TENNIS players had to contend with the wind as well as the opposition on Saturday in Central Wimmera Tennis Association’s pennant competition.
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In a round that was expected to be washed out earlier in the week, every scheduled match went ahead.
Drung South and Horsham Lawn battled it out in one of the closest matches this season, with both teams winning seven sets each. Drung South edged out Lawn by eight games.
Drung South captain Ben Brooksby said it was an entertaining clash.
“Lawn played really well and we struggled a little bit,” he said.
“Ben Argent stepped up into a singles set for the first time in years. Dylan Emmerson and Hayden Farlow’s set was epic to watch and Dylan’s consistency helped him take that set 9-6.”
Andrew Droman from Horsham Lawn was pleased with his side’s efforts against one of the better teams in the competition.
“Most of matches were competitive, it wasn’t just close on the scoreboard,” he said.
“It was good tennis, even though it was windy.”
Drung South’s Romi Miller won 9-3 in her singles set against Luisa Boddi, while Kate-Lynn Perkin narrowly lost to Horsham Lawn’s Cherie Wood in a tiebreaker.
Elsewhere Kalkee caused somewhat of an upset by easily defeating Haven 10 sets to four.
Kalkee’s Grant Schultz said it was one of the first matches where Kalkee was at full strength.
“We had our full men’s side in for the first or second time this year, so that helped,” he said.
“The girls were pretty strong too, so it always helps when you have a full side.
“Haven are going well, they’re a good young side, so it was good to beat them.
“It was a good team effort with a full side, everyone was playing well.”
Kalkee was particularly strong in the men’s singles, with Jeff Friberg defeating Tom Bourchier 9-1 and Steve Schultz defeating Timothy Officer 9-2.
The final clash of the round was a mismatch between top of the table St Michael’s and last-placed Natimuk.
As expected, St Michael’s did not drop a set in the match, claiming 126 games to Natimuk’s 39.
Ian Nitschke played a good match for St Michael’s, taking his singles set 9-3 against Natimuk captain Carl Sudholz.
He then joined forces with Nick Robertson for a 9-0 doubles set win over Sudholz and Jordan Smith.
As usual, the McDonald sisters dominated for St Michael’s in the singles.
Steffi McDonald defeated Cheryl Sudholz 9-2 and Jess McDonald accounted for Lana Brown 9-4.