The first week of Central Wimmera Tennis Association pennant finals produced an incredibly dramatic finish on Friday night, with Kalkee eliminating Drung South by the smallest of margins.
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It was an even contest that went long into the night, with tight battles and four sets decided by tiebreakers contributing to a near midnight finish.
The final ultimately came down to the last contest between Kalkee's Jeff Friberg and David Pipkorn and Drung South's Dylan Emmerson and Logan Casey. Drung South had a one-set advantage heading into the set, but both sides were even on games.
With neither side giving an inch, the set was level at 7-7 and came down to a tiebreak. Pipkorn and Friberg eventually prevailed 8-6 in the breaker, drawing the sides level on sets and giving Kalkee a one-game advantage, with the final score 7-88 to 7-87.
Kalkee captain Grant Schultz said it was an exciting way for his side to secure themselves a spot in the semi-final.
"It was a very, very close game - we were just pretty happy to get the win," he said.
"It could've gone either way with a couple of points. It was just lucky it worked out the way we wanted in the end."
Schutlz said a strong crowd was in attendance to enjoy the thrilling Friday night affair.
"We had a lot of spectators there for both sides, which was great," he said.
"It was a good night and an exciting night - I think everyone really enjoyed it."
After an up-and-down season with form and availability, Schultz said Kalkee had hit its stride at the right time of the year.
"The side we had in will be the side we keep playing now. It's good to have that settled now and we'll just see how we go in two weeks time," he said.
Kalkee will now face Horsham Lawn for a place in the grand final, after St Michael's handily defeated Lawn on Sunday.
When the Mail-Times went to print, St Michael's Nick Robertson and Chris Ellis had just closed out a doubles set to give the Saints an unassailable 8-2 set lead.
St Michael's seemingly adjusted better to the windy conditions and moved straight into the grand final, edging closer to a fourth consecutive pennant flag.
Meanwhile Lawn will need to regroup before a do-or-die semi-final in two weeks.
Results from finals in other grades were not available when the Mail-Times went to press.
Richard Crabtree
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
