Oxfordshire's Carol Gaskins and Carol Penson had a terrific run in the women’s National Senior Pairs at Royal Leamington Spa before bowing out in the semi-finals.

The Oxford City & County duo were pipped 27-24 by eventual winners Yvonne Woodcock and Wendy Davies (Sussex) at Victoria Park.

Gaskins and Penson had seen off Huntingdonshire’s Helen Crow and Pat Reynolds 19-15 in the quarter-finals.

That came after they had opened up by crushing Somerset’s Barbara Colby and Jill Humphries 26-8, before squeezing past Hampshire’s Carol Pullin and Sandy Pullin 20-17.

An Oxford City & County side are also through to the National Fours Championship semi-finals.

Katherine Hawes’s team of Myra Lewis, Donna Knight and Gail Gilkes reached the last four with a thrilling 19-18 win over a side from Parkway, Huntingdonshire.

In the quarter-finals, the City & County four had posted a 20-9 win over a team from Consett Park, Durham.

They started their challenge with a 20-13 win over a four from Wigton, Cumbria, before defeating a Didcot side 30-15 in the second round.

City & County’s Margaret Stacey, Marion Darton, Gas-kins and Penson lost 24-9 to a Broadway four in round one.

OTHER RESULTS

National Junior Singles Championship 1st round: K Glenn (Oxford City & County) 5, H Arundel (Selby, Yorkshire) 21. 2nd round: A Stone (Banbury Central) 21, C Smith (Junction, Derbyshire) 18. 3rd round: A Stone 19, K Cumper (Woodbridge Hill, Surrey) 21.

Champions of Champions 1st round: J Eley (Bushey) 21, D Knight (Oxford City & County) 16.