Makaia Campbell will play the singles for Masterton. PHOTO/FILE
BOWLS
CHRIS COGDALE
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Interclub bragging rights are on the line this weekend in the Wairarapa Mitsubishi Sevens competition.
Featherston caused an upset when they won both the men’s and women’s championships last year but will face stiff competition to repeat that achievement at the Featherston and Greytown bowling clubs.
The strong Masterton club loom as the defending champions’ biggest threats in both competitions.
The men’s team will be led by Ian Monaghan in the singles. His clash with Featherston’s Scott Mackenzie in the first round should be one of the highlights of the weekend.
The experienced Warren Fisher and Lester Dee line up in the pairs, and the four of John Claydon, Gary Caffell, Warren Wyeth, and Matthew Day is a formidable combination.
Featherston will also field a quality team.
Les O’Donovan and Hayden Frew are a solid pairs’ combination. The experienced four comprises Peter Ireland, Stuart Campbell, Doug Bennett, and Buster Hemi.
Greytown’s prospects in the men’s championship could rest with where representative players Dean Hands and Darren Meyrick fit into the mix.
Hands and Meyrick have performed well in the pairs on the rep scene and they would give Greytown a strong combination.
The Carrington side is unknown but is likely to feature representative player Adrian Tregurtha in the singles.
Masterton’s women’s side is chockful of representative players.
Makaia Campbell, who has been in good early season form, takes the singles spot.
Judith Wyeth and Dorothy Christensen form an imposing partnership in the pairs.
The four includes Wendy Mitchell, Fiona Mancer, Jude Stringer, and Leah Mackenzie.
An interesting clash will have Mancer come up against her daughter and Wellington Secondary School Girls’ champion Olivia, who has been named in the Featherston four.
The full line up for the Featherston women’s team and the combinations for the Greytown and Carrington teams were unavailable at the time of going to print yesterday.
The men will play at Featherston today and Greytown tomorrow, and the women will play at Greytown today and Featherston tomorrow.
The Hannam Knowles Interclub Championship also gets under way with the first four rounds to be played on the Masterton club greens today and tomorrow.
For the first time, the teams in the second-tier competition will comprise men and women. They will play traditional pairs, 2-4-2 pairs, and triples.
Two teams from each of Masterton and Park, and one team each from Eketahuna, Lansdowne, Carrington, and Greytown make up the eight-team competition.
The final rounds in the Hannam Knowles will be played on the weekend of November 23-24.
