TO say Maureen Drennan and Sheridan Barling are familiar with each other on the bowling green is an understatement.
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The Dennington Bowls Club players took out the Western District Bowls Division pairs championship on Sunday, posting four comfortable wins to book their spot in the regional champion of champions pairs tournament.
The triumph, which is their “third or fourth” at division level, is the latest chapter in what has been a successful history.
“We’ve played together for quite a few years now – we’re very compatible. We know what each other is thinking,” Drennan said.
The women are rink-mates in the WDBD Saturday pennant, with Barling playing third to skipper Drennan.
They will join forces again next Sunday in the division’s triples championship, teaming with Gayle Taylor.
But the friends will temporarily turn foes when they play each other in a 100-up match next Friday.
Drennan, who also took out the division’s women’s singles championship last month, said the familiarity helped their communication out on the green.
In their first match at Port Fairy on Saturday, they defeated Koroit’s Trina Dycer and Faye Bolden 21-12, following up with a 23-12 win over Warrnambool Bowls Club’s Brenda Hawker and Pat Boyd.
They kept their winning form rolling at Warrnambool on Sunday, downing City Memorial’s Pauline Burleigh and Chrissy McMahon 24-9.
They followed on in the decider, defeating Port Fairy’s Lyn Harris and Sue Hamilton 19-10.
“We’d been in good form (heading into the tournament) … we were just hoping we could continue the good form,” Drennan said.
Barling said the pair would back themselves at the region’s champion of champions tournaments. They have previously progressed as far as the final 16 in the state in pairs.
“We’ve just got to go in there, just go out and believe,” she said.
“We think the same, we think alike (which should help).”
The WDBD men’s pairs final will be an all-Warrnambool Bowls Club affair after the club enjoyed good success on its home greens on the weekend.
In the semi-finals, Trevor Bolden and Laurie McLaren defeated Timboon’s Brett Mungean and Pat Clarke 20-9, while Peter Pangrazio and Mark Bowles won with the same scoreline against City Memorial’s Tim Jackway and Ken Bell.
With the WDBD triples competition next weekend, a date and venue for the pairs final is yet to be determined.
Susie Giese
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
