Wairarapa bowlers knocked out early

FOCUSED: Wairarapa's Dorothy Christensen prepares to deliver.

Wairarapa failed to make it through to the quarter-finals in both the men's and women's sections at the 2015 national intercentre bowls championships in Christchurch.

The two top teams in each of the four pools qualified for the last eight and the Wairarapa men came close, placing third with 16 points behind joint leaders Marlborough and Nelson, both of whom finished on 19pts. North Harbour was fourth with 12, followed by Central Otago 8 and Thames Valley 6. The highlight for Wairarapa was the form of singles player Ian Monaghan who won his first four matches before dropping the last against Thames Valley. The pair of Warren Fisher and Scott MacKenzie had two wins in their five matches as did the four of John Claydon, Les O'Donovan, Richard Anderson and Mark Morete.

In the men's quarter-finals, Dunedin beat South Otago, Marlborough beat Wellington, Wanganui beat Canterbury and Taranaki beat Nelson while in the semifinals Marlborough defeated Dunedin and Taranaki beat Wanganui. In the final, Taranaki edged out Marlborough 2-1.

The Wairarapa women finished fifth in their pool with 5pts. Nelson topped the points table with 26pts, followed by Wanganui 24, Waikato 17, and Thames Valley 14. Trailing the field with 4pts was Buller. The pair of Makaia Campbell and Wendy Mitchell picked up a win and a draw for Wairarapa while singles player Fiona Mancer had one win. The four of Judith Wyeth, Dale Batty, Dorothy Christensen and Tina Hogg did not manage to open their account.

In the women's quarter-finals Wellington beat Wanganui, Canterbury beat South Otago, Manawatu beat Central Otago and Nelson beat Auckland. In the semis, Canterbury beat Wellington and Nelson beat Manawatu and in the final Canterbury defeated Nelson 2-1.

Wairarapa results in pool play were:

Men: Singles: Ian Monaghan beat Marlborough 25-23, beat North Harbour 25-17, beat Nelson 25-23, beat Central Otago 25-12, lost to Thames Valley 17-25. Pairs: Warren Fisher and Scott MacKenzie lost to Nelson 7-23, lost to Central Otago 16-19, beat Thames Valley 19-15, lost to Marlborough 12-16, beat North Harbour 15-13. Fours: John Claydon, Les O'Donovan, Richard Anderson and Mark Morete beat Thames Valley 14-13, lost to Marlborough 3-31, lost to North Harbour 13-18, lost to Nelson 12-14, beat Central Otago 14-9.

Women: Singles: Fiona Mancer beat Buller 25-15, lost to Waikato 15-25, lost to Thames Valley 18-20, lost to Wanganui 6-25, lost to Nelson 3-25. Pairs: Makaia Campbell and Wendy Mitchell lost to Thames Valley 16-21, lost to Wanganui 10-27, lost to Nelson 7-21, beat Buller 20-14, drew with Waikato 16-16. Fours: Judith Wyeth, Dale Batty, Dorothy Christensen and Tina Hogg lost to Nelson 12-21, lost to Buller 14-16, lost to Waikato 8-14, lost to Thames Valley 11-20, lost to Wanganui 5-24.

The central region men's Masters intercentre tournament was hosted by Bowls Wairarapa last month and was won by Wanganui on countback from Wellington.

Both finished on 25pts followed by Kapiti Coast 22, Hutt Valley 19, Manawatu 15 and then Wairarapa on 14.