The annual Baker and Ey Shields took place in Lucindale recently, with over 80 players in attendance from the Mount Gambier and Southern Ports Tennis Associations.
Lucindale put on a perfect day, with warm weather and grass tennis courts in great condition.
Last year, Southern Ports took out both shields and Mount Gambier was eager to put in a stronger performance this time around.
In the Baker Shield (Division 1), the Mount Gambier teams got off to a great start in the morning session, with Mount Gambier Blue sneaking over the line 8 sets to 7 against Southern Ports Blue, and Mount Gambier Green taking the win 9 sets to 6 over Southern Ports Red.
In the afternoon session, matches were just as tight again, with Mount Gambier Blue defeating Southern Ports Red 9 sets to 6, and Mount Gambier Green victorious over Southern Ports Blue 9 sets to 6.
There were plenty of standouts on both sides, with some of the best performances coming from the likes of Zayne Young, Eliza Handbury, Bianca Cunneen, Tarrant Fudge, Andrew van den Hurk, Mark Heemskerk, Jayme Young, Dylan Childs, Sarah Edwards and Poppy Moyle-Read.
Overall, Southern Ports can consider themselves unlucky, going down in a lot of tight covntests, as Mount Gambier finished the day as winners of the Baker Shield 35 sets to 25.
In the Ey Shield (Division 2), it was Southern Ports that got themselves off to a flying start, taking a lead of 17 sets to 13 at the lunch break.
Southern Ports Blue were the most convincing in the morning session, with a 9 sets to 6 win over Mount Gambier Blue.
Mount Gambier Blue started slowly, falling behind 4 sets to 1 after the doubles, and could not quite bridge the
gap through the singles matches.
Southern Ports Red also put in a great performance, taking down Mount Gambier Green 8 sets to 7.
Southern Ports Blue continued its form into the afternoon session, defeating Mount Gambier Green 8 sets to 7 and put Southern Ports in a great position to take out the shield.
However, in a stunning comeback, Mount Gambier Blue took down Southern Ports Red 10 sets to 5, which then put the overall result on level terms at 30 sets apiece.
After much deliberation, and all the scores were added up, Mount Gambier took out the shield by just 9 games, with the overall result 30-317 to 30-308.
Standout performances in the Ey Shield came from David Cole, Rylee Kuchel, Sarah Brown, Casey Weaver, Lou Liedig, Sally Schultz and Tyler Hannigan.
