The 15th round of the Southern Ports Tennis Association was set to be a ripper and it delivered the goods with the ever-competitive Robe Roosters team inflicting Naracoorte’s first loss of the season and keeping their chances alive for a top division berth.
It was a fantastic match with the Robe women in form to be 12 sets all and win by just 11 games.
As the Roosters rocked up to Naracoorte with the sun shining bright they knew they would have to defy the odds to overcome the undefeated side to stay a chance of finishing in the top two.
The mixed were tight going three sets a piece with the top doubles of George White and Poppy
Moyle-Read getting over the line in a tiebreaker against Egan Regnier and Leanne Cameron in an entertaining set.
The singles were very tight as well with some very long matches.
Steve Biggins got the better of Mike Wilhelm seven-five but the Roosters fought back with Kim Austin getting a good win over Kelsie Moyle-Read 6-3.
Heading into the last doubles the Roosters dug deep winning four out of six sets.
Despite Tim Malone and Mike Wilhelm being up 8-6, they lost a tiebreaker to Sid Malone and Steve Biggins.
But then again the Roosters fought back with a huge win from Lisa Hall and Courtney Drabsch, so it was over Katelyn Baker and Sonya White to keep it very close to make it come down to the last set of the day.
As the clock struck 6:49pm Emma Vasek and Michelle Smith overcame their singles troubles and won a exciting tiebreaker to secure the Robe Roosters a memorable win.
The other close match for the day which was expected, was the Lucindale Koalas and Lucindale Wombats who are fighting for a top division spot.
The Koalas secured an early lead by winning all mixed doubles and hung on getting over the line 14 sets to 10.
It was a close contest at Lucindale after the Wombats had taken over the number two spot from their cross-town rivals who had a grip of it all season last week which meant both teams were there to win.
The Koalas came out firing winning all six of the mixed doubles.
The Wombats bounced back in the singles winning all but one of the women’s sets.
The singles match of the day would have to go to Brad Hocking and Chandler Smart, who although both said they did not play their best, but still managed to end up in a tie break with Hocking getting the win.
Koalas brought it home, showing they enjoy their doubles, winning four of the six men’s and ladies doubles.
Once again Hocking and Chandler ended up in a tie break with their partners Tim Durik and Matthew Waugh winning 10-9.
Winners of all their matches were the ever reliable Trevor Smart, Mark Buckett and Samuel Crocker with only Smart dropping three games for the entire day, while Buckett and Crocker only dropping six for the day.
Millicent/Beachport had a surprisingly easy win to cement the sixth spot over an undermanned Kingston side and the Eagles also had an easy win to keep them in the hunt for a top division gig.
Furner/Beachport hosted the Kingston Crays for some abnormally nice weather for a Saturday afternoon at Beachport.
To start the day off, Beachport were able to take four of the mixed doubles sets.
Beachport’s Nat Chambers and Jacob Lang held on for a close finish over Kingston’s Tim Parker and Laura Baker, winning 7-5 Will Edwards.
Erika Watson fell short to Todd Watson and Em Chambers winning 6-2 against Robbie Bateman and Emma Lang took the stage well on show court, holding Donald Paget and Tiana Murdoch to one game.
In the singles, Todd Watson’s backhand slices were not sharp enough for Will Edwards, going down 6-3.
Jake Harris and Matt Menz battled well across all three matches for the day, however the former took the chocolates comfortably in the singles 6-3.
Stephen Edwards maintained form at number three, finishing the day as Kingston’s only player with three wins.
Some strong wins by Em Chambers over Erika Watson (6-2), Nat Chambers over Laura Baker (6-0) and Emma Lang over Tiana Murdoch (6-0) placed Beachport in a favourable position coming into the doubles.
The hard courts certainly appear to be the preferred surface for the Frances/Lucindale Eagles team which enjoyed a convincing win over the Robe Rebels 16 sets 130 games to 8 sets 89 games.
This is their second win in a row, so look out Naracoorte next week.
There were many hard fought games and the level of tennis displayed was easy to watch.
The match of the day was between Hamish Stevenson and Peter Lawrie.
Lawrie eventually won 7-6 after a mammoth battle, while three set winners were Tori Gluyas, Sophie Ford, Mon Van Dyk, Flo Burgwin, Mark Woods, Bob Williams and Craig Jones.
The Lucindale Cockatoos had the rest this week.
The final round of the home and away season arrives this week so everyone is keen to cement their spots for the three divisions to play in the big dance.
The last week will be highly contested with four teams needing to win to get into that top division spot to take on Naracoorte.
The eagles will have the toughest task taking on Naracoorte which they should win but the former cannot be written off.
The Koalas will play the Robe Rebels which should be an easier win for the former with a lot to play for.
The Lucindale Wombats can sit back and relax this week with a forfeit win to put them at the top of the race for the top division spot.
The toughest match for the week will be Robe Roosters against Millicent/Beachport where the former will be full of confidence after their impressive win and will give everything for a win to try keep and secure that second spot.
Millicent/Beachport cannot improve where they are sitting as they will be one point behind despite a win but would like the win to give them some confidence heading into the Grand Final.
The last match of the round will be the Kingston Crays and Lucindale cockatoos who will be playing their last match for the season.
