WEDDERBURN’S Robert Tonkin has claimed two titles at the Wimmera bowls region state event finals over the long weekend.
Bowling on his home green and representing North Central, Tonkin took out the Men’s Novice Singles, beating the Grampians’ Allan Pascoe 21-11.
He also partnered with fellow Wedderburn bowlers Damien Mason and Andrew Caserta to win the Men’s State Triples with a 23-14 victory over the Wimmera team.
They established an early 10-shot lead, and their Wimmera opponents were unable to bridge the gap.
North Central had a successful four-day tournament, with Donald Golf’s Geoff Rigby and Belinda Murray winning the prestigious Men’s and Ladies’ Champion of Champions titles respectively.
Rigby beat the Grampians’ Chris Young 25-19 in the final on Monday afternoon.
He held the lead almost throughout the contest, with Young in front for just two ends.
Rigby stormed home with nine shots to two in the final five ends for a comfortable win.
A day earlier, Murray beat North Wimmera’s Rebecca Gruar 25-17 in her final on Sunday.
The match was tied at 12 shots apiece after 16 ends before Murray hit a purple patch.
She added 10 shots to one over the next five ends to cruise to victory.
The Donald pairing of Lindy Morgan and Hunter Wingfield won the Mixed Pairs title with a runaway 19-4 triumph over a Grampians team on Monday.
Boort’s Louise Newsome made the final of the Ladies’ Novice event, falling to Kim Preston from the Grampians, 21-9.
Wedderburn’s Ruth Hall, Sandra Standfield and Sandra Steel lost in the knockout round of the Ladies’ Triples to a Grampians team, 18-11.
Boort’s Thelma Moresi and Amy Roberts, Wedderburn, made the final of the Ladies’ Pairs on Sunday but lost a tight battle with the Grampians team, 18-15.
Moresi also represented North Central in the Ladies’ Singles, but fell in the opening round to Wimmera’s Judith Albrecht, 25-20.
Donald Golf’s Brian Bayles, David Peake, Steve O’Shea and Tony Dionisopoulos were a self-described “scratched together” team in the Men’s Fours, but they were good enough to make the final.
They lost to a Wimmera team 17-8 after beating the North Wimmera side 19-8 in the first round.
Donald Bowling Club, in the form of Margaret Quick, Margaret Kelly, Kaye Wylie and Beryl Milne, provided the North Central Ladies’ Fours team, but they were eliminated in the first round to North Wimmera.