It was a huge Bowls Victoria Open for Kyabram’s Olivia Cartwright, who performed well on her way to the women’s triples title.
The year’s tournament was held throughout the Latrobe Valley from Tuesday, March 19, until Thursday, March 28. The finals were held at Traralgon Bowls Club or Morwell Bowling Club on March 27-28.
Cartwright, who represents Moama Bowls Club, bowled second in her trio which consisted of skip Cassandra Millerick, also of Moama, and lead Olivia Slade of Lilydale.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the trio on the way to the title.
They faced elimination in the round of 16, trailing 11-9 with just two ends to play, before scoring two shots on the 14th and a third on the 15th to scrape through by a single shot.
It was a more comfortable quarter-final and semi-final for the trio, including posting a 28-1 thrashing in the semi-final, but the final would be another tight affair.
A four-shot 12th end from their opponents; Margery Nathan and Jo Martin both of Paynesville, and Julie Simpson of Lakes Entrance brought the score to 13-12 in their favour with three ends remaining.
The 13th saw Millerick, Cartwright and Slade score a two-shot advantage, before the opposing trio managed a single score on the 14th, tying things up and leaving the match to be decided in the final end.
The Moama pair, along with Slade, scored a one-shot advantage in that crucial end, taking the title by the barest of margins 15 shots to 14.
“Liv, throughout the whole (Open), she played very well,” Millerick said.
“Always wanted her in my team.
“We work well together, she’s a very good draw bowler.”
Millerick said Cartwright was crucial to the victory.
“I drew two shots to get us in front by one,” she said.
“Then, at the 14th, we dropped one, and then the last end, Liv drew pretty much the absolute bowl to win that end and the game for us.
“It was very nerve-racking at that present time, considering the three bowls were all within about a foot of the jack.”