2023 Nationals: Day two recap
It was a history making day on at the 2023 Nationals in Perth as more gold medals were handed out across Sorrento and Warwick Bowling Clubs.
With the sun glistening over Australia’s west, the Australian Champion of Champions and Under-18 Championships concluded, while the Para Nationals event has seen another gold medal match decided.
Australian Champion of Champions
Some players just seem to dominate certain events, and that is the case for Lee Schraner in this one as the New South Wales’ product claimed an unprecedented fourth title in the competition, while South Australia’s Laini McGorman took home her maiden gold.
Schraner’s morning commenced with a titanic tussle against Craig Mills, who raced out to a 5-0 buffer early before the match became a genuine arm wrestle.
The former BPL Cup champion held a 20-19 lead before the New South Welshman netted a two on the 30th and final end to clinch the epic matchup.
With one match to play before his bye in the final round, Schraner would need take down Victoria’s Brenton Coad to seal his fourth crown, and he did so with a 21-5 scoreline to become the first bowler to achieve the feat at the tournament.
To make matters more impressive, the Raymond Terrace product has now conquered the event for three different states in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.
Western Australian Jack East took home the silver, while Queensland’s Glen Pitts won bronze.
In the women’s field, McGorman endured a shaky start to the morning with a 21-16 defeat at the hands of Samantha Ferguson.
The South Australian boasted a 16-11 lead after 14 ends in a high scoring contest before her counterpart stormed home to extend her unbeaten run to four matches and inflict McGorman’s first blemish of the event.
In the box seat to claim the gold medal, Ferguson would face Australian Open women’s singles winner Cassandra Millerick in the penultimate round, with McGorman to take on the home state’s Chris Ace-Watson.
Millerick would emerge victorious 21-10 in the Victoria versus New South Wales battle, while the South Australian took down Ace-Watson with a 21-12 triumph.
Heading into the final matchups, Ferguson held onto top spot with a gap of 12 to McGorman on the shot difference tally.
However, she was unable to defeat Tasmania’s Rae Simpson in the concluding encounter, meaning that the Adelaide Bowling Club exponent would simply need to overcome Queensland’s Julia Brownie to claim gold.
McGorman would oblige, defeating her adversary 21-10 to net her maiden crown at the tournament and become the second ever South Australian female to win the Champion of Champions after Rina Bradbrook in 2010.
Ferguson would take silver and Millerick rounded out the podium in third.
Men’s singles:
Gold: Lee Schraner (NSW)
Silver: Jack East (WA)
Bronze: Glen Pitts (QLD)
Women’s singles:
Gold: Laini McGorman (SA)
Silver: Samantha Ferguson (NSW)
Bronze: Cassandra Millerick (VIC)
Under-18 Championships
Boy’s singles – Riley Gerick (QLD) def. Callum Alberti (WA) 21-19
Queensland’s Riley Gerick has continued his magnificent run of form in the boy’s singles field, adding the 2023 Australian Under-18 title to his Australian Open crown in June.
It was a tense day for the 16-year-old, who opened his sectional account with an extraordinary come from behind victory over Victoria’s Koby Cromie.
Down 17-9 after 13 ends, Gerick won six of the next seven exchanges to seal a memorable 21-19 win, before defeating Bailee Randall in his second match with the exact same scoreline and being behind by the identical score to his first contest.
His final group match saw South Australia’s Charlie Hicks leading 11-9 after 14 before Gerick roared to life and won 21-15 to set up a final with home competitor Callum Alberti.
The Western Australian went unbeaten in the pool stage and gained an 11-5 buffer on the Queenslander early, before Gerick displayed mental fortitude well beyond his years to add yet another gold to his already illustrious CV.
Randall would edge out Tasmania’s Jonty Hayes for the bronze.
Gold: Riley Gerick (QLD)
Silver: Callum Alberti (WA)
Bronze: Bailee Randall (VIC/NSW Composite)
Boy’s fours – Waite, Rich, Thorning & Moran (NSW) def. Mays, Rowley, Boswood & Cartwright (VIC) 19-6
The New South Wales’ unit of Billy Waite, Thomas Rich, Timothy Thorning and Travis Moran proved too strong at Sorrento, overcoming a tough start to the day to win the title.
Falling to Tasmania in their opening contest, the quartet rebounded to defeat the ACT in the middle session to apply pressure on the Apple Isle ahead of the final pool match, after they fell to Western Australia by one.
The New South Wales team would account for Western Australia 21-4, meaning Tasmania would have to beat the ACT by 16 to progress.
The Tasmanians could only pull out a 13-shot victory, meaning that it would be a New South Wales versus Victoria final.
Buoyed by a strong finish to the sectional rounds, the squad never looked troubled in the 19-6 win as they took home a well earned gold.
Tasmania would gain some respite with a bronze medal.
Gold: Billy Waite, Thomas Rich, Timothy Thorning & Travis Moran (NSW)
Silver: Will Mays, Nick Rowley, Charlie Boswood & Josh Cartwright (VIC)
Bronze: Oliver Morrison, Henry Hollingsworth, Logan Marshall & Lachie Thurley (TAS)
Girl’s pairs – Jacobs/Bickley (VIC) def. Finn-Young/Astley (NSW) 19-17
The Big V pairing of Maddison Jacobs and Amity Bickley enjoyed a remarkable day, going undefeated to net their state’s third under-18 gold at The Nationals.
Jacobs and Bickley stormed through their section, conquering all three matches with a combined shot difference of 45 as they set up a final against Reese Finn-Young and Katie Astley of New South Wales.
Finn-Young had defeated Bickley in last year’s singles final and this year’s Australian Open junior event, but this time the result would be flipped as the southern duo won an epic decider 19-17 to earn gold.
Gold: Maddison Jacobs & Amity Bickley (VIC)
Silver: Reese Finn-Young & Katie Astley (NSW)
Bronze: Addy Ryan & Lily Dodd (NSW/VIC Composite)
Girl’s triples – Kennedy, De Greenlaw & Cameron (NSW/VIC Composite) def. Nicholls, Smith & Chakouch (NSW) 16-13
It was composite team victory in the girl’s triples as the New South Wales and Victorian mix of Tahlia Kennedy, Taylor De Greenlaw and Ella Cameron claimed the title.
The outfit were sensational in the sectional rounds, enjoying an unbeaten run through to the final where they would meet New South Wales.
After a tight battle, the Composite trio would salute and give their team its first gold of the event.
Gold: Tahlia Kennedy, Taylor De Greenlaw & Ella Cameron (NSW/VIC Composite)
Silver: Zoe Nicholls, Jasmine Smith & Chanel Chakouch (NSW)
Bronze: Lacey Gerick, Holly Anderson & Corinne Stallan (QLD)
Para Nationals
Men’s B5/6 singles
The semifinals of the men’s B5/6 singles kicked off at Warwick in the late morning and both were enthralling battles.
Right at Home Para Jackaroo and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tony Bonnell would progress with a 21-19 victory over Michael Vassallo as he looks to add more silverware to his trophy cabinet.
The Queenslander trailed 17-19 late in the match but won the final three exchanges to book his place in the decider.
Victoria’s Greg Toy will face Bonnell in the gold medal match after overcoming Brett Sellars 17-16 in a timed out affair.
Trailing 16-14 when the hooter went off, Toy was in desperate need of a three to take an unlikely victory.
That is exactly what transpired and the Victorian earned a stirring win and a shot at the title on Monday.
Men’s B7/8 singles
Only four remain in the men’s B7/8 singles after the quarterfinals on Saturday, with South Australia’s Chris Flavel to take on Queensland’s Cooper Whitesyles in the top half of the draw after the pair recorded wins over Jacob Sheerin-Wall and Clive Williams respectively.
Victoria’s Josh Thornton and Western Australian Eddie Gollan will contest the other semi after victories over Josh Barry and Grant Gibson.
Men’s 14-point pairs
Two sectional rounds were completed in the men’s 14-point pairs as the Clem Nottle and Eddie Gollan duo lead the opening group, with Bonnell and Sellars sitting atop section two.
Pool three sees Cooper Whitestyles and Wesley Brown in prime position to progress.
Men’s open pairs
Like the 14-point pairs, the open men’s competition saw two group rounds played with Tasmania’s Kevin Bowkett and Jacob Sheerin-Wall leading section one after an unblemished day.
The New South Wales and ACT team of Matthew Barrie and Vicki Parkinson currently lead the second section with one round to go on Sunday afternoon.
Women’s open singles
The opening sessions of women’s singles saw some clear front runners emerge in the west as an in form Louise Hoskins topped the opening section with two wins and a defeat.
Three other Queenslanders in Cheryl Lindfield, Annette Goldsworthy and Serena Bonnell would lead section’s two, three and four respectively after enjoying a pair of victories from as many outings.
The 2023 Nationals will run from October 6-20, 2023, with live streaming to take place on Bowls Australia’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
The 2023 Nationals in Perth, Western Australia is proudly supported by Tourism Western Australia, City of Joondalup, and the State government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest in Western Australia. Sport and recreation creates vibrant, inclusive and connected WA communities.
