Division 1 - Uniting v Reidy Park
Uniting made history on Saturday as they took on Reidy Park in the Mount Gambier and District Tennis Association division 1 grand final and secured back-to-back premierships.
It was a fierce contest in the men’s doubles as Uniting got out to an early lead, winning both matches.
In the top doubles it was Uniting’s Andrew van den Hurk and Kobe Cole – coming off a great win last week – as they took the court against Reidy’s Zayne Young and Harrison Ellis, who were also coming off a solid victory the week prior.
Young and Ellis started strong as they took an early lead in the match, stealing the first set 6-4.
In the second set van den Hurk and Cole responded well, tying it up with a 6-3 result.
Cole and van den Hurk finished strong in the final set as they took hold of the match in the super tiebreaker, winning 10-1.
In the bottom doubles, Uniting’s Mat Stark and Jace Maxwell were consistent in the contest as they went up against Reidy’s Ben Gaffney and Michael Ellis.
Stark and Maxwell took care of Gaffney and Ellis, winning both sets 6-3.
Uniting kept the pressure on Reidy in the singles as they took three of the four sets.
In the top singles it was van den Hurk who finished his day on a high with a 6-1 victory over Young.
Ellis was able to get a set on the board for Reidy as he had a tough contest against Stark as Ellis came away victorious in a tiebreaker.
Cole and Maxwell finished strong in the bottom two singles sets as they both secured the sets, with Cole beating Gaffney 6-2 while Maxwell took care of Ellis in a 6-3 effort.
On the ladies’ side Uniting were solid in the doubles, taking two sets.
It was a tough battle for Uniting’s Tessa Megaw and Ashlea Dunn in the top doubles as they took on Reidy’s Bailey Young and Maggie Collins.
Megaw and Dunn were put to the test as they edged out the victory in a 7-5 effort.
In the middle set Megaw and Vanessa Maxwell took on Young and Sarah Brown with the Reidy pair getting another set on the board as they won 6-2.
Dunn and Maxwell got another crucial set on the board in the bottom doubles as they secured the win over Collins and Brown, 6-3.
In the singles Megaw had a solid 6-0 win over Young while Collins and Brown both claimed a set with Collins winning 6-0 while Brown registered a 6-2 win over Uniting’s Jade Delaney.
Overall Uniting were just too good as they secured back-to-back premierships with the final score 8-4.
Uniting’s van den Hurk said it was a great feeling to achieve the back-to-back premierships.
“It feels pretty good, it’s obviously very hard to achieve back-to-back premierships in any sport,” he said.
“I think we had a very experienced team and that showed on the day.”
Heading into the grand final van den Hurk knew Uniting were going to have a tough battle against Reidy Park.
“They have improved a lot this year and they obviously caused an upset against West the week before,” he said.
“We definitely thought it would go down to the wire and it certainly showed that in the scores in pretty much every set and it definitely could have gone either way.”
Division 2 – West/Glencoe v Mount Gambier
The combined side of West/Glencoe took home the flag as they registered a commanding win over Mount Gambier in the grand final at Olympic Park.
The combined side started strong as they secured both sets in the men’s doubles.
Tim Biggins and Chris Robinson took the court against Gambier’s Michael Cameron and Tyler Hannigan in the top doubles, with Biggins and Robinson winning the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
It was a much more competitive contest in the bottom doubles as West’s Justin Robinson and Jackson Cook faced Gambier’s Lachie Patzel and Edward Kutny.
Robinson and Cook took the first set with ease winning 6-1, however Patzel and Kutny fought back hard in the second set as they tied it up with a 6-4 win.
It came down to the wire in the final set as Robinson and Cook closed out the match with a 10-8 victory in the super tiebreaker.
In the singles West/Glencoe were just too good again as they took three of the four sets.
The two top singles went to the combined side as Biggins scored a 6-3 win over Cameron while Robinson was victorious over Hannigan, winning 6-4.
Patzel secured the lone set for Gambier with a 6-3 win over Robinson while Cook finished strong with a 6-2 result against Kutny.
On the ladies side the West girls were strong as they won all three sets in the doubles.
Kyra and Rylee Kuchel played Jodie Cary Melissa Attiwill in the top doubles, with the Kuchel sisters getting the win, 6-2.
In the middle doubles Kyra Kuchel and Layla McPherson recorded a solid win over Cary and Renae Cameron, 6-1.
The bottom doubles was the toughest match as Rylee Kuchel and McPherson fought out a tough 7-5 victory over Attiwill and Cameron.
West finished strong in the singles as Kyra Kuchel claimed a 6-1 win over Cary while Rylee Kuchel secured a 6-2 win against Attiwill, with McPherson taking the win over Cameron in a 6-2 effort.
West/Glencoe defeated Mount Gambier – 11-1.
Division 3 – Centrals/Mount Schank v Mil Lel
The two top sides battled it out in the grand final with Centrals/Mount Schank crowned premiers following an impressive win over Mil Lel.
Mil Lel was able to take one set in the men’s doubles, while Centrals/Mount Schank took the other two.
In the top doubles Blake Telford and Mitchell Duryea got the win over Mil Lel’s CJ Arnold and Tyler Johnston, taking the set 6-4.
Blake and Justin Telford had a decisive win in the middle set over Arnold and James Kipping in a 6-1 effort.
Johnston and Kipping were able to get the bottom doubles set as they recorded a 6-1 win against Duryea and Mitchell van Riet.
The combined side was solid in the singles, taking all three sets.
Telford registered a great 6-2 win over Arnold while Duryea had a long match with Johnston with the final score 7-5, while van Riet secured a win over Kipping, taking the set 6-3.
Centrals/Mount Schank were great across the board in the ladies’ doubles as they won all three sets.
In the top doubles Kirrilee Liebelt and Aimee Marshall scored a 6-2 win over Jessica Galloway and Kate Fabian.
Liebelt and Paige Telford secured the middle set in a 6-1 effort as they faced Galloway and Kaela McKee.
In the bottom doubles Marshall and Telford claimed the win over Fabian and Rhiannon Hoggan, taking the set 6-4.
In the singles Galloway was able to win a set for Mil Lel, beating Liebelt 6-0 while Marshall had a 6-2 win over Fabian, with Telford victorious 6-0 against McKee.
Centrals/Mount Schank defeated Mil Lel 10-2.
