Samantha fights back to land prize
May 14 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal
IT takes a lot for a 21-handicapper to hold her nerve and stage a comeback to win a county title and Samantha Taylor, from the Parklands club, deserves respect for capturing the Northumberland Girls Championship.
She battled back from three down to beat Nicola Haynes of Gosforth Park Ladies 2&1 in the final at Wallsend.
The county ladies tell us that Taylor (pictured left), a pupil at Marden High School in Cullercoats, is a member of Tynemouth Diving Club, so we guess she’s used to plunging in at the deep end.
Yet the result may have been different but for a couple of twists of fate. If Morpeth’s Grace Anderson had not forgotten to sign her card, she would have qualified for the knock-out stages instead of Taylor.
Another potential winner, Alyssa Balding, from Parklands, a former British Junior Solo Dance Champion, could not play in the qualifying round because she was involved in the Ladies County Championship at Ponteland.
It’s a pity two such important events ran into an overlap on the fixture list. On the other hand, six juniors were able to enter the Durham Ladies Championship at Chester-le-Street last weekend.
