Bowls Scotland National Championships: Mitchell to take on Commonwealth medallist Brown in final
- Published
Teenager Emma Mitchell secured a spot in the Bowls Scotland Ladies Singles final on her first appearance at the National Championships with an impressive win against Chloe Stewart.
The young Gilmerton star, 19, rallied from 8-2 down to command the semi-final at the National Centre for Bowling at Northfield, Ayr, eventually sealing a 21-14 triumph.
Mitchell will meet Commonwealth Games medallist Caroline Brown of Motherwell in Saturday's showpiece final.
A slow start from the youngster, who has been well-backed this week by her club and wider district of Midlothian, allowed Stewart to soar into an early lead, picking up a two and three in the opening stages, coupled with a few singles, to sail 8-2 ahead.
Mitchell, though, who completed a stunning comeback in her quarter-final game against Commonwealth Games silver medallist Lesley Doig, did not lose the head, keeping it tight with a string of twos to take the cagey affair to 11-11.
The first to find their groove was Mitchell. The talented footballer, who will be jetting off to the United States next month on a football scholarship, scored a composed three to take the lead for the first time at 14-11.
The nip-and-tuck nature of the game continued, until a dead draw to rest on Stewart's bowl inches behind the jack saw the Gilmerton player stretch into a 16-12 lead.
Mature beyond her years, Mitchell maintained her cool despite collecting a full house to take her within one shot of victory.
Stewart managed to delay the likely outcome for one extra end with a stunning shot of her own, but it was all about Mitchell's resilience and her superior drawing delivered a deserved 21-14 victory.
No family affair for Nicholson pair
Earlier on this morning, the gents' pair from Hyndland, Steven Borthwick and Ryan Gualtieri, were comfortable 19-10 winners against Ralph and Liam Nicholson of Gala Waverley.
The Glasgow-based club raced into a 13-0 lead after six ends of play, with Borthwick drawing superbly to force Gala skip Liam - the younger Nicholson - into running bowls, with which he, frustratingly, found little success.
A much-needed two was picked up in the seventh end by the father-son duo, and a change in mat and jack length followed.
The desired effect from the change in conditions, though, did not transpire and after 10 ends, Hyndland were well on their way with a 16-3 lead.
Gala Waverley scooped up two threes in three ends, courtesy of unfortunate results from slightly quicker running bowls from Gualtieri. Much needed scores if any comeback was to unfold.
Squashed in between the counts, though, the Hyndland skip whisked in a deadly draw to pick up a one to make it 17-9 after 13 ends.
The strong start from the Hyndland pair could not be caught and with no large counts gained in the closing ends, Gala Waverley shook hands with an end to spare.
That victory sent the pair into the afternoon's semi-final against Bogleha, were they once again triumphed, although in much more dramatic fashion, to set up tomorrow's final against Eastfield.
At 14:00 BST the Bowls Scotland Gents Singles Championship will be contested between Eaglesham's Alan Gray and Jedburgh's Alastair White, live on the BBC Sport Scotland website.