SouthWest Lawn Bowls
Southern California
Team USA
World Cup Singles 2010 - Australia
By Dr. Robert Vickster
As the sun sets on another special day in Australia, it’s my pleasure to give you the facts on what’s transpired over the past 10 days at the amazing Warilla Bowls Club, just 90 mins South of Sydney…
As many of you are aware, Newport Harbor’s own Dee McSparran and Michael Siddall were selected to represent the USA in the annual World Cup Singles event at the famed Warilla Bowls Club. The venue is nothing short of heavenly with their 4 immaculate outdoor greens running 15 seconds, their bars, restaurants and hundreds of poker machines as well as their crown jewel – A 16 second, large indoor carpeted green that is near perfection!
Dee and Michael flew in a couple days prior to the event to acclimatize and get the unfamiliar surface down. They felt good going into the prestigious tournament, which would include 22 global countries of fierce competitors and two tough Aussies in the men’s division (since Leif Selby was last year’s automatic returning champion.) Sadly, a number of countries including Spain, Ireland, England, Netherlands, Jersey and Scotland were not able to make the trip due the Icelandic Volcano Ash incident…Quite sad.
Both our players had very impressive runs! Let’s start with Dee, who upon arrival, borrowed a set of Dreamlines and was stroking from the get go! She met Karen Murphy from Australia in her first match, who’s basically a professional and is playing at her home club of Warilla. Dee lost the 1st set and played a truly amazing 2nd set. So amazing that she deserved the win as she had an opportunity to draw a close shot with the last bowl of the 9th end to win it and force a 3 end tie-break, but missed by inches and tied Karen at 8-8. Regrettably, a tie was all Karen needed to win the match.
Dee moved on and played a solid match vs Japan. In fact, she was close to defeating her in straight sets, but lost the 2nd by a single shot. Japan played some big bowls in the tie-breaker and Dee, all of a sudden, found herself down game with only a single Dreamline left in her holster! She rared back and played a lovely backhand semi-running shot (or shall we say “sexy-bender” coined from Ashton-Phillips and Siddall back in’99.) Dee reached and removed the shot wood and then moved the jack over to her bowl for the match as the crowd went wild!
It was nice that Dee and Michael’s games were never simultaneous so they could watch and root each other on throughout. Yells of “Come on Newport” were heard from the stands when Dee made another magical shot. This reporter overheard more than a few Aussies exclaim: “Rhode Island?” which I replied: “No, Southern California my friends!”
Dee continued her winning ways with very well-played matches against Thailand (and the impressive Metta Jennison who actually lives near Warilla and has played in the event 4 years in a row now) as well as Malta and Ruthy Gilor from Israel! This final match was very special to Dee for a variety of reasons. First, Ruthy is a dear friend of Dee’s, secondly, she’s quite a bowler and has won some major championships around the globe and lastly, it’s always a tough task when you know your opponent has more experience, possibly more ability and is just a real force to be reckoned with! Dee was victorious in a tie-breaker set and was understandably and deservedly ecstatic!
This set-up a very interesting scenario… Dee was tied for first place in her section with one more match to be played. If she won, she would have a playoff for one of the final four semi-final slots, which would be televised throughout Australia! One minor detail though…She would face one of the finest players in the game in Val Smith from New Zealand. Regrettably, she lost that match as Val was “on fire” wanting desperately to return to form after her previous night’s loss to Malta.
Dee can, no doubt, hang her head high as she finished 4-2 and placed solidly in 7th position out of 21 countries – Really well done Dee! Now onto Michael’s journey…
Michael brought his new granite-color Taylor Redline SR’s and found that they were perfect for the speedy conditions. In fact, he noted that they were the most popular bowl there with many global champions using them. He started with a real solid, straight-set victory against the young and talented Hong Kong player. He then played a match against Zvika Hadar from Israel who couldn’t play ANY better in the 1st set…”An amazing display of bowling” Michael stated after the match. Michael was up in the 2nd set 7-4 with two ends to play, but again, Zvika played a brilliant shot with his final wood on each of the last two ends for big-time conversions and the win at 8-7.
Michael regrouped for a huge match against New Zealand’s legendary and #4 ranked player in the world, Ali Forsyth. Note that Michael defeated Ali in Malaysia last October at the A/P Games, so he KNEW Ali’s attention would be laser-like. Michael was playing well, but Ali was hitting everything he threw and won the 1st set. Michael was able to turn it up even a notch higher and before you know it, Ali missed a couple key weighted shots here and there. The sets were tied at one each. Relentless, Michael played some amazing shots to win all 3 ends of the tie break and after had to immediately head down to the beach to make a call to his pal Loren after this big match!
Michael continued his run and excellent play with “coast to coast”, full-length jacks and defeated United Arab Emirites, a tough Malaysian representative as well as a young India player who was turning some heads. All of a sudden, in the final stages of the round-robin with a 5-1 record, Michael was atop the leader-board in his section for this time of the week. Everyone knew that one more victory would send him into the final 4 semis! But, a man from Singapore would stand in his way and would come out to play a great first set. Michael was having trouble matching line and weight for the 1st time of his 12 previous sets and lost 3-8. He knew the match could still be won if he could just return to form. That he did, by blitzing the next set 19-3 to force a tie-break. Michael played a lovely draw to capture a one on the 1st end. He looked to be in position to score on the 2nd end with two bowls a mere 10” away on the full-length distance, when all of sudden, Singapore dropped a bomb and buried the white – A truly exceptional shot! Michael tried hard with a slight-overweight bowl to sink the white in the ditch for a three and basically the match, but to no avail. Singapore also captured the final end with a great back-toucher for the match.
Michael realized he might still be ok for the semis or at least the 3 person round-robin playoff to make the final semi spot, but had to check what happened in the other two matches in his section. Shockingly, both Israel and Malaysia, positioned below Michael, BOTH won their matches in straight sets to leapfrog him…An amazing outcome and “harsh reflection” to a great run. So, with 3 in the semis and 3 in the round-robin, Michael would finish in 7th out of 22 countries with a 5-2 record. I know for a fact that it was tough for him to swallow being so close to at least a bronze medal and who knows what else, but that’s bowls and the opportunity was in his hands…Always a good thing. He understood and moved on quite quickly, considering...
Canada’s Vince Mai won the men’s playoff to reach the semi-finals against Australia’s Leif Selby, the latter would go on to win that match and eventually the tournament for a second straight year (in an epic men’s final match.) The other semi was Anthony Keipe from Australia over Malaysia. The ladies semi was Allison Merrien (Guernsey) vs Karen Murphy (Australia) who was victorious and Val Smith (NZ) vs countrywoman and defending champion Jo Edwards. Jo would win that semi and eventually beat Karen in a truly exhilarating woman’s final match!
All in all, it was a fantastic 10 days filled with good times with each other, many new friends and memories to last a long time! I believe Dee and Michael hope to return next year and build on what they’ve learned and achieved (not to mention to continue and extend the winning ways a bit further!)
By Dr. Robert Vickster
As the sun sets on another special day in Australia, it’s my pleasure to give you the facts on what’s transpired over the past 10 days at the amazing Warilla Bowls Club, just 90 mins South of Sydney…
As many of you are aware, Newport Harbor’s own Dee McSparran and Michael Siddall were selected to represent the USA in the annual World Cup Singles event at the famed Warilla Bowls Club. The venue is nothing short of heavenly with their 4 immaculate outdoor greens running 15 seconds, their bars, restaurants and hundreds of poker machines as well as their crown jewel – A 16 second, large indoor carpeted green that is near perfection!
Dee and Michael flew in a couple days prior to the event to acclimatize and get the unfamiliar surface down. They felt good going into the prestigious tournament, which would include 22 global countries of fierce competitors and two tough Aussies in the men’s division (since Leif Selby was last year’s automatic returning champion.) Sadly, a number of countries including Spain, Ireland, England, Netherlands, Jersey and Scotland were not able to make the trip due the Icelandic Volcano Ash incident…Quite sad.
Both our players had very impressive runs! Let’s start with Dee, who upon arrival, borrowed a set of Dreamlines and was stroking from the get go! She met Karen Murphy from Australia in her first match, who’s basically a professional and is playing at her home club of Warilla. Dee lost the 1st set and played a truly amazing 2nd set. So amazing that she deserved the win as she had an opportunity to draw a close shot with the last bowl of the 9th end to win it and force a 3 end tie-break, but missed by inches and tied Karen at 8-8. Regrettably, a tie was all Karen needed to win the match.
Dee moved on and played a solid match vs Japan. In fact, she was close to defeating her in straight sets, but lost the 2nd by a single shot. Japan played some big bowls in the tie-breaker and Dee, all of a sudden, found herself down game with only a single Dreamline left in her holster! She rared back and played a lovely backhand semi-running shot (or shall we say “sexy-bender” coined from Ashton-Phillips and Siddall back in’99.) Dee reached and removed the shot wood and then moved the jack over to her bowl for the match as the crowd went wild!
It was nice that Dee and Michael’s games were never simultaneous so they could watch and root each other on throughout. Yells of “Come on Newport” were heard from the stands when Dee made another magical shot. This reporter overheard more than a few Aussies exclaim: “Rhode Island?” which I replied: “No, Southern California my friends!”
Dee continued her winning ways with very well-played matches against Thailand (and the impressive Metta Jennison who actually lives near Warilla and has played in the event 4 years in a row now) as well as Malta and Ruthy Gilor from Israel! This final match was very special to Dee for a variety of reasons. First, Ruthy is a dear friend of Dee’s, secondly, she’s quite a bowler and has won some major championships around the globe and lastly, it’s always a tough task when you know your opponent has more experience, possibly more ability and is just a real force to be reckoned with! Dee was victorious in a tie-breaker set and was understandably and deservedly ecstatic!
This set-up a very interesting scenario… Dee was tied for first place in her section with one more match to be played. If she won, she would have a playoff for one of the final four semi-final slots, which would be televised throughout Australia! One minor detail though…She would face one of the finest players in the game in Val Smith from New Zealand. Regrettably, she lost that match as Val was “on fire” wanting desperately to return to form after her previous night’s loss to Malta.
Dee can, no doubt, hang her head high as she finished 4-2 and placed solidly in 7th position out of 21 countries – Really well done Dee! Now onto Michael’s journey…
Michael brought his new granite-color Taylor Redline SR’s and found that they were perfect for the speedy conditions. In fact, he noted that they were the most popular bowl there with many global champions using them. He started with a real solid, straight-set victory against the young and talented Hong Kong player. He then played a match against Zvika Hadar from Israel who couldn’t play ANY better in the 1st set…”An amazing display of bowling” Michael stated after the match. Michael was up in the 2nd set 7-4 with two ends to play, but again, Zvika played a brilliant shot with his final wood on each of the last two ends for big-time conversions and the win at 8-7.
Michael regrouped for a huge match against New Zealand’s legendary and #4 ranked player in the world, Ali Forsyth. Note that Michael defeated Ali in Malaysia last October at the A/P Games, so he KNEW Ali’s attention would be laser-like. Michael was playing well, but Ali was hitting everything he threw and won the 1st set. Michael was able to turn it up even a notch higher and before you know it, Ali missed a couple key weighted shots here and there. The sets were tied at one each. Relentless, Michael played some amazing shots to win all 3 ends of the tie break and after had to immediately head down to the beach to make a call to his pal Loren after this big match!
Michael continued his run and excellent play with “coast to coast”, full-length jacks and defeated United Arab Emirites, a tough Malaysian representative as well as a young India player who was turning some heads. All of a sudden, in the final stages of the round-robin with a 5-1 record, Michael was atop the leader-board in his section for this time of the week. Everyone knew that one more victory would send him into the final 4 semis! But, a man from Singapore would stand in his way and would come out to play a great first set. Michael was having trouble matching line and weight for the 1st time of his 12 previous sets and lost 3-8. He knew the match could still be won if he could just return to form. That he did, by blitzing the next set 19-3 to force a tie-break. Michael played a lovely draw to capture a one on the 1st end. He looked to be in position to score on the 2nd end with two bowls a mere 10” away on the full-length distance, when all of sudden, Singapore dropped a bomb and buried the white – A truly exceptional shot! Michael tried hard with a slight-overweight bowl to sink the white in the ditch for a three and basically the match, but to no avail. Singapore also captured the final end with a great back-toucher for the match.
Michael realized he might still be ok for the semis or at least the 3 person round-robin playoff to make the final semi spot, but had to check what happened in the other two matches in his section. Shockingly, both Israel and Malaysia, positioned below Michael, BOTH won their matches in straight sets to leapfrog him…An amazing outcome and “harsh reflection” to a great run. So, with 3 in the semis and 3 in the round-robin, Michael would finish in 7th out of 22 countries with a 5-2 record. I know for a fact that it was tough for him to swallow being so close to at least a bronze medal and who knows what else, but that’s bowls and the opportunity was in his hands…Always a good thing. He understood and moved on quite quickly, considering...
Canada’s Vince Mai won the men’s playoff to reach the semi-finals against Australia’s Leif Selby, the latter would go on to win that match and eventually the tournament for a second straight year (in an epic men’s final match.) The other semi was Anthony Keipe from Australia over Malaysia. The ladies semi was Allison Merrien (Guernsey) vs Karen Murphy (Australia) who was victorious and Val Smith (NZ) vs countrywoman and defending champion Jo Edwards. Jo would win that semi and eventually beat Karen in a truly exhilarating woman’s final match!
All in all, it was a fantastic 10 days filled with good times with each other, many new friends and memories to last a long time! I believe Dee and Michael hope to return next year and build on what they’ve learned and achieved (not to mention to continue and extend the winning ways a bit further!)
TEAM USA 2010
Tiger Bowls (Hong Kong & Mainland China ):
March 6-11
Skip: Bob Schneider (CENTRAL)
Third: Jim Olson (SW)
Second: Dan Christensen (SW)
Lead: Joe Regan (SW)
Tiger Bowls (Hong Kong & Mainland China ):
March 6-11
Skip: Bob Schneider (CENTRAL)
Third: Jim Olson (SW)
Second: Dan Christensen (SW)
Lead: Joe Regan (SW)
UPDATED! World Indoor Singles (Warilla, Australia ):
April 22-29
Click here to follow their progress
Michael Siddall (SW)
Dee McSparran (SW)
Alternate: Rosa Gandara (SW)
North American Challenge (vs Canada in Milwaukee)
September 8-11
FOLKINS TEAM
Jan Hargraves (SW), Dee McSparran (SW), Jackie Tucker(SE), Anna Witt (C), Myra Woods (SC)
Bill Brault (SW); Patrick Duffy (NE), Charlie Herbert (SW), Joe Regan (SW) & Michael Siddall (SW)
JARVIS TEAM
Michele Arculli (NE), Carrie Fossati (SW), Rosa Gandara (SW), Marita Nierth (SE), Anne Nunes(SW)
Richard Broad (NW), Steve Nelson (CEN), Jim Olson (SW), Bob Schneider (CEN) & Joe Zinna (CEN)
Alternates: Kathy Alton (SC & C), Bobbi Elwell (SE) and Margie Rambo (SW)
MANAGERS
Phil Luth (SW)
Dana Lum
Annette Schans
Dana Lum
Annette Schans
TEAM USA 2009
Atlantic Rim, South Africa (5/3-5/13)
Check Out Team USA's Official Blog by Dee McSparran
Check Out Team USA's Scores
WOMEN
Reggie Banares - Singles & Triples
Maryna Hyland - Pairs & Fours
Irene Webster - Pairs & Fours
Jan Hargraves - Triples & Fours
Marita Nierth - Triples & Fours
MEN
Jim Olson - Singles & Pairs
Jim Copeland - Pairs & Fours
Charlie Herbert - Triples & Fours
Ivan Hyland - Triples & Fours
Richard Broad - Triples & Fours
Brian Studwell - Manager
Dee McSparran - Asst Manager & Official Blogger
Team Manager: Brian Studwell
Asia-Pacific, Malaysia (8/18-8/30)
WOMEN
Maryna Hyland (Newport)
Linda McDougall
Anne Nunes (Newport)
Jackie Tucker
Myrna Wood
Manager: Jan Hargraves (Newport)
MEN
Tony Baer (Newport)
Bill Brault (San Diego)
Loren Dion (Mackenzie Park)
Bob Schneider --River Hill, WI
Michael Siddall (Newport)
Manager: Phil Luth