In the women’s pairs, the top seeds fell like ninepins with pre-tournament favourites Lynsey Armitage and Natasha Van Eldik joined on the sidelines by former Scottish international Kay Moran and world number six Karen Murphy, along with Australian squad member Anne Johns and her St Johns Park teammate Maryann Parcell.
Having fallen perilously short of medaling for Australia during last month’s Delhi Commonwealth Games, Armitage and Van Eldik were brought undone by Harbord’s Masako Sato and North Sydney’s Dafna Orbach, who clinched a memorable 10-6, 11-8 victory.
Orback continued her giant-killing run later in the day when she skipped Di McBryde and Vicky Bartop to an 8-8, 9-1 victory over Cabramatta’s Lisa Prideaux, Moran and Murphy.
The NSW Open continues tomorrow with the opening round of the women’s singlesClick here for more information on the 2010 NSW Open in Wagga.
