WARRNAMBOOL Tenpin Bowling Association’s (WTBA) top pin rattlers will make a nine-hour round trip chasing a state title this weekend.
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WTBA selectors have put together a 14-member squad to contest the Victorian Country Cup at Morwell on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Squad members will take on opponents from nine other associations in one-on-one match-play contests over the weekend.
Captain Jenny McKane headlines the women’s contingent. She is joined by the current WTBA open masters champion Trish Beasley.
Tennille Scott, Sue Hall, Sherene Sheen, Tracey Dowd and Maureen Way complete the line-up while Kerrie Fletcher is team manager.
Scott Dennis will captain the men’s ranks. Dennis also claimed WTBA open masters honours in 2014.
David Altmann, Jason Drake, James Owen, Nick Membery, Micheal Dowlin and Shane Griffiths will also bowl. Tim Treloar is team manager.
WTBA adult co-ordinator Sandie Rogitsch said the squad had high hopes of success. She said experience would hold them in good stead.
“Everybody that is bowling has bowled at Country Cup before. We have a really experienced team,” she said.
“Our male team is reasonably young, we’re talking in their 20s and 30s and I think Scott Dennis has just turned 40.
“There are quite a few ladies who are in their 50s but are very experienced. It’s always good to have a mix.”
Rogitsch said the 14 bowlers were the best-performed in the WTBA during qualifying last year. They also had to contest two standalone tournaments.
They are hoping to improve on their efforts at Colac last year, when the men finished seventh and the women ranked eighth.
“It all depends on the day. We’ve got experienced teams and fairly strong teams but sometimes we don’t fare so well,” Rogitsch said.
“It might only be a couple of pins at the end of a game, or the overall pinfall in a few rounds that separates the middle and the bottom from the top.”
Shepparton, which claimed the men’s and women’s sections en route to overall honours last year, is favourite to go back-to-back.
Geelong, Bendigo, Colac, Sunraysia, Wodonga, Ballarat and Horsham are also bound for Morwell while Latrobe Valley has home-lane advantage.
Five bowlers hit the lanes in each of the 18 rounds. The winner of each contest earns one point while the highest total pinfall is worth two, for seven in total.
