Moonfleet 2000 Ladies have reached the final of the national Vivienne Trophy after an outstanding victory over Arun Ladies from Bognor Regis.
Four rinks of Triples teams along with over 30 supporters, many sporting green wigs representating club colours, travelled to Banister Park in Eastleigh, to play the semi-final of this national competition. The 18-end contest, with all four games playing simultaneously, proved to be an amazing experience for both players and spectators alike.
Moonfleet’s four teams comprised of Val Griffen, Judy Why and skip Jill Gwilliam; Karen Hofen, Kath Desmond and skip Margaret Crawford; Chris Rod, Di Edwards with skip Anne Chislett; and finally Mairi Mathie, Val Spicer and their skip Carole Venton.
After five ends, the Gwilliam and Crawford rinks were evenly matched, while the Chislett trio had pulled ahead 8-1, however alarmingly the Arun Ladies had accelerated away to a 12-0 lead against the Venton triple.
Five ends later, the Moonfleet ladies trailed by only 2 shots overall at 38-40, as the Gwilliam team nudged ahead and the Chislett triple stormed ahead 16-5.
With the Venton trio now on the board, there was a surge in determination and, with the help of some very vocal support, they were only two shots behind their rivals by end 15.
With all rinks adding to their scores at this point, the overall total was now 69-54 in Moonfleet’s favour.
From that moment onwards there was no stopping the Weymouth ladies as the cheers from the supporters and quality of play all round increased. Moonfleet were now firmly in the driving seat and after adding 17 more shots overall to just two from Arun over the final ends, finished with an impressive 86-56 victory.
It was a remarkable team effort with everyone holding their nerve. The Chislett trio totally outplayed their opponents finishing with a crushing 33-7 score while the Venton team overcame their earlier struggles to steal victory on the final end.
The ladies are now looking forward to a trip to the national finals day in Nottingham, with their final against Lincoln to be held on Thursday, April 6.