’s pairs B5/6 round robin play to determine the champions.
Queensland and NSW entered the final match square on wins, with two each, with the winner likely to take home gold. South Australia also sat on two wins, but their lower shot difference required them to beat Victoria in their last match, and hope for a Queensland-NSW draw.
It couldn’t have been any tighter coming into the final end of the round, with Queensland’s Brett Sellars & Tony Bonnell and NSW’s Geoffrey Seaton & Michael Vassallo locked level at 12-12.
It was Sellars and Bonnell who were able to come up with the goods at the end, to take home the gold as NSW claimed silver.
South Australia fell short against Victoria, but took home bronze by one shot on shot difference, with the Victorians making a late surge for a medal.
Gold: Brett Sellars & Tony Bonnell (QLD)
Silver: Geoffrey Seaton & Michael Vassallo (NSW)
Bronze: Darryl Wilson & Andrew Reed (SA)
Men’s Pairs B7/8
The men’s pairs B7/8 finish was just as exciting, with Queensland’s Cooper Whitestyles and Damien Delgado victorious.
The Queensland duo did it the hard way in their semi final against Tasmania’s Dennis Bassett and Jacob Sheerin-Wall, coming back from 8-1 down to win on the final end 12-11.
That set up a battle with another Tassie duo in Alan Ryman and David Minns, who took down South Australia’s Mike Emberton and Chris Flavel in their semi.
The final was just as thrilling, as the home-state duo came away with a 15-14 victory to claim top honours.
South Australia edged out Tasmania 19-12 in the bronze medal playoff.
Gold: Cooper Whitestyles & Damien Delgado (QLD)
Silver: Alan Ryman & David Minns (TAS)
Bronze: Mike Emberton & Chris Flavel (SA)
The 2022 Australian Multi-Disability Championships is proudly supported by Right at Home.
