Three-time winner and defending champion Robert Vallis and the man he beat in last year's final, former winner Tim Carr, both tumbled out on a day of upsets in the Bermuda Amateur Match Play Championships at Mid Ocean Club yesterday.

Although the gale force winds of a day earlier had subsided, conditions were still far from ideal on the exposed Tucker's Town links.

And it was Boston visitor Bill Jenks and local veteran Max Atherden who handled those conditions best against their respective opponents, Vallis and Carr.

Vallis, however, took his closely-fought match to the final hole before succumbing, Jenks squeezing through one up.

Carr, on the other hand, was comprehensively beaten five and four by St.

George's Club manager Atherden who appears to have rediscovered his form of old.

Among the women, local defending champion, 17-year-old Laura Robinson made it through to her second successive final with a seven and six defeat of Valerie Nearon.

But she faces a much tougher task in tomorrow's 36-hole final when she tees it up against Janell Howland, a scratch handicapper who plays out of Florida.

Howland disposed of her semi-final opponent Sandy Hutchings six and five yesterday.

Jenks, a beaten semi-finalist last year and a room-mate at Mid Ocean Club this week with another former champion, Cy Kilgore, acknowledged his match with Vallis could have gone either way.

"It was a very close match,'' he said. "I've never played Robert before but it sure was a close one. We both hit some good shots.'' Jenks, a member of the Brae Burn club in West Newton, Massachusetts, noted that he had taken a two-up lead on the 14th and narrowly missed a birdie on the 15th which would have made him dormie three.

"But Robert made a birdie on 16 which was big and then hit it stiff to about 12 feet on the (par three) 17th,'' added Jenks. "He two putted for par but I knocked my putt 15 feet past the hole and fortunately managed to make the putt coming back. We both then made four on the last.'' A state four-ball champion with Kilgore in 1995, Jenks said he wasn't looking past today's quarter-final against Atherden.

"I'll take it just one shot at a time, I'm not thinking too far ahead.

"Of course, I'd love to win here, it's such a wonderful golf course.'' In today's other quarter-finals, three other Bermuda players will be featured with at least one advancing to the semis.

Gary Carr eliminated Malcolm Burgess three and two yesterday and now meets Paul Harkness this morning after the latter put paid to Mid Ocean's Eddie Marshall four and three.

In another quarter final, Bermudian Blake Marshall takes on reigning Iowa State champion Gene Elliott.

Marshall edged past Cy Kilgore two and one while Elliott defeated Chris Brough by the same margin.

Beaten semi-finalist last year and this year's medallist Stan Lee beat Richard Knight five and four to set up a quarter-final against Jack Scrymgoeur who ended the challenge of David Hunter four and three.

The men's semi-finals will be played this afternoon with the finals scheduled for tomorrow, both men's and ladies' championship matches to be played over 36 holes.

On the way out: Defending champion Robert Vallis was eliminated by American Bill Jenks.

Janell Howland: Defeated Sandy Hutchings six and five to set up a women's championship match against defending champion Laura Robinson.