Moama bowler Cassandra Millerick came close to adding a national title to her recent accolades, going down by three shots in the Australian Bowls Open women’s singles final.
Two Moama bowlers almost came away as national champions at the recent Australian Bowls Open held on the Gold Coast.
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After navigating her way through two testing matches in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the women’s singles, Cassandra Millerick faced Jamie-Lee Worsnop from NSW in the decider.
Worsnop made a hot start in the final, racing out to a 7-0 lead four ends into the contest.
Millerick gradually chipped away at the deficit as the match progressed, but after 19 ends she still trailed 19-13, with her opponent only requiring two more shots to win.
But the local didn’t go down without a fight, scoring four shots on the 20th end to suddenly trail by only two and be four from victory herself.
Worsnop would hold her nerve late, requiring three more ends to score the final two shots she needed to win, as Millerick fell short in a 21-18 loss.
Elsewhere, Millerick’s clubmate Mackenzie Parsons also made the final of a singles event, the under-18 girls.
Parsons’ run in the knockout phase was challenging, starting with a narrow 21-19 win over Warilla’s Zoe Davies in the quarter-finals.
Her win against Chelece Rhode from Queensland in the semi-finals was even tighter, Parsons pipping her opponent by one shot in a 21-20 triumph.
That victory set up a decider against Annabelle Teague from Merrylands, NSW, which would be another nail-biter.
Parsons was on the back foot for most of the match.
After Teague scored three shots on both the 12th and 13th ends, the Moama bowler trailed 14-6 and a win seemed unlikely.
But like Millerick, Parsons slowly walked down the deficit, scoring 12 shots to four over the next 12 ends to tie the score at 18-18.
Both needing three shots to win, Teague first scored two on the 26th end, but was immediately pegged back as Parsons did likewise on the 27th.
At 20-20, only one shot was required from either player to take out the title, which the NSW bowler produced to win 21-20.
Moama's Mackenzie Parsons (right) with her silver medal after finishing as runner-up in the under-18 girls’ singles at the Australian Bowls Open.
With Millerick and Parsons claiming silver medals and Gracie Retallick and Emma Simmonds also being runners-up in the women’s fours, Moama’s representatives impressed at the national tournament.
Moama greens manager Kevin Anderson said he was incredibly proud of the bowling club, adding that having four finalists at one of the world’s biggest events was an amazing achievement.
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