THE final minor rounds of the Mount Gambier and District Tennis Association were played over the weekend, with the top teams now preparing for this weekend’s semi finals.
In the A2 competition, Mount Schank has made a last minute jump to second place, as it defeated the now third-placed Suttontown by four sets on Saturday to claim the spot by a single point.
There was no doubt surrounding Glencoe Maroon’s position on the ladder, with its victory over fourth-placed West Gambier Red on Saturday seeing it five wins clear of second in the final standings.
The final match for the round saw Glencoe Gold secure a two-set win over West Gambier Blue, but with the teams finishing sixth and seventh respectively, their season’s have come to an end.
Centrals had the bye for Round 16 and finished fifth on the ladder, also missing the cut for finals.
Four sets was the difference between second and third place when Mount Schank made one final dash up the competition ladder.
With the Suttontown hosts holding the advantage across majority of the singles games, it was in the doubles where Mount Schank made an impact, winning seven of the eight matches.
In the men’s singles Suttontown’s Craig Beck and Steve Dehmel won their matches 6-2 against Craig Nisbet and Andrew Hughes respectively.
Liam Delaney also brought it home for the home team, defeating Will Seidel 6-0, while Bobby Laabadan was the only Mount Schank man to taste singles victory, accounting for Cameron Pritchard 6-3.
The results were split in the women’s singles, with Suttontown’s Jade Delaney and Trudy-Anne Doyle both recording solid wins, while Mount Schank’s Sophie Boston and Kaitlyn Nisbet were able to win their closer matches.
In the doubles, Craig Beck and Dehmel was the only winning combination, as they defeated Craig Nisbet and Hughes 6-2.
However, despite this solid effort and a consistent singles run, Suttontown lost the remaining doubles games to see it four sets down at the end of the day.
West’s Red team was no match for its hosts when it made the trip to Glencoe for a meeting with the Maroon side.
Winning just four sets across the board, the remainder of games saw Glencoe with convincing victories.
The home team excelled in the men’s singles, winning all four games, with the closest match-ups seeing Dave Boyce and Tim Biggins defeat Brady Cook and Simon Gallasch respectively with margins of 6-3.
West was able to post a win in the women’s singles, as Maggie Finnigan claimed a 7-5 victory over Jorja Mitchell in a hard-fought battle.
Another close match saw Glencoe’s Abbie Cocks also with a narrow 7-5 win as she competed against Steph Ward.
In the doubles, both teams won three games each, but with the damage done in the singles, Glencoe emerged as the clear victor.
The closest clash of the round had no affect on finals’ standings, as Glencoe Gold finished its 2017-18 season with a two-set win over West Gambier Blue.
With the set count even after the singles games, the day was decided on the doubles court.
This resulted in Glencoe winning with five of its eight combinations to take home the honours.
This weekend will see finals action begin on Friday night, when the A1 first and second semi finals will be played.
This will be followed by the remaining semi finals on Saturday, while the women’s doubles will play a Round 17, with the premiers decided by ladder position.
