Golden Day One at Nationals for U18s
The Big V celebrated a successful day with three of four disciplines competing for medals in the U18 Championships, with the Boys’ Pairs and Triples securing Australian titles! Amity Bickley was beaten in a tight tussle to just miss out on bronze in the Girls’ Singles.
Charlie Boswood and Koby Cromie were the first to taste success with two very solid perfomances in the morning before a narrow two-shot loss in their final match against a NSW-Victoria Composite Side, made up of Victorians Kane Wilson and Bailee Randell. The close result was enough to get Boswood and Cromie into the final, and unfortunate for Wilson and Randell who just missed out on shots. The Big V dominated their opponents, Tasmania, in the final from the outset and won in resounding fashion.
Kane and Bailee, although playing in a compsite team with NSW are travelling with their Victorian teammates and are just as proud to be donning the Big V.
The Triples final was a very different affair played in front of a large and vocal crowd. The dominant combination of Will Mays, Nick Rowley, and Josh Cartwright were undefeated throughout the day and responded to all challenges, but with two ends remaining and a deficit to bridge, the Cartwright-skipped Rink were looking at silver. Some incredible clutch bowling at the death saw the Triples take the lead, trailing a jack to a waiting pair of bowls. Nerves of steel saw them hold on against an enthusiastic and well-supported NSW, with a centimetre-perfect finish under extreme pressure.
The Girls’ Fours team competed all day but weren’t quite able to string together enough good bowls to secure a win. The standard of bowls across all rinks however was high and the margin for error very thin. There is no doubt the talent is present and the right spark will fire up this group.
Two further girls are travelling with the Victorian delegation, but again making up a composite NSW-Victoria team; Addy Ryan and Lily Dodd. The girls carried themselves with class, combining well with their NSW counterparts and played competitive bowls all day, including taking the win against the Big V in the third round match.
The coaches and team managers continue to be excited by the talent on display by our Victorian juniors and will support the team as they look for further success throughout Day 2.
