Bowls: Impressive Mainland Mariners qualify in top spot for semifinals

An unbeaten day three for Gary Lawson's triple has seen the Mainland Mariners qualify in top spot in the men's St Laurence Super 8 bowls competition being held in Hamilton.

They will now face Southern Pride in an all-South Island clash in the semifinals today, with an intriguing singles match between Andrew Curtain and current national singles champ Mike Kernaghan in prospect.

The other semifinal is between Taranaki/Wanganui who qualified second, and City of Sails.

This battle pitches two of New Zealand's bowling stars against each other.

Rowan Brassey has yet to drop a game as the skip of the City of Sails triple, but Peter Belliss has had only mixed fortunes at the helm of the Taranaki/Wanganui combination.

In the women's event the Hurricanes finished top and will play the Blue Chips from Auckland and Counties in one semifinal.

Mana Bay Coast meet faltering overnight leaders Tri North in the other semifinal, with Sharon Sims squaring off against Marlene Castle in the singles.

The last time Sims and Castle played on the same rink, they formed an unstoppable pairs partnership in the test series against Ireland.

On Saturday, the Mainland Mariners were 3-1/2 points clear of the City of Sails and Southern Pride, with Mana Bay Coast and the Honda Hurricanes a further half point adrift.

Round four was a conclusive one, with the Mariners taking singles, pairs and fours from the City of Sails, including an impressive 21-9 singles win for Curtain over twice national champ Petar Sain.

- NZPA