There was a good deal of congratulations being bandied around on Sunday when Ashley Lewis won his first Club Champion Singles title after being runner-up seven times.
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It was a crisp start on a day which saw both the men's and women's semi-finals and finals played.
Men's title
The first men's fixture saw Lewis playing the title holder Stephen Della with the former coming away the winner 31-22.
The first twelve ends saw a tight encounter but after 20 ends Lewis had pulled away to lead 20-12. Della came back into the match but could only reduce the margin by 1 and by the 32nd and final end lead by nine.
The other semi-final was a nail biter over 37 ends as David Coltman defeated Jim Neely 31-27. Neely took a 20-14 lead after 23 ends but Coltman managed to bowl his way back into it to take a 21-20 lead.
Three down at the final end, Coltman played a shot that hit the jack, scoring three shots to move into the final.
The final
The final was a relatively quick affair with only 21 ends required by Lewis to secure a 31-9 victory.
With the score at 8-5 in favour of Lewis after eight ends, most spectators thought they were about to witness a close match. But this was not to be as Lewis was in scintillating form with his on shots and draw shots and this won him the final by 22.
When Lewis looks back on his first major singles win he will think back to one of his early round matches against Clive Neutze when Neutze was leading30-18 and only needing one shot to win. Lewis ultimately triumphed 31-30.
So after a stuttering start Lewis then went on a winning streak to claim his championship title. To David Coltman the runner up, a gallant effort on the day particularly in your semi-final win.
Stephen Della, the holder of the title, handed over the trophy to Lewis in front of a very enthusiastic crowd of spectators and it was pleasing to see the sportsmanship shown as Stephen and Ashley have bowled in representative matches for the district and zone over many years.
Women's title
A new contender has taken the title of Club Champion this year by playing some great bowls throughout her matches.
Irene Gilbert played Lynne Boshier in the final with both ladies playing well in windy conditions. But Gilbert was too strong, continuing her good form and, as she put it, "her love affair with the Springett green."
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