Exactly half the 266 teams which started section play have reached the knockout stage of the pairs competition at the national women's championships in Dunedin.
To qualify, they needed to win at least three of five games in two days.
Defending champions Marlene Castle of Onehunga with Paulette Mytton from Browns Bay had no trouble, and Nelson's Jo Edwards and Val Smith, and Manawatu's Sharon Sims and Mary Campbell were also safely through by lunch.
The 2000 winners, Millie and Marina Khan of Matamata, also won three straight to qualify, and needed to play the fourth round as well, which they also won. Their winning margins of 22-4, 25-2, 25-5 and 33-3 gave them an astonishing aggregate of 105-14 across the four games.
Jan Khan of Beckenham with Ngongotaha's Mina Paul, and the north-south combination of Napier's Patsy Jorgensen and Winnie McLelland from Andersons Bay also won three straight matches.
They were joined after the fourth round by 1999 champions Judy Howat and Barbara Herrett from Kilbirnie, and teams skipped by national manager Ann Muir, Val Johnston of Hamilton and Auckland's Carol Griffiths.
Going all the way to the last round to get their third win were last year's runners-up Judy Heeman and Ronnie Crone of Nelson and Auckland's Judith Payne and Jane Fenton.
Ashburton's Di Gutberlet and Kaki Johnstone had the best result of the day. They qualified after having ended Tuesday with no wins from two games.
Bowls: 133 reach knockout
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.