THE dominant singles player in the Western District Bowls Division (WDBD) this season is the first to admit her form could be better.
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Kellie Bowles, 40, claimed her third WDBD women’s champion of champions title at Terang yesterday to reinforce her standing among her peers.
The Warrnambool bowler defeated Dennington’s Maureen Drennan 25-15 in the final, having accounted for Timboon’s Hazel Collins 25-16 in a semi-final.
The win backed up her victory in the WDBD singles in December and justified why she is a regular in the Victorian squad.
But Bowles said her performance against Drennan and Collins left much to be desired, despite the comfortable margins she won by.
“I don’t particularly feel I performed as good as I could have,” Bowles said.
‘‘You try and do what you need to to get through.
“But I don’t feel I’m playing at my best at the minute.
‘‘You go in phases a bit. Sometimes you get a bit flat and a bit stale and it’s been fairly busy for me.
“I’ve had a lot on.
‘‘Down time hasn’t been that lengthy and you have to fit in life around that as well.”
Bowles said she had to better balance spending time on the green with staying away if she was to turn her form around.
“It’s a combination of trying to get the practise in, which I don’t feel like I’m getting, but also having days off so you feel fresh,” she said.
The champion of champions final was the latest event on a hectic summer schedule for Bowles, a mother of two and night-duty nurse.
She plays Saturday pennant with Warrnambool Gold, as a third to Brian Lenehan, and has the West Coast Region champion of champions finals on the horizon.
That event was supposed to go ahead on February 16, but Bowles is contesting the singles and fours at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
“I’m rapt that I qualified but unlucky I struck the strongest player in the draw,” she said.
‘‘I have Karen Murphy first up, she’s Australia’s number one player.’’
Bowles steadily increased her lead in the semi-final against Collins to eight shots before Collins cut the deficit and hinted at a comeback.
But Bowles enjoyed a strong finish to take the win in the first-to-25 match.
She carried that momentum into the final against Drennan, rushing to an early lead.
“But Maureen is a very accomplished player in her own right. You know you can’t get slack or lose concentration for too long,” Bowles said.
“She came back, it was 13-7 and then I got a four.
‘‘I had some really good ends and broke away.
‘‘I got stuck on 23 for a bit but I got there in the end.”
Bowles joins Dennington bowler Jack Murnane as the WDBD champion of champions winners for season 2013-14.
Murnane defeated City Memorial representative Ray Hoy in the men’s final at the Cramer Street green on Sunday, 25-21.