Worthing Pavilion build big lead in first leg of Friendship Cup

David Berry skipped Sue Pearson, Ian Down and Richard Williams to top rink. They trailed after three of the 21 ends and were only level after six but then racked up 14 shots in three ends to take a commanding advantage. By winning the final eight ends they pulled away to win by 41 shots to eight.Helen Beale, Mason Davis, Jonathan Gauntlett and skip Warwick Davis also started slowly and were 5-3 down after six ends. A remarkable run of 12 ends without reply put them 32-5 up and, although they dropped a four on the penultimate end, they ran out 33-10 winners.Jeremy Simpson skipped Nour Dissem, Peter Tomley and Tony Beale to a 27-12 victory. The hosts scored three fours in quick succession and were 17-2 up after nine. Horsham limited their losses in the rest of the game but were unable to reduce the 15-shot deficit.Chris Cheeseman, Kathy Byrnes, Alan Cheeseman and skip Ken Chapman were involved in the closest game of the day, which ended in a 17-17 tie. Horsham scored a five on the ninth end to go 10-6 up and were not overhauled until the 18th. A pair of twos put the visitors one up with only the final end to play. Pavilion scored a single to share the spoils.The lead changed four times as Bryan Bodicoat, Sue Gubbins, Russ Doherty and skip Richard Krupa tried to register a fourth home win. Horsham won four ends in a row to go 9-6 up on the 12th. Pavilion responded in kind to take a 13-9 lead after 16 but they couldn't hold on, dropping a five on the 19th en route to a 19-13 defeat.With the aggregate score 131-66, Pavilion can look forward with some confidence to the second leg of the annual match at Horsham on Thursday, August 15.

In their first match of the GS&M League season, Pavilion ladies gained a last-gasp draw with Storrington by claiming a total of four shots on the 18th ends.Conditions were far from ideal on Tuesday, May 21, with the previous day's blazing sunshine replaced by leaden skies and gentle rain that made Pavilion's B green slower than the players would have liked.Pat Edmonds, Jill Lay, Lynn Down and skip Ann Button brightened the mood with a dream start on their rink, winning the first seven ends to go 20 shots up. Storrington won seven of the remaining 11 ends but Pavilion secured a 28-11 victory with a single on the last.Julie Woods, Kathy Byrnes, Teresa McLaughlin and skip Gill Harrisson lost the first four ends, then won the next three to level the game at 7-7. The visitors could do almost nothing wrong from that point, surging to a 27-7 advantage with one end to play.That was when Pavilion proved their mettle, scoring a three to tie the match 38-38 on aggregate and ensure each team earned three points.

Pavilion's team emerged with eight of the 10 points from their fixture against Maltravers to move into second place in the Brodie Tray league on Friday, May 24.In sunny but breezy conditions at Littlehampton, the visitors led all four games after nine of the 18 ends.Any thoughts of a clean sweep were banished, however, as the games neared their conclusion.Maltravers mounted a spirited fightback and, with five ends still to play, they had turned the tables on every rink.Malcolm Gardiner and skip Arthur White earned top rink with a 15-10 victory, boosted by a storming run to the finish in which they won six ends without reply.The triple of Colin Johnson, Sue Gubbins and skip Barry Ledger were seven up after two ends but gradually lost the initiative and trailed by six with four ends remaining. They scored a six to tie the match on the 15th, then scored singles on the last two ends to squeak home 19-18.The four of Bryan Bodicoat, Dennis Allen, Simon Ritter and skip Ken Chapman led all the way to the 13th but were never able to pull more than four clear of their dogged opponents. Nearly every time an end was won, the next was lost.Maltravers went ahead for the first time while taking six ends on the trot and stood five up with two to play. Needing four on the last for a draw, Pavilion scored three and Maltravers won 15-14 for their only points of the match.The last game to finish was the second triples. Roger Dutton, Phil Carter and skip David Berry dropped three on the first, then reeled off six ends to go 10-3 up. Maltravers responded with a run of one, three, five and four to lead 16-10.Back came Pavilion, taking five consecutive ends for a three-shot advantage. They dropped two on the 17th end, making the overall aggregate only five. The entire match was in the balance but Berry and his teammates scored a single on the 18th to take the spoils 20-18 as the other players watched the action unfold.Pavilion's 68-61 victory put them on 24 points from four matches, one behind Southwick, who have played three.

Pavilion produced the perfect response to a heavy defeat in their opening Stracey Shield match by winning on all four rinks of the match at Lancing on Monday, May 20.The sun shone literally and figuratively on the visiting players. An aggregate victory by 90 shots to 43 earned Pavilion all 10 points and lifted the club from sixth to second in the league table.On an even-paced green that took a moderate amount of turn, the opening exchanges were closely contested on three rinks.The exception was Warwick Davis's four of George Rhodes, Roger Dutton and Peter Tomley, who raced to a 10-2 advantage after eight of the 21 ends and led all the way to register a 22-10 victory.They were not top rink, however. That honour went to Russ Doherty's four of Simon Ritter, Phil Carter and Richard Calvert. They were only 8-5 up when the match paused for refreshments after 10 ends but the fruit loaf and chocolate biscuits clearly suited them to a tee. Doherty ensured they dropped only one shot in the second half on the way to a 27-6 success.Simon Warr skipped Alan Crowter, Teresa McLaughlin and David Berry to a 23-12 win. All square after eight ends, they scored a timely three and four just before the interval to pull away from Lancing, who were unable to take more than two shots from any of the nine ends they won.Barry Ledger's four of Keith Lyons, Maria Jones and Bryan Bodicoat dropped a five on the ninth end and were two down at the interval. Suitably refreshed, they won six of the next seven ends to turn the tables on their opponents and went on to win 18-15.