This past weekend The Maram hosted the first round of the 22nd ACTEBA Ladies Doubles Tournament, with 10 pairs competing. These included 8 time champions Cindy Blackmore & Nicole Welsh, who have won the past 4 editions, 5 time finalist and 2006 champion Kylie Power, paired this year with 3 time finalist and 2003 champion Kathy Harmon, and 6 time finalist and 2006 Champion Les O’Connor, who paired with 2 time runner up Ann Peffer.
Leading the challengers were the returning Jo Lowry (2007 Ladies Champion) with last year’s Ladies Singles Runner Up (and 2000 Champion) Theresa Whitten, State Team Members Heather Robertson & Penny Foudoulis and long time partners Alison Murphy & Theresa Skipper. Rounding out the strong field were mother and daughter team Alisha & Margaret Auva’a, Jennifer Everett & Tammie Ashlin and the 4 Maram Harlequins girls, Anita Robertson & Rebecca Billington and Melissa Kelly & Michelle McMahon.
With four rounds of 9 frames, the testing 36 frame format of tactical doubles matches was going to be a tough one, But it was Heather & Penny, Jo & Theresa and Kathy & Kylie who got the early lead with 7 frames each in the first round. 3 pairs sat 2 frames back on 5, including Alisha & Marg, while the gaps were starting to show to the remainder, but it’s only round 1 remember.
Jo & Theresa backed up with another 7 frame round to take the overnight lead on 14, but hot on their heels on 13 were Heather & Penny, Kathy & Kylie and Cindy & Nicole, the last pair hitting a weekend high 8 frame round. Cindy & Nicole’s only loss came to the 5th place pair Ann & Les, who were sitting 3 frames back on 10, while Alisha & Marg
Ann & Les demolished that 3 frame deficit in round 3 with a 7 frame round to jump to 3rd overall. Matching them on 7 were Kathy & Kylie, who made up the one frame lead Jo & Theresa had to draw level on 20 frames with round to go. Cindy & Nicole hit par on 5 frames to sit 3rd on 20, but Heather & Penny stumbled to 3 wins and slipped to 5th. But with a 5 frame gap to 6th, it was obvious these 5 pairs were going to make up the top 4, barring a major doping scandal or salary cap breach.
Our Harlequins Girls fought hard against their higher ranked opponents, but ultimately they could only chalk the weekend up to some great experience (and hopefully a lot of fun) as Anita & Bec finished 9th on 8 frames, two ahead of Mel & Shell on 6. Early challengers Alisha & Marg could not keep up with the pace and finished 8th on 13 frames, but could point to wins against 3 of the top 4 to show they were mixing it where it counts.
Jen & Tammie hit consistently for a 7th place finish just one frame ahead of Alisha & Marg on 14, while Alison & Theresa were the story of day two as they amassed 13 frames to equal the second best day performance of the weekend. But their Saturday had hurt them too much even though they jumped from 8th overnight to 6th at the end.
Up front, Jo & Theresa hit their third 7 frame round to finish first on 27, while Cindy & Nicole matched their 7 to bridge the 2 frame gap to Kathy & Kylie as the two pairs finished equal second on 25.
A tense finish was ensuing between Ann & Les and Heather & Penny, as the former pair held a 1 frame lead for 4th place going into the final round. It all came down to the final few frames as Ann & Les won a crucial frame between the pairs to extend their lead to 2 and claim the 4th spot in the final shootout next Sunday.
Well played to all 20 Ladies this weekend, reports from the two adjudicators were that it was a great weekend. I hated to miss this one, as it is my favourite event, but them’s the breaks.
The ladies chose next Sunday to contend the Top 4, and as it is Mother’s Day, I should remind the Punter to take this into account. Two pairs have one mother in their ranks, one pair has no children, while the 4th has a mother and a mother-to-be. Could this be a factor…?
Incidentally, the Ladies between them have 41 appearances in the Doubles Final for a total of 25 titles (remember each player gets a gong in each pair). But a more interesting stat is that the last 12 ACT Ladies Singles Finals have been contested by players in this Top 4. When you consider the current depth in the ladies game in the ACT, this must be the strongest Ladies Doubles Top 4 we have seen.
Thank you to Scrol and Trent Billington for adjudicating the weekend and to The Maram for their generous hosting of the event. If the Top 4 is anything like last year, it promises to be a cracker of a day next Sunday.
Chris Jones
ACTEBA Tournament Director
