Atlantic International Challenge - Day One Report

Scotland’s men and women made a promising start to the Atlantic International Challenge by securing two wins in their opening three matches on day one at the National Centre for Bowling, Ayr. 

Session One

Scotland’s team made a good start to the event as they overcame a strong Irish team 9-3 in the first session of the day.

In the men’s disciplines, Mark Kelsey led the way with a hard-fought victory against Stuart Bennett in the singles. There was nothing to separate both players in the first set as they traded shots to eventually finish 6-6. In the second set, Stuart managed to build himself a 6-2 lead after six ends, however, Mark dug deep to score the last three ends to clinch the set 7-6.

Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty and Connor Milne lost out to Mark Foster, Stephen Kirkwood, Adam Rankin and Ian McClure in the men’s fours. The Scots trailed 2-4 after five ends and 5-9 after nine ends. Having to chase the match in the final two ends, Ireland eventually ran out with a 14-5 victory.

Scotland’s Dee Hoggan hit the ground running in her opening singles contest as she comfortably got the better of Irish youngster Zoe Stratton in straight sets. There wasn’t much to separate the two players in the opening stages of the first set with the scoreline tied at 4-4 after six ends. Dee used all her experience in the remaining three ends to score on all three of the ends to win the opening set 8-4. With momentum on her side, Dee rallied through the second set to claim a 9-3 victory.

Our women’s fours team of Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva and Lynn Lees also delivered a strong showing to defeat Hannah Cochrane, Sophie McIntyre, Zoe Minish and Sandra Baillie MBE 14-9. The Scottish quartet got of to a flyer and led 9-0 after the opening four ends. However, the Irish team fought back well, and Scotland only led 10-9 come the ninth end. Scotland held their nerve to get over the winning line by scoring four shots across the final two ends.

Scotland v Ireland:

• Men’s Singles – Mark Kelsey beat Stuart Bennett 1.5-0.5 (6-6 & 7-6)
• Men’s Fours – Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty & Connor Milne lost to Mark Foster, Stephen Kirkwood, Adam Rankin & Ian McClure 5-14
• Women’s Singles – Dee Hoggan beat Zoe Stratton 2-0 (8-4 & 9-3)
• Women’s Fours – Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva & Lynn Lees beat Hannah Cochrane, Sophie McIntyre, Zoe Minish & Sandra Baillie MBE 14-9

SCOTLAND 9 – IRELAND 3

Canada v USA:

• Men’s Singles – Cameron Lefresne beat Bill Brautt 2-1 (8-13, 8-7 & 2-1)
• Men’s Fours – Mike McNorton, Jon MacDonald, Rob Law & Kody Olthof beat Daniel Gorelick, Corey Vose, Scottie Marzonie & Bob Schneider 15-5
• Women’s Singles – Jordan Kos beat Joan Robbins 2-1 (6-8, 12-3 & 2-0)
• Women’s Fours – Linda Ng, Joanne Cooper, Baylee Van Steijn & Emma Boyd beat Martha Nilsen, Dee McSparran, Joanne Hedgepath & Sandy Wall 14-4

CANADA 12 – USA 0

Session Two

Scotland continued their fine form in the second session of the day as they won all four disciplines against USA to secure a 12-0 victory.

Mark Kelsey claimed his second win on day one after seeing off the challenge of Bill Brautt in straight sets. The opening set was a back-and-forth affair with the scoreline tied at 4-4 after 4 ends. Mark eventually gained the upper hand in the closing stages to win the set 8-7. In the second set, the former Scottish singles champion moved up a gear, peppering the jack on several occasions, to win the set 15-5.

Our men’s fours team of Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty and Connor Milne bounced back from their earlier defeat to get the better of USA’s Daniel Gorelick, Corey Vose, Scottie Marzonie and Bob Schneider. The Scots took an early 8-3 lead after six ends, but the American team fought back to level the score at 8-8 after nine ends. Some excellent bowls from all four Scottish players in the final two ends saw them finish the contest as 12-8 winners.

In the women’s singles, Dee Hoggan continued her impressive form to get the better of Joan Robbins in straight sets. Some excellent drawing bowls from Dee saw her take an early lead in both sets which she managed to convert into 8-4 and 15-2 victories respectively.

Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva and Lynn Lees completed the perfect session for the Scottish team by beating Martha Nilsen, Dee McSparran, Joanne Hedgepath and Sandy Wall. Despite trailing 0-3, the Scots managed to find their groove and ran away with the match, eventually claiming a 15-5 triumph.

Scotland v USA

• Men’s Singles – Mark Kelsey beat Bill Brautt 2-0 (8-7 & 15-5)
• Men’s Fours – Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty & Connor Milne beat Daniel Gorelick, Corey Vose, Scottie Marzonie & Bob Schneider 12-8
• Women’s Singles – Dee Hoggan beat Joan Robbins 2-0 (8-4 & 15-2)
• Women’s Fours – Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva & Lynn Lees beat Martha Nilsen, Dee McSparran, Joanne Hedgepath & Sandy Wall 15-5

SCOTLAND 12 – USA 0

Canada v Ireland

• Men’s Singles – Cameron Lefresne lost to Stuart Bennett 0-2 (5-6 & 3-9)
• Men’s Fours – Mike McNorton, Jon MacDonald, Rob Law & Kody Olthof beat Mark Foster, Stephen Kirkwood, Adam Rankin & Ian McClure 9-8
• Women’s Singles – Jordan Kos beat Zoe Stratton 2-1 (9-6, 5-15 & 2-1)
• Women’s Fours - Linda Ng, Joanne Cooper, Baylee Van Steijn & Emma Boyd lost to Hannah Cochrane, Sophie McIntyre, Zoe Minish & Sandra Baillie MBE 6-18

CANADA 6 – IRELAND 6

Session Three

Scotland rounded off day one of the Atlantic International Challenge with a 3-9 defeat at the hands of Canada.

In the men’s singles, Mark Kelsey suffered his first defeat of the day against Cameron Lefrense. The Canadian got the better of the opening exchanges and raced into an 8-0 lead, eventually winning the set 9-5. Mark fought back well in the early part of the second set, holding a 5-2 lead after four ends. Despite this advantage, Cameron quickly responded with a number of key conversion shots which enabled him to win the set 10-7.

Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty and Connor Milne notched up their second win of day one with victory over Mike McNorton, Jon MacDonald, Rob Law and Kody Olthof. The Scottish rink powered into an early 10-0 lead after five ends but were pegged back to only have a 10-7 advantage after nine ends. A brilliant take out shot from Scottish skip, Connor, on the penultimate end saw the Scottish quartet score four shots to end any American hopes of a comeback. The Scots ran out as 14-10 victors at the completion of the match,

Dee Hoggan was also dealt her first loss in the women’s singles as she came up short against Jordan Kos. There was very little to separate the two players in the opening set with Dee trailing 3-6 after five ends. Dee managed to rally herself to score in three of the remaining four ends to tie the set 7-7. Despite gaining momentum, Jordan came fighting back in the second set and came away with an 11-5 win.

Our women’s fours team of Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva and Lynn Lees tasted their first defeat too after narrowly losing out to Linda Ng, Joanne Cooper, Baylee Van Steijn and Emma Boyd. Single shots were continuously traded throughout the duration of the match with the score tied at 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 at various points of the contest. The decisive moment in the game came on the ninth end as Canada picked up a count of 3 shots, the only multiple scored in the entire game, to open up a 7-4 lead. Scotland were unable to turnaround this deficit and agonisingly lost out 6-7.

Scotland v Canada

• Men’s Singles – Mark Kelsey lost to Cameron Lefresne 0-2 (5-9 & 7-10)
• Men’s Fours - Jason Banks, Daniel Gormley, Gary Prunty & Connor Milne beat Mike McNorton, Jon MacDonald, Rob Law & Kody Olthof 14-10
• Women’s Singles – Dee Hoggan lost to Jordan Kos 0.5-1.5 (7-7 & 5-11)
• Women’s Fours - Dawn Anderson, Rebecca Houston, Beth Riva & Lynn Lees lost to Linda Ng, Joanne Cooper, Baylee Van Steijn & Emma Boyd 6-7

SCOTLAND 3 – CANADA 9

Ireland v USA

• Men’s Singles – Stuart Bennett beat Bill Brautt 2-1 (3-8, 12-7 & 2-0)
• Men’s Fours – Mark Foster, Stephen Kirkwood, Adam Rankin & Ian McClure beat Daniel Gorelick, Corey Vose, Scottie Marzonie & Bob Schneider 13-9
• Women’s Singles – Zoe Stratton beat Joan Robbins 2-1 (12-7, 4-8 & 2-1)
• Women’s Fours - Hannah Cochrane, Sophie McIntyre, Zoe Minish & Sandra Baillie MBE beat Martha Nilsen, Dee McSparran, Joanne Hedgepath & Sandy Wall 16-4

IRELAND 12 – USA 0