WEATHER was far from favourable for Round 8 of Mount Gambier and District tennis on Saturday, with several games called off due to the rain and stormy conditions.
However, the Division 1 games played in their regular time-slot of Friday night at Olympic Park were greeted with sunshine and went ahead unhindered.
The men’s matches saw the top two teams flex their muscles with convincing wins, with a closer 4-2 set win the result for third-placed Glencoe Gold over fifth-placed West Gambier.
Ladder-leader Uniting Church claimed an eventual 5-1 victory over the win-less Reidy Park, while second-placed Glencoe Maroon had a clean sweep against Centrals/Uniting, 6-0.
It was the doubles matches which saw the win go Glencoe Gold’s way in its close meeting with West.
David Ferguson was the only singles’ success for the side, as he defeated Ethan Schultz 6-4, while West’s Jacob Wilkinson (6-1) and Noah Lang (7-5) accounted for Jonathon Brohier and Andrew Hughes respectively.
A tough doubles clash between Schultz and Wilkinson against Ferguson and Brohier saw the latter partnership with a 7-6 win, which in the end could have been the deciding set.
Ferguson and Hughes then paired up for a 6-2 win over Schultz and Lang, while a closer 6-4 result saw Brohier and Hughes defeat Wilkinson and Lang to seal the win for Glencoe Gold.
The next closest match-up saw Uniting Church with a relatively easy win over Reidy Park.
In the number one clash Ian Hopes defeated Reidy’s Ky Edwards 6-4, while Matthew Stark also claimed the honours with a 6-2 result over Jordan Tucker.
Reidy’s Zayne Young chipped one back for his team with a 6-4 win over Brendan McInnes, but that would be the side’s only success.
Hopes and Stark were in fine form in their doubles’ partnership, defeating Edwards and Tucker 6-2, while Hopes teamed up with McInnes for a closer 6-4 victory against Edwards and Young.
The final doubles match saw Stark and McInness defeat Tucker and Young 6-3 in a successful round for the ladder leaders.
Centrals/Uniting stood little chance on Friday, as it managed to win just 17 games on the night, with all six sets going the way of the opposing Glencoe Maroon side.
The closest match for the night saw a 7-6 win to Glencoe’s Dave Boyce and Tim Biggins against Daniel Moon and Liam Delaney.
Other than that, a 6-4 win to Patrick Mitchell over Riley Burn was another closer game, while Kevin Thomson defeated Delaney 6-3.
The other singles match saw Boyce jump over Moon for a dominant 6-0 victory.
Mitchell and Boyce paired up for a 6-2 result against Burn and Moon, while it was the same margin for Mitchell and Biggins when they accounted for Burn and Delaney.
In the women’s Division 1 games there were mixed results from the two Round 8 match-ups.
Mount Schank had the bye for the round, while ladder-leader Reidy Park defeated Uniting Church five sets to one.
But the real interest was in the clash between second-placed Glencoe and then fourth-placed West Gambier.
With three sets apiece at the end of play, it went down to game count and the West underdogs claimed the honours by two games, to jump up into third position.
The top-order match saw West’s Joanne Sealey with a 6-1 win over Glencoe reserve Madeline Watson.
Chloe Watson was another reserve player for Glencoe and she suffered a 6-3 defeat to West’s Charlotte Bruhn in the number three singles, while Glencoe’s Chelsea McKinnon defeated Laura McIntyre 6-4.
Glencoe fared better in the doubles, with two of the three sets going its way, but in the end it did not have the game count to claim the honours.
Madeline Watson and McKinnon defeated Sealey and McIntyre 7-5, while a solid 6-2 win was the result for the Watson’s against Sealey and Bruhn.
The final doubles was a 7-5 win to McIntyre and Bruhn against McKinnon and Chloe Watson, which could well have been the match-winner for West.
It was not meant to be for Uniting Church’s Division 1 women, as they perished at the hands of ladder-leader Reidy Park.
Jade Delaney tasted the only success for Uniting Church, with a hard-fought 7-5 win over Bailey Young in the top-order singles.
From there Reidy gave up just two games in a dominant display.
Emily and Sharon Edwards both won their singles 6-0 against Vanessa Maxwell and Neave Delaney respectively, while another 6-0 result saw Young and Sharon Edwards account for Jade and Neave Delaney.
The remaining matches saw a 6-1 win for Young and Emily Edwards over Jade Delaney and Maxwell, plus another 6-1 result for the Edwards’ girls against Maxwell and Neave Delaney.
