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Results
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PRIZE WINNERS Congratulations to the following people who were the winners of the ABN AMRO Australian Open Prize Draw. Walter Lake: Margaret Dickson: Valerie Savage: AUSTRALIAN OPEN GOES OUT WITH A BANG An epic final between New South Wales’ Katrina Wright and Malaysia’s Ahmad Siti Zalina has put the finishing touches on a remarkable ABN AMRO Australian Open in Melbourne. On the seventh and final day of the $120,000 tournament, Wright and fellow New South Welshman Leif Selby flew the flag for the host nation as they claimed the blue ribbon women’s and men’s singles’ events. In the women’s final, Wright was pushed to the limit by dual Commonwealth Games gold medalist and defending champion Ahmad Siti Zalina, as the pair traded blows on the TV rink. With the match going down to the wire, Wright cannoned her final bowl of the tie-breaker into the Malaysian superstar’s to claim the biggest win of her career before getting down on hands and knees to kiss the turf. “It’s a fairytale,” the former Australian star said following her emotional win. “An absolute fairytale. “With my final drive, I just had to hit something, whether it was her bowls or the jack, and I did.” Today’s victory marks a golden week for Wright, who captured the triples title alongside Corrine Crouch and Kay Moran, while also making the quarter-finals of the women’s pairs with Maria Rigby. In the wash-up, Linda Gardiner and Gail Waitai, two qualifiers from the Gold Coast, defeated Australian glamour girls Sam Shannahan and Kelsey Cottrell to claim a memorable victory in the women’s pairs. In the men’s events, the international duo of Gary Lawson and Ryan Bester prevailed over Victorian State champions Mario Cipolla and Lee Schraner to win the pairs’ title, while Carl Healey, Trent Healey and Scott Bateup shared the spoils in the triples. With just one title remaining up for grabs, Selby finally slayed the demons of his recent past by defeating national teammate Mark Casey in straight sets of the men’s singles final. Almost two years ago, Selby had one hand on the title before New Zealand’s Russell Meyer pinched it away with the final bowl of the match. Today, however, fate was on the St John’s Park bowler’s side, as he swept to a comfortable victory after defeating newly crowned World Champion Safuan Said in the semi-finals. “I guess I’m very relieved,” Selby said following his 8-5, 8-3 triumph. “I guess when you lose something at the last second or it gets stripped away from you…it hurts. “(The 2006 loss) has hung around for two years…now I can finally let it go.” With the greens at the Darebin international Sports Centre expected to undergo renovations following this year’s tournament, the fifth anniversary of the ABN AMRO Australian Open will be held at a new venue in 2009. ***************************************************************** 2008 ABN AMRO AUSTRALIAN OPEN HONOUR ROLL Men’s singles: Leif Selby (NSW) d Mark Casey (QLD) 8-5, 8-3. Women’s singles: Katrina Wright (NSW) d Ahmad Siti Zalina (MAL) 8-6, 5-11, 3-0. Men’s pairs: Gary Lawson (NZ) and Ryan Bester (CAN) d Mario Cipolla (VIC) and Lee Schraner (VIC) 8-7, 4-10, 4-3. Women’s pairs: Linda Gardiner (QLD) and Gail Waitiai (QLD) d Sam Shannahan (VIC) and Kelsey Cottrell (QLD) 6-10, 8-5, 4-1. Men’s triples: Carl Healey (NSW), Trentan Healey (ACT) and Scott Bateup (ACT) d Mick Mather (VIC), Brett Dodd (Vic) and Paul Dorgan (VIC) 8-5, 7-5. Women’s triples: Corinne Crouch (NSW), Kay Moran (SCO) and Katrina Wright (NSW) d Linda Morish (QLD), Brenda Thompson (QLD) and Carmen Anderson (QLD) 6-5, 5-10, 2-1. |
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