Mount Maunganui men and Ngongotaha women (pictured on the right) booked their spots in the national inter-club final with solid performances in the Bay of Plenty centre qualifying.

The Mount men had an easier passage after winning their three matches on the finals day round-robin at the Ngongotaha club. Playing on their home green, the Ngongotaha women overcame some anxious moments, and a loss, in the third round to the Tauranga club.

The drama unfolded when Tauranga’s Sue Hodges fought back from 18-20 to beat Mina Paul 21-20 in the singles. The Gayle Melrose-skipped four was always ahead of Wendy Green, Lynette McIntosh, Mere Eden and Huia Ratana, winning 17-10.

But PK Tamehana and Charlene Beckett made sure Ngongotaha was through after beating Kaye Bunn and Mary Campbell 19-13.

The Ngongotaha woman finished with 10 match and game points, ahead of Tauranga and Omokoroa 9, and Tauranga South 2.

Ngongotaha gained the higher ground with a resounding victory over Tauranga South in the first round, while Omokoroa beat Tauranga 2-l.

Ngongotaha won all three matches and picked up a plus 46 points differential, with Paul winning her singles 21-11; Tamehana and Beckett running away 31-8 in the pairs; and the four just as convincing with a 22-9 win.

In the second round, Ngongotaha beat Omokoroa 2-1 with Paul dropping her singles to Rachel Morrison 11-21, and the pair and four winning easily 24-6 and 22-9 respectively.

Tamehana and Beckett had a fine tournament remaining unbeaten and scoring 76 shots to the opposition’s 27 over the three games.

The Mount men won their three matches 2-1 but Nick Tomsett singles; Paul Anderson and Nathan Arlidge pairs; and Steve Beel, Kevin Maxfield, Jarrod Riley and Eric Pattillo were always in control of proceedings.

The pair and four won 19-10 and 24-7 respectively against Ngongotaha in the first round, while Tomsett was beaten 20-21 to Michael Staite in the singles.

Tomsett, and Anderson and Arlidge turned it on in the second round against Tauranga. Tomsett overpowered Dan Dickison 21-7 in the singles, and Anderson and Arlidge were dominant in beating Gardiner and Ron Crimlis 22-7. Gardiner and Crimlis’ unbeaten run through qualifying and into the finals day had come to a crushing end.

The Mount four’s run was also jolted when they were beaten 14-16 by the Ben Thurston-skipped Tauranga team.

The Omokoroa development pair of Jeff Meekings and Louis Del Monte put in a fine effort to contain Anderson and Arlidge and make things reasonably interesting in the third round.

But Anderson and Arlidge prevailed 18-15 to remain unbeaten like the Ngongotaha women’s pair. Tomsett beat Cliff Webber 21-13 in the singles to give the Mount overall victory, and the Beel-skipped four weren’t too forlorn when they lost to Omokoroa 11-16.

The Mount men finished with 12 match and game points, with Tauranga, Omokoroa and Ngongotaha all finishing on six points.

Ngongotaha women and Mount men and now contest the national inter-club final in Wellington from April 3-6.

Article added: Monday 16 December 2024