THE final round of Mount Gambier and District tennis for the year was played over the weekend.
With the competition now going into its Christmas break, six rounds remain before finals, the ladders now reflect the teams likely to make the distance.
This week the A2 competition clearly demonstrated the dominance of the top teams, with each game won by the three leading sides.
Glencoe Maroon maintained its position at the top of the premiership standings, after an eight-set win over home-team rival Glencoe Gold.
It was a similar affair for second-placed West Gambier Red, as it easily accounted for Mount Schank 13 sets to three.
A closer battle was had by Suttontown, which currently holds third place by less than three points.
Meeting Centrals at the Olympic Park facility, Suttontown managed a narrow two-set win over the sixth-placed side.
West Gambier Blue had the bye for this round and it will have a tough task to lift itself off the bottom of the ladder when play resumes.
For the ladder-leader the home venue proved to be a fortress, as Glencoe’s Maroon and Gold teams went head-to-head.
Maroon made a statement in the men’s singles, winning three of the four games.
Dave Boyce, Troy Clasohm and Tim Biggins won their matches 6-0, 6-3 and 6-3 respectively to set the ball rolling.
Gold’s Aaron Pitson was the only victor for his team, as he defeated Will Hann 6-4.
For the women, Maroon’s Chloe Watson easily accounted for Alison Meyer 6-0, while Maroon’s Erica Hurley also dominated the court against Nicole Milosevic to win 6-0.
The Gold team managed to win the middle-order games, with number two Ruth Thami and number three Alison Auld both adding to their side’s set count.
With Glencoe Gold trailing by just two sets, Maroon stepped up to win seven of the eight doubles games and claim an eventual 12/86 to 4/50 win.
The closest doubles match saw Gold’s Auld and Eliza Cole defeat Alice Tentye and Katherine Finnis 7-6.
Played at West Gambier, the next game saw the host’s Red team prove to be too much for its Mount Schank visitors.
With a final set count of 13 to three, West dominated the singles to hold an early advantage.
Mount Schank’s Craig Nisbet was the only winner for his team, as he defeated Zayne Young 6-2 in the top-order men’s singles.
The remainder of the games were in the favour of West, with the closest match seeing Cooper Hodge edge out Mount Schank’s Bobby Labadan 7-6.
There were some mixed results in the doubles, but the hosts were still able to win six of the eight games and reinforce their convincing win.
The closest game saw West’s Paul Wilkinson and Maggie Finnigan claim a 7-6 win over Chirs Hunt and Kaitlyn Nisbet, while Wilkinson also had a close 7-6 win with Cooper Hodge against Labadan and Hunt.
Renae Norman and Finnigan had the next closest match, with a 6-4 victory over Halle Collins and Kaitlyn Nisbet.
It was a close contest between Suttontown and Centrals on Saturday, with the final score seeing the former with a 9-7 set win.
Craig Beck and Nick Childs led the way for the victors in the men’s singles, both winning their games.
However, Centrals’ Riley Burn and Ben Gaffney won their matches to level up the men’s results.
For the women, Suttontown’s Lizzie Doyle, Stephanie Beck and Trudy-Anne Doyle each won their games, leaving Jo Hamilton to be the only winner for the Centrals’ women.
With two sets separating the sides going into the doubles, this margin was maintained until the end.
With four matches apiece in the doubles, Suttontown was able to hold on for the day’s honours, consolidating its place in the top three.
