Kingston 18-145 d Penola 6-85
Kingston was determined to make amends after its second loss for the season to Lucindale Koalas last week, with just its second game on grass proving to be a tad difficult.
However, knowing the side had nine players out it was not taking Penola lightly when the top of the table spot was up for grabs and put together a solid looking side with a few handy fill ins.
The mixed double duos paired well for Kingston winning five out of the six games played.
And then wow, the Kingston men really put on a show only dropping five games out of the entire six sets of singles played.
Steve Edwards again proved his skill, stepping up to number 1 this week and taking on Jack England and his consistency getting him the 6-1 win.
His son Will Edwards also played some great tennis, having a solid win at number 2 against Penola’s Tom Pearce.
Craig Lawrie came out of retirement again, having a good win at number 5, 6-0 against Jacob from Penola.
The Penola women clawed back the score winning three out of the six singles but not without a fight.
Kingston’s Nicola Crane had to move up the ranks this week, having an awesome game with Penola’s Michelle Coomans, just losing that one in a tiebreak 7-3.
Kingston’s new recruit Natasha Meseldzija also had a blinder of a first game against Caz McGrath, winning 6-1.
Penola’s number 4 and 6 women Grace Porter-Dabrowski and Leila MacLeod both had good wins 6-2 each over Kingston’s Hines and Zwart.
Penola had to win all doubles to make a dent in the score at the end of the day.
The first four went Kingston’s way, however the number 3/4 and 5/6’s for Penola again were too good, Coomans/Porter-Dabrowski winning 9-6 over Crane/Hines and Davidson/MacLeod winning 9-5 over Menz/Zwart.
Kingston consolidated the win to help their chance of a Div 1 final alive.
Naracoorte – 9-103 lt Luc. Koalas 15-130
Awarm day at Naracoorte produced some high quality Southern Ports Tennis Association matches.
The mixed doubles had the day looking even with three sets going each way.
For Naracoorte, Malone/P. Moyle-Read were a standout, taking their double 6-3.
Similarly, McKinnon/Legoe were also in form, winning their set 6-1.
The singles started to show the Koalas dominance.
Winning four men’s singles and three ladies singles it was going to be tough for Naracoorte to make a comeback.
At the top of the men’s singles, Sam Graetz and Max Malone showed why they are two of the best.
With some long, smashing rallies, Graetz came through the winner, 7-5.
On the next court the heat continued between Naracoorte’s Darcy Blacker and Koalas’ Duncan Ogilvie.
The pair took the match to a tiebreak, Ogilvie scraping home with the win.
The ladies singles also featured a tiebreaker.
Poppy Moyle-Read and Leanne Graetz fought out the final single of the day, Moyle-Read finding the win for Naracoorte.
However, the talk of the day was Lucindale Koalas’ Taegan White who made a mark on the SPTA competition in her very first match.
The player-turned-coach made her return to the court, defeating Naracoorte champion Michele Moyle-Read, 6-0.
Five doubles sets sealed the day for the Koalas, ending Naracoorte’s finals hope.
Three set winners for the Koalas were Chandler Smart, Duncan Ogilvie, Tom McKinnon, Taegan White and Leanne McCarthy and for Naracoorte it was Norbert Wende and Ryan Castine.
Beachport 16-127 d Robe Roosters 8-98
There was a pleasant breeze at Beachport this week which kept the conditions ideal for playing as the Robe Roosters travelled to their neighboring coastal town to take on the Beachport Pirates.
With the Beachport Pirates needing a win to keep chasing the Div 1 final, Robe Roosters were going to make it tough for them especially with the Pirates missing quite a few players, with the teams even at the conclusion of the mixed doubles at three sets a piece.
The match to watch was the second mixed double with Roosters’ Peter Obst and Hayley Agnew hanging in there to take the set 6-4 over Pirates’ Noah Lang and Shae Morrish.
The Pirates came out firing in the singles to win eight out of the 12 to give them some breathing room going into the doubles.
They had obviously found their groove only dropping one double to finish the day winning 16 sets to eight.
It was great to see yet again great games being played with kids everywhere.
Thanks to the Robe Roosters for a great day.
Three set winners for Beachport Pirates were Cade Kelly, Todd Watson, Ryan Bateman, Chris Bateman and Ellen Clarke while Rachelle McKay was the only three set winner for the Roosters.
Frances/Luc. Eagles defeated Luc. Wombats 8-89
Saturday’s match was the first fixture on the new Apsley courts and all players enjoyed the true hard court experience.
There were many close games the final scores did not reflect.
The number one men’s doubles of Fudge/Crossling against Hocking/Grundy was played on the centre court and caught the attention of many spectators.
It was a spectacular display of tennis and sportsmanship.
The Eagles boys came away with the win 9-7.
Three set winners for the Eagles were James Crossling, Bob Williams, Flo Burgwin, Mon Van-dyk and Jane Fitzgerald, along with the Wombats’ Alicia Orton.
With one round left the top six teams are set, what is yet to be decided is their positioning. Kingston and F/L Eagles are equal on points with the Eagles having the final round bye. Kingston will look to hang on to their top spot over an undermanned Naracoorte. However, Beachport is closing in.
Only one win behind, the Pirates only need 16 sets over Penola to steal the Eagles’ position and take a spot in the Div 1 final.
Further down the order, the Koalas will be waiting to see who drops to third to take them on in the Div 2 final.
Finally the Div 3 final will take place between Robe Rebels and the Wombats.
You can catch the action this week at Robe, Naracoorte, Penola and Lucindale.
Junior tennis
Naracoorte White 45 d Kingston 39
Thank you to Kingston for travelling to Naracoorte. Everyone had a great hit. Naracoorte White shone in the doubles. Congratulations Annie on your first tennis match.
Well done to Naracoorte White beating top team Kingston in a close match.
Millicent/Beachport 38 def Naracoorte Yellow 37
It was lovely weather for tennis and while Naracoorte Yellow had lost their two top players for the week they managed to put up a good battle against Millicent, losing 37 games to 38.
In the top doubles, Millicent was too strong for Naracoorte in a 6-0 win, but there were still some good rallies throughout the match.
Naracoorte Yellow defeated Millicent in the second and third doubles but Millicent was competitive, losing 7-5 and 6-4.
There was great tennis over all the singles matches, with each team taking out three sets each. Naracoorte Yellow won five sets to four, however Millicent won overall with 38 games to 37.
Naracoorte Red 54 def Lucindale Roos 18
It was a great morning of junior tennis with a convincing win by Naracoorte Red over Lucindale Roos, 54-18.
Ernie Buckett for the Roos put up a good fight, but ended up down against Isabella Mahney, 6-4.
Angus Redding and Sidney Hawker matched up well in their doubles against duo Amelia Clarke and Catherine Buckett, 6-1.
Naracoorte Blues 48 d Lucindale Koalas 39
There were some very close matches and a few tie breaks on Saturday morning.
Naracoorte Blues got the win in the end. Well done to everyone.
