THE first week of finals saw the top teams continue to show their dominance across all grades in the Mount Gambier and District Tennis Association semi finals on the weekend.
A1
IN the A1 competition Friday night, ladder leader Glencoe claimed a dominant nine-set win over second-placed Reidy Park, sealing its place in the grand final.
Meanwhile, Mount Gambier defeated Uniting Church by two sets in the elimination final, advancing to the preliminary against Reidy this weekend.
With Reidy forced to forfeit four of its matches on Friday, Glencoe held the advantage throughout the night.
Despite a solid 6-0 win by Sharon Edwards over Glencoe’s Laura Edwards, along with a narrow 7-6 victory for Emily Edwards against Ashlea Edwards, Reidy was unable to make an impact on the board.
The only other win for the team saw Bailey Young and Sharon Edwards partner up for a hard-fought three-set triumph over Sarah and Laura Edwards.
For Glencoe, Dylan Childs claimed a tough 7-6 win against Ky Edwards, while David Ferguson accounted for Matthew Stark 6-3 and Jonathon Brohier defeated Stephen Young 7-5.
Childs also teamed up with Bradley Mitchell for an easier win in their doubles match.
Finishing third and fourth on the ladder respectively, Mount Gambier and Uniting Church went head-to-head for a chance to remain in the competition.
In the end, just two sets separated the two sides, with Mount Gambier proving the stronger.
With even sets in both the men’s singles and the doubles, it all came down to the women’s singles, of which the victors were able to win the majority.
Heidi Heemskerk fought hard to defeat Ashlea Oldfield 7-6, while Jodie Carey claimed a solid 6-2 win over Karen Mitchell.
With Chelsea McKinnon also coming through for Mount Gambier, her 6-1 triumph over Vanessa Mitchell sealed the win.
A2
THE A2 finals also saw Glencoe advance to the grand final, with the Maroon team accounting for Mount Schank by four sets.
The second semi final saw a bit of a mix up, as fourth-placed West Gambier Red stepped up to defeat Suttontown by a solid six sets.
Set counts were level between Glencoe and Mount Schank after the singles games.
Glencoe’s Dave Boyce was the only loss for his team in the men’s singles, as Craig Nisbet proved too strong, winning 6-3.
However, with Troy Clasohm securing a close 7-6 victory over Andrew Hughes and both Tim Biggins and Will Hann winning their games by convincing margins, Glencoe was well on track for the win.
This result was mirrored in the women’s doubles, as Glencoe’s Chloe Watson won her match against Clair Waye, but the team was unable to win any other sets.
Mount Schank’s Sophie Boston, Cody Hood and Kaitlyn Nisbet all came home for their side with solid wins, levelling the set count.
But it was not meant to be for the underdog, with Glencoe winning six of the seven doubles matches to claim the overall victory.
A dominant performance across both the women’s singles and the doubles saw West Gambier Red cross the line with a six-set victory over Suttontown in the elimination final.
Jade Delaney was the only win in the women’s singles for the third-placed Suttontown, while the remainder of the games went the way of the determined West side.
West’s Maggie Finnigan had a close 7-5 win over Trudy-Anne Doyle, while teammates Steph Ward and Renae Norman recorded 6-0 and 6-1 wins respectively.
The men’s singles saw the teams with two sets each, with Craig Beck and Liam Delaney winning for Suttontown and Zayne Young and Jackson Cook bringing it home for West.
However, with six of the eight doubles sets going West’s way, it paved the way for its preliminary final berth this weekend.
B1
MOORAK Green proved why it finished top of the table in the B1 competition on Saturday, as it claimed a close two-set win over a determined Mount Gambier team at Olympic Park.
Meanwhile, at the Mount Gambier Tennis Club, West Gambier and Suttontown Tigers went head-to-head in the closest match of the week, which saw the latter win by just three games.
Moorak was off to a solid start in the singles games, as it won all three women’s matches with relative ease.
The closest saw Kate Facy with a 6-4 win in her match with Mount Gambier’s Kate Eldridge.
But it was not the be-all or end-all of the day, with both Daryl Ferguson and Jim Lopriore winning their men’s singles matches for Mount Gambier, leaving Moorak with a two-set advantage going into the doubles.
However, with even results in the doubles clashes, this two-set buffer was enough for Moorak to take the win and the respective grand final berth.
It was a disappointing finish for West Gambier’s finals campaign when it suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Suttontown Tigers on Saturday.
Holding the slight advantage in the singles games, West was able to win all three men’s games, while Tess Kensley was also able to win her match in the women’s singles.
This saw Suttontown trail by two sets going into the doubles.
However, with four of the six matches going the way of the Tigers, this levelled the set count.
With the result left to the number of games recorded, Suttontown had won 57 to West’s 54, earning the side a chance to fight for a grand final berth against Mount Gambier this weekend.
