Ceri Ann’s world title

Jan 23 2009 by Gregor White, Stirling Observer Friday

A PREGNANT post-graduate student at Stirling University has successfully retained her world indoor bowls title.

Along with her competition partner David Gourlay, MSc Sports Coaching student Ceri Ann Davies enjoyed an emphatic 11-2, 12-0 victory in the final of the World Bowls Tour mixed pairs Matchplay title at Potters Leisure Resort in Suffolk last weekend.

Due to give birth in April she said: “I have had to adapt my stance to cope with the fact that I have so much weight in front.

“I would be in danger of falling over if I bowled normally!”

Ceri Ann was born in Wales and emigrated to Australia, the country she represented - and took a silver medal for - in the last Commonwealth Games.

Now resident in Scotland her latest win was just one of a number of sporting victories being celebrated by the university - now officially Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence - over the weekend, with strong performances across the board in swimming, tennis and golf.

Olympic swimmer Andrew Hunter took gold at the Scottish National Short-Course Championships in Glasgow, edging home in the 200 metres freestyle just two-hundredths of a second ahead of second-placed Robbie Renwick at a time of 1.46.07.

And while all local tennis eyes are normally turned towards the formidable Murray brothers postgraduate tennis scholar Colin Fleming was showing that they are not the only ones to watch as he made the finals of the inaugural Aegon Pro-Series tournament, also in Glasgow.

Defeating number one seed Richard Broomfield on his way to the final he went one set up against French talent Stephane Robert, though eventually losing the tie narrowly 6-2, 4-6, 4-6.

Lastly - golf’s Scottish U21 champion Kelsey MacDonald finished a highly creditable third in the South Atlantic women’s amateur championship in Florida.

While the star of the tournament was precocious 13-year-old runaway winner Alexis Thompson, Kelsey had a ding-dong battle for second place with Canada’s Kira Meixner.

Starting level on the final day, and still level after 17 holes, Kelsey three-putted the last and her 74 was one stroke too many to Meixner’s 73.

But she did have the satisfaction in the third round of a superb three-under-par 69 in what were some pretty cold and windy conditions.