Southland Experts Dominate Bridge Championship Playoffs in Montreal

Southland bridge experts dominated the final days of the North American Championships in Montreal last weekend with victories in the Women’s Team Championship and the Open Pair Championship.

The team of Barbara Hamman, Los Angeles; Rama Linz, Beverly Hills; Juanita Skelton, Sherman Oaks; Lynn Deas, Schenectady, N.Y.; Beth Palmer, Silver Spring, Md., and Kay Schulle, New York City, won the final match of the Women’s Knockout Team Championship Monday night by 165 to 138 international match points over the team of Lynn Feldman, Santa Barbara; Jan Martel, Davis, Calif.; Roberta Epstein, South Orange, N.J.; Rozanne Pollack, Englewood, N.J.; Susan Picus, Summit, N.J., and Lisa Berkowitz, Secaucus, N.J.

The top-seeded team, headed by Beverly Hills bridge teacher Mary Jane Farell, was eliminated earlier in the five-day contest.

Los Angeles expert Jim Robison and Joe Silver of Montreal won the Open Pair Championship, held last Saturday and Sunday. Leading scores were: Robison and Silver, 1,765; John Roberts, New York City, and David Berkowitz, Secaucus, N.J., 1,712; Barry Crane, Studio City, and Tom Sanders, Nashville, Tenn., 1,701.