Waihopai Bowling Club has claimed a clean sweep of Bowls Southland's open triples titles, with its women's team winning every game in its first season at open level and its men's side recovering from a heavy early defeat to take the final.

The women's title went to Zoe Beck, Emma Drake and Emma Cathcart, who had stepped up to open grade this season. They edged Te Rangi 23-20 in the semifinal before beating Waverley in a final played in a strong wind at the Invercargill Bowling Club, the Otago Daily Times reported on Thursday.

Beck, who is 15, told the paper the tight semifinal had given the team a scare, and described winning the title as unexpected and very exciting.

The men's team of Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Thomas Cockerill and Craig Merrilees had a bumpier path. The trio lost 9-18 to Northend in their second match, a result Bagrie-Howley summed up bluntly as being walked over, before winning the rest of their games and finishing with an 18-6 victory over Te Rangi in the final.

The double completes a strong few weeks for the club. A fortnight earlier Bagrie-Howley and Merrilees teamed up with Drake to win the Southland mixed triples, losing their opening game 13-16 to Hokonui and then winning out, including a 24-2 final against Waverley. Quarterfinals in that event were played under cover on Waverley's artificial green.

Bagrie-Howley said the mixed trio had been in hot form and had put on something of a clinic between them.

The open tournaments were sponsored by Avenal Park Funeral Home. In the development triples, played for less experienced bowlers, Otatara's Jane Carroll, Michelle Gould and Cherie Meulenbroek won the women's title while the men's went to Northend, represented by Robert Ballantyne, Adam Hall-Black and Tom Sergeant.

Beck's age stands out in a sport that tends to be associated with older players, though Southland has a record of producing young bowlers who go on to represent the region and the country. Bowls Southland runs its centre events through the summer, with the open triples one of the first major titles decided each season.

Waihopai is one of several clubs in Invercargill, alongside Northend, Invercargill, Waverley and Te Rangi, which between them hosted the various rounds of the tournaments over recent weekends.