Pictures: THOMAS MILES
IT was a rain-affected round of Mount Gambier and District tennis on the weekend.
Only one Division 1 match was completed, which saw second-placed Glencoe Gold defeat its Reidy Park hosts by two sets.
The remaining Division 1 men’s fixtures and both women’s encounters were abandoned and recorded as draws.
It was a hard-fought match between the second and third placed teams at Reidy Park, with several games holding the potential to reverse the overall result.
Glencoe Gold’s Patrick Mitchell had a good 7-5 win over Ky Edwards in the number one singles, while Mithcell’s doubles partnership with Dave Boyce was another 7-5 victory for the guests.
The closest match of the day saw Mitchell in another tight encounter, as he partnered with Mark Feetom for a tie-break win over Edwards and Liam McEvoy.
However, with each of those matches falling the way of the visitors, Glencoe secured the bragging rights and the points heading into the penultimate minor round this weekend.
The Division 2 competition was also hindered by Saturday’s wet conditions and only two games were completed.
Over at Glencoe the ladder-leading Gold team made short work of Uniting Church to record an eight-set win.
Three forfeited games boosted the home team and Uniting Church only won two sets – thanks to Sergio Cesaro’s singles game and doubles partnership with Rob Tunstall.
As a result, Glencoe finds itself a win clear on top of the ladder with just two minor rounds to play.
The closest match of the weekend saw Reidy Park Royal with a six-game triumph over Moorak, after both teams won six sets each.
With a mix of convincing and close wins, both the singles and doubles sets were split evenly to bring the game count into play.
Two 6-0 wins to Reidy in the doubles helped the host’s cause, while a 6-7 tie-break loss to Georgia Bruhn and Maddison Kelly against Moorak’s Kaitlyn Nisbet and Marilyn Gordon helped boost the game count despite the defeat.
In the end it was enough for the home team to claim the honours and remain in the chase for a finals berth.
Division 3 was the only senior grade which completed an entire round, but with three matches played at Olympic Park on Friday night, only two clashes faced Saturday’s rain.
This week all divisions will play on Saturday afternoon, with no Friday night games scheduled for the rest of the minor season.
