submitted
THE South East Women’s 8-Ball Association made history recently when it had a team crowned South Australian state champions at the 32nd SA Women’s State Carnival 8-ball competition.
The event was held at Chalkers Eightball Centre in Glenelg, with three South East women’s teams making the trip to compete.
A total of 23 teams from leagues around South Australia, along with Sunraysia and Broken Hill, contested the event.
Against tough competitors, the team of Mandy Hart, Jo Walsh, Chris Schembri, Toni Greenwood and Karla Bowd went through the competition undefeated to claim the title.
Following two days of minor rounds, all three South East teams booked a finals berth.
Finals kicked off on the third day, with the South East team 1 and 2 both losing their first finals to be knocked out of the running.
Team 1, led by captain Schembri, won its first final against Gawler 8-2.
That was followed by a come-back win against SA Women’s 1, where the side fought back from 7-4 down to win the second final in a nail-biting 8-7 result.
With the decider against Sunraysia up next, the South East team showed strong form to topple its opposition 8-4 and win the title.
Following several runner-up finishes, to finally claim the top honours for the first time was an impressive feat, with the side returning home as South Australian Women’s 8-ball champions.
RESULTS
Team 1: Round 1 South East 11 d City of Adelaide 4; Round 2, South East 9 d Broken Hill 6; Round 3, South East 9 d Mannum 6; Round 4, South East 11 d Centrals 2 4; Round 5, South East 11 d Sunraysia 2 4; Round 6, South East 12 d SA Women’s 2 3; Round 7, South East 9 d Great Southern 6.
Team 2: Round 1, SA Women’s 1 9 d South East 6; Round 2, South East 9 d Northern 6; Round 3, Murray Bridge 8 d South East 7; Round 4, South East 10 d Centrals 1 5; Round 5, Barossa 10 d South East 5; Round 6, South East 12 d Riverland 2 3; Round 7, South East 10 d South York Peninsula 5.
Team 3: Round 1, South East 12 d SA Women’s 3; Round 2, South East 9 d Gawler 6; Round 3, bye; Round 4, Sunraysia 10 d South East 5; Round 5, South East 9 d Mannum 6; Round 6, South East 11 d Riverland 1 4; Round 7, Salisbury 9 d South East 6.
