THE top teams in the Mount Gambier and District Tennis Association’s Division 3 competition continued to dominate on Saturday in Round 7 of the season.
Ladder leader Moorak Green defeated Mil Lel nine sets to three, while second-placed Moorak Gold recorded the same result over Uniting Church.
Suttontown Hawks had a closer 8-4 set win against bottom-placed Centrals, which would have been a little too close for comfort for the third-placed Hawks.
The tightest meeting of the round saw West Gambier with a 7-5 win over Suttontown Crows at Olympic Park.
Both teams currently sit out of finals’ contention, but the win saw West edge to within two points of the fifth-ranked Crows.
It came down to the doubles results in the end, as both West and the Crows won three sets in the singles.
Suttontown’s Steve Bain defeated Ty Lang in the number one men’s clash, while Molly Lennon had the same result over West’s Charli Hockey in the number one women’s singles.
However, West’s Mitchell Duryea and Lachlan Patzel both won their singles to level the playing field, while Suttontown’s Rhiannon Hart and West’s Bridie McPherson won their matches 6-2 and 6-1 respectively.
In the doubles it was only the top order games which the Crows were able to win, as Bain and Denis Fry teamed up for a 6-3 win over Lang and Patzel, while Lennon and Hart defeated Hockey and Anthea Duryea also 6-3.
The remaining sets went West’s way, which sealed the win for the side.
The next closest match-up saw Centrals put up a fight against Suttontown Hawks at Bishop Road.
Centrals’ Jesse Plunkett claimed a tough 7-5 win over the Hawks’ Cameron Pritchard in the top men’s clash, while Mitchell Vanriet also performed for the home team, defeating Christian McCombe 6-1.
However, Suttontown fought back and Daniel Smith (6-4), TrudyAnne Doyle (6-1) and Carla Beck (6-1) all won their singles.
A 6-3 win to Centrals’ Kate Cattaill over Kimberley Murrell levelled the singles set-count, which left the doubles to decide the result.
It was then the Hawks prevailed, with Pritchard and McCombe teaming up for a tiebreak win over Plunkett and Vanriet.
Pritchard also excelled in his partnership with Smith and a 6-2 win was the result, while McCombe and Smith won their match 7-5.
The only doubles set Central was able to win saw Caitlin and Kate Carraill defeat Beck and Murrell 6-2, with the other women’s doubles 6-2 results in Suttontown’s favour.
It was a solid weekend for the Moorak Tennis Club, with the Green team hosting Mil Lel for a six-set win.
Chris Tully, Trevor and Aaron Pettingill, Tarrah Taylor and Kate Facy claimed their singles victory.
The only set to go Mil Lel’s way saw Kristy Arnold with a dominant 6-0 victory over Jodie McInnes.
Results were similar in the doubles and although Mil Lel won two sets, it was far from enough to knock over the ladder leader.
Back in the Blue Lake city, Moorak Gold visited Uniting Church for another six-set triumph.
The hosts won two singles matches, as Ian Sanderson defeated Harry Johnson 6-4 and Bianca Taylor fought for a 7-5 win over Sophie Johnson.
However, the home team was still on the back foot and with just one doubles match going its way, Moorak claimed a convincing win to maintain its second place in the season standings.
