As the season proper gets under way, Mendip’s men and ladies have been extremely busy this week.
The men’s April Tankard attracted an entry of 136 competitors who were faced with a difficult, northerly wind that meant that good scoring was not easy. Winning Division 1, with 36 points and maintaining his recent good form, was Justin Dodd, just edging out Ian Parham, with 35 points, who in turn beat Jordan Vaughan, on countback.
Division 2 saw a fine 39 points from Stephen Cox to secure first place, with Martin Honeybun, second, with 37, and Ken Langridge, third, with 35, after a multiple countback with four others. However, Division 3 saw the round of the day with Alan O’Leary winning, with 40 points and he was followed by Andrew Wells, with 39 and Terry Carter, with 36 points.
The Men’s Avalon B Team recorded a 9–4½ victory when home to Isle of Wedmore. Wins came from the pairings of Robert Ware and Tim Lamb, M. Tabor and John Brooksbank and Captain of the Day, Will Waddington and Merv Vaughan, with J. Herniman and Shaun Robertson gaining a half.
The Avalon C Team, captained by Malcolm Scrawley, opened their League season with a 3½ – 1½ win. Mendip points came from M. Scrawley and S. Butland, W. Black and D. Allen and S. Whalen and Philip Moores and a valuable half was earned by C. Butland and M. Honeybun, who battled back from 2 down with 3 to play.
The Ladies first medal of the season saw a fine round from Aimee Sawyer winning Division 1, with net 74 and earning herself a handicap reduction to 5. Second, with a net 79, was First Team Captain, Marian Speed and in third place, Chris Olds, with net 80. Division 2 was won by Chris Williams, with Carol Curtis, second and Anita Butcher, third. Division 3 was won with a good net 80 by fairly new to the game, Nichola Croft, with Anne Collins second and Val Dixon, third.
The Ladies Alliance A Team started their season with a tough away fixture to Lansdown. There were very good wins from Aimee Sawyer and Jenny Merrett and Jan Fukuyama fought hard for a half. However, the final score was Lansdown, 9 Mendip, 5. The B Team having gained promotion last year, had an equally testing first match away to Saltford A team. There were good wins for Vi Hayes and Chris Olds and a half from Chris Down. However, as with the A Team, this resulted in a 5–9 defeat.
The Seniors still seek their first win of the season after going down to a 2–4 defeat when away to Taunton and Pickeridge. There were wins however for Derek Bellew and Andy Griffiths and Jim Scott and John Brooksbank.
The Mendip Mixed Team visited Saltford who had difficulty in fielding a full team. However, that did not stop them winning the match 4–1, with Mendip’s sole win coming from Captain of the Day, Carol Curtis and husband, Mike, who despite giving nine shots, recorded a fairly comprehensive victory.
Tony Williams