THE annual Baker and Ey Shield was held between the Mount Gambier and Southern Ports Tennis Associations recently.
Over 80 players made the trip to the Lucindale Tennis Club for the event, who once again put on a good show with the iconic grass courts in fine condition.
Last year both shields were won by Southern Ports, but Mount Gambier hit back with a redeeming effort to claim both awards for 2023 in a thrilling finish.
The Division 1 Baker Shield had the Mount Gambier teams off to a strong start in the morning session.
Mount Gambier Blue edged over the line eight sets to seven against Southern Ports Blue, while Mount Gambier Green took the win 9-6 over Southern Ports Red.
In the afternoon session matches were tight again, with Mount Gambier Blue defeating Southern Ports Red 9-6 and Mount Gambier Green victorious over Southern Ports Blue by the same margin.
There were plenty of standouts on both sides.
The likes of Zayne Young, Eliza Hanbury, Bianca Cunneen, Tarrant Fudge and Andrew van den Hurk were all in fine form, while Mark Heemskerk, Jayme Young, Dylan Childs, Sarah Edwards and Poppy Moyle-Read also rose to the occasion.
In the end Southern Ports was unlucky, losing many tight sets.
However, Mount Gambier proved too strong when it counted to win the Baker Shield 35 sets to 25.
In the Division 2 Ey Shield, it was an arm wrestle to the finish, with Mount Gambier claiming the honours by just nine games.
Southern Ports was off to a flying start and took the lead 17 sets to 13 at the lunch break.
Southern Ports Blue was the most convincing in the morning session, with a 9-6 set win over Mount Gambier Blue.
Mount Gambier Blue started slowly, falling behind 4-1 after the doubles and could not bridge the gap through the singles matches.
Southern Ports Red also put in a good performance and narrowly defeated Mount Gambier Green 8-7.
Southern Ports Blue continued its good form into the afternoon session, defeating Mount Gambier Green eight sets to seven to put Southern Ports in a strong position to defend the shield.
However, in a stunning comeback Mount Gambier Blue took down Southern Ports Red 10 sets to five, which put the overall result on level terms at 30 sets apiece.
After much deliberation and calculation of scores, Mount Gambier won the shield by a slim nine games, 30-317 to 30-308.
Standout performances in the Ey Shield came from David Cole, Rylee Kuchel, Sarah Brown, Casey Weaver, Lou Liedig, Sally Schultz and Tyler Hannigan.
RESULTS
Baker Shield: Mt Gambier Green 9 d Southern Ports Red 6; Mt Gambier Blue 8 d Southern Ports Blue 7; Mt Gambier Green 9 d Southern Ports Blue 6; Mt Gambier Blue 9 d Southern Ports Red 6.
Ey Shield: Southern Ports Blue 9 d Mt Gambier Blue 6; Southern Ports Red 8 d Mt Gambier Green 7; Southern Ports Blue 8 d Mt Gambier Green 7; Mt Gambier Blue 10 d Southern Ports Red 5.
