Kingston Tennis Club claimed the Division 1 shield in the 2023/24 Southern Ports Tennis Association grand final, defeating the Beachport Pirates 13 sets to 11.
The minor premiers had a tough battle on their hands against a formidable Pirates side, with the score remaining even until the final matches of the day.
Led by captains Matt Menz and Bianca Cunneen, Kingston started the day strong with a 6-3 win in the top mixed double.
S. Mules/S. Lehmann followed form with a 6-4 win.
Further down the order, Beachport pairs D. Bateman/Pulmer and R. Bateman/Sutherland were quick to fight back, both sets won 6-2.
With sets tied at the end of the mixed, the top players were first to take the court in the singles.
Menz made comfortable work of opponent Noah Lang, 6-0.
However, number two man Jake Harris drew the scores even again with 6-0 win over Shaun Mules.
The Beachport ladies continued the search for victory with wins to Maddie Pulmer, Lucy Corman and Tamara Sutherland.
But the Kingston men ensured the scores stayed even at the end of the singles.
Veteran player Lou Ledig showed his finals form, holding out against Beachport captain Darcy Bateman to win 7-6.
With the title on the line, both teams were seeking victory in the doubles.
With Kingston leading 12-11, all eyes were on the final double of the day, the ladies number 5/6s.
Crane/J. Mules (Kingston) and Watson/Sutherland (Beachport) were the sole players left on the courts.
With both teams waiting with bated breath, it was the Kingston pair that was victorious, 9-3.
Kingston 13-125 defeated Beachport 11-118.
EAGLES, REBELS WIN MINOR DIVISIONS
The Frances-Lucindale Eagles and the Robe Rebels have taken out the Division 2 and 3 Shields in the Southern Ports grand final.
Frances-Lucindale Eagles 12-118 defeated Lucindale Koalas 12-113
The Eagles, who only narrowly missed playing the Division 1 final, had to work hard for their win against a strong Lucindale Koalas side.
The Koalas took the lead early with convincing wins by Smart/Oliver 6-1, and McKinnon/McCarthy 6-2.
Two more wins saw them leading 4-2 at the end of the mixed.
The Eagles made a quick comeback in the singles, taking the top three men’s singles.
A notable match between Tarrant Fudge (FLE) and Sam Gratez (LK) had the crowd on the edge of their seat.
Graetz took control early in the match, leading 3-0.
But it was Fudge’s consistency that saw him fight back to win the set, 6-4.
In the ladies’ singles Flo Burgwin and Sarah Hinge were quick to gain more sets for the Eagles with 6-1 and 6-0 wins respectively.
For the Koalas, the Leannes were steady as ever, Graetz winning her single 6-1 and McCarthy 6-2, to keep their team in the lead.
Heading into the doubles, the Koalas only required three sets to take home the shield.
Baker/Boyington showed their skills, stunning ace doubles pair McTaggart/Williams 9-4.
Teammates Gratez/Oliver were quick to follow suit 9-3.
But the Eagles were not backing down.
In a marathon match, Jones/Close were able to claw the Eagles back to one set down with a 10-8 win over McKinnon/Ogilvie, which left all eyes on the top men’s double.
Fudge/Crossling were dominant in their display, leaving S.Graetz/Smart scrambling to find winners.
In an enthralling match, it was Fudge/Crossling who took the win, 9-3.
This secured the Ratcliff Division 2 Shield for the Frances/Lucindale Eagles.
Robe Rebels 21-151 defeated Lucindale Wombats 3-85
In the Division 3 final it was Robe Rebels who took home the chocolates with a convincing win against the Lucindale Wombats.
The Rebels were strong all day, taking no prisoners in their 21-3 set win.
The Rebels were quick to go up 5-1 by the end of the mixed with notable performances by Malone/Drabsch and Robertson/Warren, both winning 6-2.
In the singles the sets continued to stack up.
The Rebels, led by the Regnier brothers, secured 11 of the 12 singles with ease, the brothers winning their respective singles 6-0.
Wombat Andrea Buckett put up a fight against Rebels captain Kim Austin, the latter taking the set 7-5.
Meanwhile Alicia Orton secured the Wombats’ only single, 6-2.
With the day squared away, the doubles were a last ditch effort for the Wombats to redeem some sets.
Heather Pitt and Katherine Legoe broke through to deliver the Wombats their third and final set of the day, 9-4.
While A. Maywald/S. Crocker fell just short to Pretlove/Stevenson, 7-9.
But at the end of the day, the Rebels held the Division 3 Drabsch/Goldfinch Shield high after their stunning performance.
Presentations
In conjunction with grand final presentations on Saturday evening the league presented awards to the best players of the 2023/24 season.
Tamara Sutherland (Beachport) had a strong first season in the SPTA, taking out the title of ‘Best Lady’ for both the singles and the doubles.
Jed Regnier (Robe Rebels) claimed the Best Man in Singles and Bob Williams (F/L Eagles) secured the doubles title.
The best juniors in the Senior Competition were also recognised with the Hazel Tregoweth Memorial Trophies, sponsored by Leanne Graetz and Cheryl Fitzgerald.
For the second year Lucy Midwinter (Naracoorte) was awarded best girl, while Vander Maywald (Luc. Wombats) was the best boy in his debut season.
An auction and raffle were also held and drawn during the presentations.
Southern Ports would like to thank the following sponsors for their support: Malone Wines, Shaun Mules, Ducky’s Surf Millicent, Kim and Matt Austin, Cape Jaffa Wines, Simone Burdon and Jared Oliver.
The SPTA Open Forum will be held at 7pm on March 13 at Beachport and the 2024/25 season will start up again in October.
