On Saturday the Southern Ports Tennis teams competed in Wimbledon Round, hosted by the Lucindale Tennis Club.
Scores across all matches were tight as the competition closes in towards grand final day in just three weeks.
Frances/Lucindale Eagles are one step closer to their third division 1 final with a win over the Robe Rebels.
In the upset of the day, top team Kingston were defeated by the Lucindale Koalas who are moving up the ladder quickly, in the hunt for a finals spot.
Naracoorte kept their season alive, defeating the Lucindale Wombats with the help of some young rising stars.
And in an unlikely match of the day there was a tussle between Robe Roosters and Penola which came down to just games.
Robe Roosters 12-119 d Penola 12-110
The Roosters defeated Penola by just nine games in a tightly contested match.
With both teams running at 50% capacity, there was a crew of willing fill-ins who were keen to take the court, hailing from Germany, England and beyond! It was a tough fight all day with scores locked at eight sets all heading into the doubles.
Robe’s men won all three doubles, but they were closely fought back by the Penola ladies who also took all three sets.
The last ladies doubles was a clincher with Roosters Matthews/Baker going down to Penola 8-10.
Congratulations to three set winners Paul Rains and Lewis Ling (Robe), and Michelle Coomans and Charlie Pearce (Penola) who all put on stellar performances.
Frances-Lucindale Eagles 13-114 dRobe Rebels 11-122
Both teams had two players win three sets for the day.
For the Eagles it was Bob Williams and Oliver Close and for the Rebels it was the number 1 and 2 lady Lisa Hall and Kimberly Austin.
The match of the day was between Angus McTaggart and Bob Williams (Eagles) and Andrew Brown and Jesse Robertson.
The Eagles pair was down 7-3 and fought back to win 9-7.
The Eagles were the winners on sets only 13 – 114 to the Rebels 11-122 games.
Well done to the Lucindale Country Club, the courts and grounds were superb.
Lucindale Koalas 14-125 dKingston 10-109
The Lucindale Country Club was a hive of activity as it hosted all four SPTA matches for the round on its annual Wimbledon day.
It also proved to possibly be the best tennis conditions for the season, helping to bring out many spectators.
The Lucindale Koalas hosted Kingston, the Koalas team list looked quite different with their three top men unavailable but they were able to get the win over the undefeated Kingston.
Kingston came out strong in the mixed doubles taking five of the six sets, two matches went down to the wire.
The top mixed going 7-5 Kingston’s way with Koalas’ Ogilvie and Graetz being defeated by Kingston’s M. Menz and Cunneen and the number six mixed going to a tie break with Koalas’ McWater and H Menz defeating Kingston’s Parker and J Mules.
A massive thankyou to Hudson Menz for filling in against your own team.
The singles occurred in the heat of the day and it was said to be rather warm out on the court.
The match of the day was between Koalas’ Baker and Kingston’s Leidig, taking place on court three with many people watching intently and even stopping the golfers on their round.
Koalas’ Baker was able to get the win 7-5.
At the end of the singles matches sets were tied but the Koalas were able to come home strong taking five of the doubles sets.
The top doubles match was one of extremely high quality tennis with Graetz and Weaver defeating Cunneen and A Mules 10-8.
Three match winners for the Koalas were Baker, McCarthy and McWaters and for Kingston it was Edwards.
Both teams are hoping to be able to come home strong in the final rounds as they fight for their grand final berths.
Lucindale Wombats 10-110 d by Naracoorte – 14-119
With both teams well dressed for Wimbledon Round, it was Naracoorte’s juniors who really stood out, clinching a do-or-die win for their team.
The day started with strong performances for both teams in the mixed doubles, Naracoorte winning three of their sets 6-4.
But it was Maywald/Johns for Lucindale who came out swinging with a 6-1 win over Birchard/Redding.
In the singles, it was the juniors for both teams who set the standard for the afternoon.
Georgie Midwinter and Alice Redding both secured strong 6-1 wins for Naracoorte.
Vander Maywald returned serve with a 6-1 win of his own for the Wombats.
At the top of the order, wins to Poppy and Michele Moyle-Read, and Lucy Midwinter rounded out six singles sets for Naracoorte, supported by Daniel Menzel and Jen Malone.
Naracoorte held 12 sets leading into the doubles, looking for just the one set to win.
Lucindale was up for a fight.
Buckett/Crocker, who displayed stellar performances all day, turned it on for Lucindale with a 9-3 win over Wende/Mann.
Hocking/Grundy assisting them with their own 9-6 win.
But Naracoorte was too strong, the Moyle-Read mother-daughter duo found the final set, 9-1.
However match of the day went to the Wombats’ Alicia Orton and Lyndal Johns who held out in a final tussle to defeat G. Midwinter/Redding, 10-8. Round 13
With just two rounds left, the top six positions are all up for grabs.
Kingston (1st) will be looking for a good win over Penola to boost their set percentage and hold onto top spot.
Likewise Beachport (3rd) will be hoping to do the same as they take on the Roosters.
The Eagles (2nd) take on the Wombats (6th), the latter only one win ahead of Naracoorte (7th) who are pushing for a finals spot.
But they have their work cut out for them against fast-finishing Lucindale Koalas (4th).
The Rebels (5th) have the bye.
