WESTLECOT men produced a mixed set of results last weekend, winning in the Denny Plate but also being pipped at the post in their latest East Region Wessex League match.

The Old Town club were always ahead in their Denny Plate third round tie against Somerset side Isle of Wedmore and cruised to a 93-54 success after taking the honours on three rinks and drawing the other.

It was a close contest for top rink honours, with Chris Cheeseley’s home four (14 shots) just edging out Kyle Anderson’s home quartet (13 shots), with John Thomas’ rink in Wedmore close behind (12 shots). The other rink in Wedmore, led by Ian Farragher, drew 17-17.

In the fourth round, Westlecot will meet West Berks (Newbury) or Harpenden (Herts) on January 6.

Meanwhile, despite leading across the board for the first 18 ends, Westlecot saw their unbeaten Wessex League record fall as they lost 88-83 to fellow unbeaten side Loddon Vale (Basingstoke).

Westlecot were successful on only one of the four rinks and drew another to collect three of the 16 points available.

It was a disappointing finish as Westlecot had led by as many as 14 points after five ends and were still 78-72 up after 18 ends.

However, the 19th end was their downfall as they conceded nine shots, and although they managed to pull it back to 82-83 on the 20th end, they only scored a single and dropped five shots on the last end.

Thomas’ foursome at home produced the only victory, 22-15, while Mike Titcombe’s four managed a 22-22 draw.

Westlecot drop to fifth in the East Region table as a result and cannot afford anymore slip-ups if they are to finish in the top two and claim an automatic place in the end-of-season play-offs.

  • SWINDON Manor men will be seeking to halt their run of three defeats in a row when they face Rivermead (Reading) on Sunday in their fifth East Region match in the Wessex League.

They currently sit seventh in the table on 26 points, six above Sunday’s opponents.

  • WESTLECOT Ladies contest the third round of the Yetton Plate today against Newbury side West Berks IBC.

The away legs will be held at Pyle Hill, Greenham Road, but the home rinks will not be played at Westlecot as the green is being used for the annual Westlecot Open Singles Tournament and will instead be played at Swindon Manor.

  • THE seventh annual Westlecot Open Singles Tournament will be staged this weekend.

A top-class field of 64 players has been assembled for the tournament, which is part of the national Open Singles Circuit, and will be competing for a prize pot of over £2,200, with £1,000 going to the winner and £500 to the runner-up.

Four players in the top 16 of the world rankings have entered, headed by world number six Robert Paxton and former world champion Les Gillett, ranked 11.

The tournament will be staged on both Saturday and Sunday, with play commencing each day at 8.30am and the final planned for 6.30pm on Sunday.

Entry to the event is free and a bar and canteen facilities are in operation on both days.