May 14 - 'One of Three' is the play-off result of last game Round robin action. Marlene Cleutinx, JoAnne Bugler, Laura Hawrysko and Shirley Ko beat Brazil 22-11 and got help from Spain when they bested Namibia 18-10. That loss by Namibia dropped them to 4th in their section and allowed Canada to move up to 3rd. Now instead of facing the inspired host South African team ( they whacked the prior undefeated Wales squad 32-6 yesterday ) it will a Wales match-up.
Not easy but a better match up.
Harriette Pituley's 10-21 loss to England still left her in a 3-way tie for 4th position but the Wales victory over Namibia left Wales at 2 Wins 4 Losses -8, Canada 2W 4L -26 and Cyprus 2W 4L -31. Despite beating Wales 21-19 in head to head action the tie-breaking formula initially considers the results of games with all opponents. Wales in, Canada out.
The Keith Roney, Lyall Adams, Terry O'Neil, John Devonshire foursome were shuffled to the sidelines when they lost to Ireland 14-25 even with a winning record. Their 4 wins 3 losses were not enough when Scotland beat the USA as expected and South Africa 'upset' the undefeated Welsh squad 15-14. That meant the point differential wasn't needed to break a 4th place tie.
May 13 - 'Three Alive' as the two Women's teams and the men's Fours vie to continue play past the RR schedule.
A look at each and as the list descends the task difficulty ascends.
Marlene Cleutinx, JoAnne Bugler, Laura Hawrysko, Shirley Ko
A two win day with the big one a 19-18 squeaker over the then undefeated, once tied Irish team. They also beat the Netherlands 22-10 to set themselves up for relatively smooth sailing to the 1/4 finals. The last opponent for skip Cleutinx's squad is the win less Brazil contingent. Simon says it will be a win but the top four teams will likely be England, Namibia, Ireland, Canada in that order. As you know #4 plays the top finisher from the other section.
Harriette Pituley split to-day winning over Wales in a close 21-19 afternoon game after Namibia won the morning match. Beat England to-morrow and Harriette plays on. However even with a loss her point differential is 5 better than Wales and 19 superior to Namibia, her two suitors for the dance. A solid game is the order of the day and if it can't be sunny side up over easy is still palatable.
Four straight for Keith Roney, Lyall Adams, Terry O'Neil, John Devonshire. The USA were the latest to fall with the final score reading 23-13 for Canada. Similar to Pituley, a win to-morrow settles the issue with resolve and flair. Beat Ireland and case closed. However a loss and a current negative 13 point differential will negate the chance to win the tie-breaker and advance to the playoffs.
All in all the 13th was a good day for Canada - four wins and 1 loss. Three of a kind in the 1/4s would be a good hand.
May 12 - It is 3 straight wins for the Keith Roney, Lyall Adams, Terry O'Neil, John Devonshire quartet. They had a big win this afternoon over Scotland 20-18 after besting Cyprus in the morning. A big win to-morrow (13th ) against the USA is key in keeping their playoff hopes alive with 5 teams vying for the 4 quarter-final positions. Canada can step into the PO's by also beating Ireland in their last RR match. However the betting board indicates that point differential will decide the 4th place team after the round robin and the Canadian crew are currently at -23 and looking up at the other contenders.
Marlene Cleutinx, JoAnne Bugler, Laura Hawrysko and Shirley Ko were edged by a strong England team 13-15 in their only match of the day. That now means a need to sweep their remaining 3 games to clinch a playoff spot or at least two big wins and a close lose to have a chance with their current - 11 point differential.
Harriette Pituley will need a win over Namibia to-morrow morning ( 13th) and beat either Wales or England in her two final games to keep her play-off chances alive.
David Anderson has a 1 win 5 loss record but 3 of the losses have been by the same 19-21 score.
Experienced singles players will recognize the closeness of these matches with winning or losing hanging on a single shot.
It is important in World Bowls' events to finish as high overall as possible. It isn't the section placement that is significant but rather where you stand when the total number of teams are ranked for each discipline. Since point differential often comes into play to determine the final placements , it follows that full effort is warranted in all ends. At the end of the event ( ie Atlantic Championships )the final gender results are tabulated by combining the individual finishes of a country's competing teams ( Fours, Triples, Pairs, Singles ). If a team does not qualify for the event play-offs, final placement is determined by comparing all team's records ( both sections ) in round robin play. Reaching the 1/4 finals not only assures a team of a top 8 finish but also the opportunity to move up based on continued play-off success. There is a change from the past in that the losers of a play-off round are now grouped at the same final position. For example four teams are listed as 5th after losing their 1/4 final match. The world bowls rankings are used to determine countries that qualify* for international events and domestically are signicant to determine Sport Canada grants.
* The Asia Pacific Championships in Malaysia in August 2009 are a qualifying event for the 2012 World Championships.
These Atlantic Championships are not a qualifier.
May 10 Harriette Pituley ( Sask) is playing Singles for Canada and lost her first match to Scotland 12-21. The Men's Fours team of Keith Roney (Sask ), Lyall Adams ( Alt ), John Devonshire (ON) and Terry O'Neil ( NS ) lost their opening round to Wales 8 -24.
David Anderson (ON) playing Singles and the Fours team of Marlene Cleutinx (BC), JoAnne Bugler (ON), Laura Hawrysko(ON) and Shirley Ko (ON) get into action later to-day.
This two section round robin action continues until May 16th.
May 9 - The Women's Triples team of Marlene Cleutinx, JoAnne Bugler and Shirley Ko were no contest for Wales in the 1/4 finals as they lost 4-17. But that dominance was continued by Wales as they soundly defeated the host South Africa 21-12 and Namibia 19-10 on there way to the gold medal. That left Canada ( 4 wins - 3 losses) in this event with a 5th place overall finish of the 14 entries.
The other Canadian teams results:
Women's Pairs -Harriette Pituley and Laura Hawrysko ( 1 W 5 L ) 11th of 14
Men's Pairs - David Anderson, John Devonshire ( 2 W 5 L ) 12th of 16
Men's Triples - Keith Roney, Lyall Adams, Terry O'Neil ( 2 W 5L 1T ) 12th of 16
I am keeping my eye on the action in South Africa.
The Triples and Women's Pairs move into the final day of Round Robin play tomorrow morning ( 6 hours ahead on your clock ). The 1/4 finals [ top 4 finishers in each section ] follow in the afternoon. May 9th will have the semi-finals in the AM and finals to follow after lunch.
Canada's team of Marlene Cleutinx (S) (BC), JoAnne Bugler (ON) and Shirley Ko (ON) have qualified for the play-offs with a 4 win 1 loss +19 point differential before their last RR game.
The Canadian men with Keith Roney (S) (Sask), Lyall Adams (Alt) and Terry O'Neil (NS) will keep playing if they can best or tie the favoured Israel team. Their other opportunity for advancement is if Namibia and Guersney tie which would leave the point differential as the deciding factor.
Both Pairs teams have been relegated to the spectator seats. The men with David Anderson (S) (ON) and John Devonshire (ON) have finished their schedule. They were 5th in their section with a 2 wins 5 losses -35 pts. and 12th overall of the 16 teams.
The women's team of Harriette Pituley (S) (Sask) and Laura Hawrysko (ON) have a game against Brazil remaining but at 1 win 4 losses -10 pts ( some close losses ) , they will be resting until May 10th.
BobB
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