MOUNT Gambier and District tennis players will now gear up for finals, with the last minor rounds of the 2018-19 season played over the weekend.
In the Division 3 competition some close games were had, despite the final four already decided prior to the round.
Second-placed Moorak Gold had a tight encounter with Suttontown Crows, with the latter going down by 10 games in the end, after sets were tied on six-all.
Another close battle saw West Gambier with a two-set win over Uniting Church in the fight for sixth place on the ladder.
Fourth-placed Mil Lel had a relatively comfortable four-set win over Centrals on its home courts, while ladder leader Moorak Green defeated third-placed Suttontown Hawks nine sets to three.
That match saw the Hawks host Moorak with an even result in the singles games.
Both teams won three sets each, with the closest match won by Suttontown’s Christian McCombe over Trevor Pettingill 7-6.
However, it was in the doubles where the hosts fell apart, with all six sets going Moorak’s way.
The closest match saw Chris Tully and Pettingill defeat Cameron Pritchard and McCombe 7-6 in a tiebreaker.
Another meeting between the two clubs saw Moorak Gold host Suttontown Crows for round 15.
Despite the Crows sitting out of finals contention in fifth place, only 10 games separated the two sides at the end of the day.
The singles saw three sets each, with some tough games played.
Suttontown’s Craig Beck and Denis Fry both claimed 7-6 wins over Craig Nisbet and Ryan Horrigan respectively.
The doubles matches were also an even split, leaving the result up to the game count.
With the tight wins for Suttontown and some convincing results in Moorak’s victorious singles, the win went the way of the hosts.
Out of finals contention, West Gambier and Uniting Church locked horns for the bragging rights, with a sixth place finish on offer for the winner.
It came down to the doubles’ results in the end, with three sets each in the singles, while West won four of the six doubles to take the honours.
There were few close results on the day, with the closest games won 6-3.
The final match of the round saw Mil Lel with a four-set win to carry confidence into the semi finals this week.
Up against cellar dweller Centrals, the Mil Lel hosts won the day eight sets to four, with a couple of close results handing them the honours.
Once again the singles saw three sets apiece, with the match won in the doubles encounters.
That saw Centrals with just one win, as Maddy McGregor and Katie Welden defeated Kaela and Teena McKee 6-4.
Two close 7-5 doubles wins for both of Shaunn Robinson’s partnerships – with Mark Robinson and CJ Arnold – could have seen a different result in the end, but Mil Lel took the win in both and sealed up the overall victory.
Teams across all grades will now prepare for the semi finals this weekend, while both the mixed and women’s doubles will play round 16 on Saturday prior to grand final match-ups the following week.
SEMI FINAL DRAWS
TOMORROW
Division 1: Men – Semi final 1: Glencoe Maroon v Centrals/Uniting; Semi final 2: Uniting Church v Glencoe Gold; Women – Semi final 1: Glencoe v Uniting Church; Semi final 2: Reidy Park v West Gambier.
SATURDAY
Division 2: Semi final 1 – Glencoe Maroon v West Gambier Red; Semi final 2 – West Gambier Blue v Glencoe Gold.
Division 3: Semi final 1 – Moorak Green v Mil Lel; Semi final 2 – Moorak Gold v Suttontown Hawks.
