Tennis returned to the South East in the SportsPower Southern Posts Tennis Association on Saturday.
After two rounds plagued by rainy weather, all teams were keen to hit the court.
This weekend saw four matches completed with wins to Lucindale Koalas, Kingston, Beachport and Robe Rebels, while one match was called due to a weather front that disrupted play.
In the upset of the week, top team Lucindale Wombats were finally handed a defeat by Robe’s Rebels.
Robe Rebels 14-129 def. Lucindale Wombats 10-114
With a late start due to the rain, players knew it was going to be a late finish and of course it was inevitable to have long matches too.
With the Rebels winning four of the mixed doubles – they had a great start, with Mason Keane and Jade Regnier beating Vander Maywald and Samantha Crocker in a tiebreaker.
The men’s singles saw both teams winning three matches each with the Wombats’ Adrian Maywald having a convincing win over the Rebels’ Jack Nunan.
The Rebels women won four out of six matches with Jade Regnier once again winning in a tiebreak.
Going into the doubles the Rebels only needed two more sets to secure the win.
There were a few long games in the doubles with the Wombats winning both top doubles 9-7.
However, the Rebels’ Jesse Robertson and Mason Keane came away with a convincing win, 9-0.
It was great tennis throughout the day with the Robe Rebels coming away with a 14-10 win over the undefeated Wombats.
Kingston 16-134 def.
Robe Roosters 8-99
The rain set in just as play was meant to start, which meant a delay, but the sun started shining, the wind picked up and the courts were soon dry to start playing at about 2.30pm.
The mixed doubles were relatively one-sided however a very long game to start the day with Egan’s dad Paul Regnier stepping up and taking the win with Alana Domaschenz to just snatch the win from Richard Martin and Nicola Crane in a tiebreaker.
There was a great singles game on show between number one men Egan Regnier and Matt Menz, such quality tennis with some epic rallies and impressive shots from both sides of the court with Regnier winning this one 6-4.
There were some close matches in the women’s singles with Lisa Hall just getting the win over Stacey Lehmann 7-5, and Georgia Burns winning in a tiebreak against Katie Agnew.
Kingston’s number one woman Bianca went down with a knee injury not long into her match against Leanne Cameron which left that game incomplete and also a forfeit in the top women’s doubles.
Regnier/Stevensen had a good win in their doubles against Menz/Mules, 9-5, while the other doubles all went the way of Kingston.
Overall it was very pleasing to get to play some tennis after a couple of wash outs for Kingston in what turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.
Three set winners for Kingston were: Lou Leidig, Alex Menz, Tim Parker, Georgia Burns, James Lehmann, Laura Baker, while Egan Regnier was the sole three set winner for Robe for the day.
Penola 6-82 def.
Lucindale Koalas 18-135
It was a good day for tennis at Penola, starting with five courts helping to get plenty of tennis in.
It was exciting to welcome Ollie Holman back to tennis after not playing for 10 years.
He certainly has not lost his form, winning all three sets for the day.
Alex Lambert and Bron Snajdar played their first games, winning three matches.
Afternoon tea was enjoyed in Penola’s beautiful clubrooms.
Beachport 17-139 def. Lucindale Cockatoos 7-104
No report supplied.
Frances/Lucindale Eagles drew Naracoorte – 5 sets
Very windy conditions in Frances made the first 10 sets of tennis difficult for those on the court.
The mixed doubles were split evenly.
Convincing wins for doubles pairs Williams/Mon Van Dyke and McTaggart/Ashton saw the Eagles on the board early.
But Naracoorte pairs S. Malone/Kelsie Moyle-Read, Biggins/J.Malone and Smith/Mosey were able to turn it around.
The top mixed double saw Eagles pair Mark Woods/Nikki Gluyas take Daniel Menzel/Poppy Moyle-Read to a 7-5.
Four singles were completed before the rain came down.
Woods (F) was too good for Menzel (N), taking a 6-1 win.
But Moyle-Read sisters, Poppy and Kelsie, fired back with 6-2 and 6-1 wins over Nikki Gluyas and Jane Fitzgerald.
Mon Van Dyke drew the scores even as the rain started, defeating Katelyn Baker, 6-1.
With the rain falling, both teams took cover.
After an hour’s wait, team captains shook hands and declared a draw, leaving 14 sets incomplete.
Thankyou, to Frances/Lucindale for accommodating an extra early start at Frances.
In Round 7, Lucindale Koalas take on the Lucindale Cockatoos, Robe Roosters host Frances/Lucindale, while the Rebels travel to Beachport.
The games will be hotly contested, if Robe Rebels can pull together their best side they are tipped to take the win over Beachport.
Frances/Lucindale are looking strong with a full team, but it will all depend on which men are available to play.
Penola will have a tough game ahead of them when they host the Lucindale Wombats.
Finally, Naracoorte will host Kingston in a match that could go either way.
Naracoorte will be looking for another win after three weeks on the road.
But it could be a tough ask against Kingston who are looking to cement their place in second on the ladder.
At this stage, hot weather is predicted so hopefully we have seen the end La Niña and the summer of tennis can take off!
JUNIOR TENNIS
After an association wide wash out in Round 5 the Southern Ports Tennis Association junior players were excited to be out on the courts in Round 6.
While the conditions were blustery it was great to see all matches being played.
With the Lucindale Roos’ number one unavailable they had a fight on their hands against the strong Naracoorte White side.
The Crocker siblings won a tight double against Mia McCarthy and Sid Wight, however in the other two doubles Naracoorte White were too strong.
All players enjoyed a chance to play singles, Matilda Lush and Ernie Buckett in the number 6 positions were evenly matched, with Ernie just getting over the line in the tie-break with both players enjoying the support of their teammates on the sidelines.
White 53 games defeated Roos 25.
It was the Padthaway Derby at Naracoorte on Saturday with Naracoorte/Padthaway Blue too strong on the day getting the win 48 games to 27.
Due to injury the Naracoorte/Padthaway Yellow team’s number 1 is out of action for the season, with Gina Mahney stepping in to help make up the side.
There were a few really close games, with Mitchell McCluscy and Fliss Orton playing in two tie-breakers.
Kingston enjoyed hosting Lucindale Koalas in a top of the table clash.
The Kingston team were looking very smart in their new team t-shirts and certainly ready for action.
While the windy conditions proved challenging, everyone played well and there was some really terrific tennis.
Well done to Katie Rasheed, Hudson Menz and Jess Zwert who won both of their sets.
Kingston claimed top spot winning 46 games to 28.
Players braved windy conditions in Millicent to play some very competitive tennis.
While Naracoorte Red took a convincing win on the day, watching the games told a different story.
Many a deuce was played and some great serving and hitting was displayed.
Excellent serving saw Lachy Clyne and Thomas Malone take the win over Axel Joyce and Sam Lang after a long fought match.
Naracoorte Red 42 games defeated Millicent 25 games.
