Staff
Two heads are better than one, but three heads from Fort Frances were almost better than everyone.
The Plaza Lanes trio of Betty Robinson, Sylvia Beadle and Irene Laing, representing Northern Ontario, won silver in the women’s division with seven out of a possible 10 points at the 2015 Club 55+ Triples Team National Championships in Winnipeg on July 6-7.
Manitoba took the gold with eight points in a tight finish that wasn’t determined until the second-last match of the event.
“We were happy with how we bowled,” said Beadle, who finished the week with a team-leading 186.9 average, followed by Robinson (171.9) and Laing (152.4).
In doing so, Beadle (170) and Laing (141) surpassed their season averages, while Robinson came in just under hers (167) as Beadle and Robinson had their best-ever finish at the nationals (Laing was added to the team this year).
The match that left Team Northern Ontario wondering what might have been was the first of two back-to-back meetings with Team Manitoba, whom they were tied for the tournament lead 5-5 (one point for each match victory).
Manitoba, represented by Minnedosa’s Bev Chapski, Shirley Mickoski and Gladys Murray, barely won the opening match of the series with a combined total of 14 pins over average compared to 12 for Team Northern Ontario.
They then easily won the second match (plus-86 to plus-3) and they clinched the gold with a win in its second-last match of the tourney to end up with eight points.
Another three pins above average for Team Northern Ontario in the first Manitoba match would have meant a split and as the rest of the results shook out would have meant gold for the local contingent.
“That’s the way it goes,” said Beadle in philosophical fashion.
“We were hoping to do well after not medaling the last time we went two years ago,” she added.
“We learned our lesson for this time. We rested up after our first four games with six games to play the next day.”
“Last time, we went sightseeing and walked around for hours and we were so stiff and sore the next day, we couldn’t bowl properly.”
It was a good start for the locals after rolling a combined average of 536 in their first match to end up plus-58 and win easily, as Beadle’s 228 single wound up the high single of the week for the entire team and one of the only two 200-plus games rolled by the team (Beadle had the other at 223 in the ninth match).
Both Northern Ontario and Manitoba won three of the first four available points on Day 1.
Laing’s top game of the week was 199 in her sixth game, while Robinson got as high as 196 in her seventh.
Saskatchewan’s Regina-based team of Patricia Latoski, Patricia Johnston and June Butz finished third, winning a tiebreaker against Southern Ontario for the bronze (minus-11 to minus-36) after both teams finished the tourney with five points apiece.
Posting a best-ever result and coming so close to winning the nationals has Beadle already fired up for next year.
“We’re certainly going to try for it,” she promised.
“Betty and I get along so well and while it seems like we add a different person each year to the team, it always seems like everyone backs up the other one on the team when they need it.”
