In 1994, Ferrick was third in the New Zealand women's four that won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
The gold medal was won by South Africa, which had Anna Pretorius as the lead.
''I remember standing on the podium with your mother,'' Colleen Ferrick told her opponent, Pretorius' daughter, Linda Ralph, after their New Zealand mixed pairs game in Dunedin yesterday.
Ralph, who emigrated to New Zealand 18 years ago, was in the Auckland mixed pairs team, with Scott Mouton, that won the national title.
They beat the Taradale husband-and-wife pair of Bruce and Colleen Ferrick 13-6 in a game that finished early when Auckland was leading 13-6 after 11 of the 16 ends.
''I telephoned my mother in South Africa after the game and she was very excited for me,'' Ralph said. Ralph, a medical receptionist, played pairs with her mother in Transvaal before emigrating to New Zealand.
She won the Pathways women's singles two years ago and represented New Zealand in the world champion of champions final in Malaysia.
Ralph has also represented the New Zealand PBA in England and Wales. She has a lot of experience and won Transvaal and Southern Transvaal titles before coming to New Zealand.
Mouton (22), the owner of a security company in Auckland, has been playing bowls for 12 years and won a South African under-25 fours title.
He emigrated to New Zealand four years ago from Cape Town.
The Aucklanders won all their five games in the round robin competition at the Westpac Bowls Stadium.
They beat the Balclutha pair of Tony Cook and Christine King 16-13, Victoria (Wellington) 21-13, Bay of Plenty 14-9, Nelson 28-9 and Taradale (Hawkes Bay) 13-6.
The Fenwicks were unbeaten on the first day but lost its first game yesterday to Balclutha, 18-13.
The Auckland team had a big points differential advantage and it meant that Taradale had to win by 16 shots to claim the New Zealand title.
''We knew we had a 16-shot advantage but we still wanted to go out and win the game,'' Mouton said.
''We knew we didn't need help from any other team. It was in our own hands and we thought it would be nice to win five games out of five.''
The Balclutha pair gained two wins yesterday and finished second in the competition with three wins and a differential of plus 13. Taradale was third with three wins and a differential of minus four.
The mens and women's singles competition starts today and finishes tomorrow.
