Ark. Diamonds cruise to Senior Games gold

At the National Senior Games last week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the Arkansas Diamonds went a perfect 7-0, cruising to a title in the Women’s 75-plus bracket last week with a 50-22 rout of the East Coast Bouncers.

The Diamonds, who are based in Hot Springs, used all seven of their active players in the championship game — Linda Lynch, Carolyn Trowbridge, Jodi Moon, Laverne Graves, Sharon Thornton, Ellen Varhalla and Sharon Manus.

Ellen Tallach, who missed the title game with an illness, is one of three players — along with Thornton and Varhalla — who have been teammates for the past 22 years. Graves is the most experienced Senior Olympic player in the group.

The Diamonds ran through their opening games last Monday, winning twice by a combined 84-39 margin. They had tighter affairs Tuesday, but still won both games by double digits, and beat the Chicago North Stars 40-14 in their playoff opener Wednesday morning.

The closest shave came in the semifinals, edging the Texas Phoenix 28-25.

That win sent the Diamonds into Thursday’s final against the Florida-based Bouncers.

The NSGA hosts biennial national championship tournaments, sponsoring 21 different individual and team sports. Each state has qualifying tournaments in off-years for teams to reach nationals.

The NSGA’s 2022 competition was postponed from 2021 due to covid-19, so the Diamonds will have another shot at a title in 2023 when the National Senior Games are held in Pittsburgh.