THE 14 and under boys and girls’ teams event was dominated by the Mount Gambier District Tennis Association against a combined Upper South East side when the South East Tennis Association Schuller Shield was contested at Naracoorte on Sunday.
That team consisted of players from the Southern Ports, Naracoorte, Bordertown and Keith tennis associations.
A total of 32 players made up the tournament with plenty of talent shown on the newly refurbished Naracoorte Tennis Club courts.
Mount Gambier has proven to be a tough opponent in this event for many years and again showed its depth with a decisive 29-3 set victory.
The doubles matches were played in good spirit but it was the Mount Gambier duos that gelled best, with some convincing wins.
Hamish Gordon and William LeCornu looked unbeatable in the boy’s top doubles and they claimed a decisive 6-0 win over Tom Handbury and Toby Longbottom.
Similarly in the girl’s top clash, Maggie Collins and Alita Huyser combined well for a 6-0 victory.
It was a similar story for the remainder of the doubles matches, but Bordertown’s Jack Heinrich and Ben Wegener combined well to trouble Matthew Aarts and Archie Aitkins.
Regardless, the Mount Gambier pair lifted when it counted to still win 6-3.
Zara Cole and Claire Douglas joined forces to hold off Willa Durbridge and Darcie Loller in a good battle, also winning 6-3.
The singles were played next, with Toby Longbottom’s 6-3 win against LeCornu putting the Upper South East on the board.
Handbury was also able to make amends for his double’s defeat, winning 6-1 against Gordon.
Ben Wegener put up another good effort but Aitkins proved too strong to win 6-3.
The girls singles were also dominated by Mount Gambier although there was some quality games to behold.
Collins and Huyser continued to show their skills in the top two positions, while Kiersten Cole had a good 6-2 win over Katie Rasheed in the number three match.
Sienna Hawke and Georgie Midwinter had a close tussle, with the former digging deep for a 6-4 win.
The final round of matches were played after the lunch break, with players taking to the courts for the mixed doubles.
Introduced at last year’s event, the format was again an enjoyable addition.
Mount Gambier was impressive with its doubles play and won seven of the eight sets on offer.
There was a close battle between the Ben Gregory and Zara Cole duo with Will Heinrich and Willa Durbridge.
The encounter could have gone either way but experience won out in the end with Gregory and Cole taking a 6-4 win for Mount Gambier.
Handbury and Anna Rasheed combined well to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win 6-4 over Gordon and Collins in a thrilling match.
Following the last games, medals were presented to the Mount Gambier players on behalf of the South East Tennis Association.
