Wanganui bowls four finish third equal at Champion of Champions

Dianne Patterson (s), Lesley Bourke, Eleni Meimaris and Karen Hunt ended a long journey with a third equal in the national Champion of Champions women's fours in Hamilton at the weekend.

A Wanganui Bowling Club four have franked their recent good form with a third equal in the national Champion of Champions women's tournament at the Frankton Railway Bowling Club in Hamilton at the weekend.

Skip Dianne Patterson, her No.3 Lesley Bourke, No.2 Eleni Meimaris and lead Karen Hunt had a hard-fought journey to the national women's fours competition first winning their Wanganui club title before claiming centre honours and the chance at national glory in Hamilton.

The four finished the tournament in third equal with Jan Barclay (s), Beth Brown, Lorraine Turnbull and Dale Bourke from Taieri in Dunedin.

Three of the Wanganui four, Patterson, Bourke and Hunt, were deserving winners of the 2018 Senior Team of the Year title at the Whanganui Sports Awards in November after claiming the 2018 Bowls NZ Club Championship national triples title.

It was a long process last year that included winning the local qualifiers against the other Whanganui clubs, and then the regional competition and ultimately the nationals in Brown's Bay against the other champion teams over two days and five rounds.

That the veteran Patterson-skipped team were also able to take out the title against the best, especially given Hunt is still eligible for 8-year and under competition despite her Gold Star and six centre titles, is impressive.

Bourke won her second Gold Star late last year, while Meimaris is closing in her first star with four centre titles already in the bag. Patterson is by far the most experienced of the four with 24 centre titles to her name.

Patterson and Bourke also finished fourth in the pairs at the same nationals last season.