James Murphy
DIVISION 2 tennis was highlighted by a nail-biter at Mil Lel on Saturday afternoon.
The Round 5 Mount Gambier and District Tennis match-up had the home team matched against West Gambier Blue and at the end of the day Mil Lel/Reidy claimed the honours by just two games.
The top men’s singles reflected the closeness of the fixture, with a tiebreak required to determine Lochie Arnold the winner over West’s Jamie Higgins.
The other men’s singles were also won by Mil Lel/Reidy, with Harrison Ellis and Christopher Cowland winning 6-2 and 6-3 respectively.
The women’s singles were split, with Jessica Douglas’ 6-0 win over Kirra McKenny the only win from the hosts.
West’s Sharon Edwards defeated Jorja Douglas 6-3, while Carey Grivell accounted for Aynslee Hayman 6-2.
While Mil Lel/Reidy had the better of the singles, West was on top in the doubles winning four of the six sets.
Of those, three were close 7-5 encounters.
Higgins and Matthew Charlton teamed up for a win over Arnold and Cowland, while Edwards and McKenny defeated the Douglas’.
Edwards had a second 7-5 win when she paired up with Grivell against Jorja Douglas and Hayman.
In the end it could have been the closeness of those sets which decided the outcome, with the two teams finishing level on six sets each.
However, Mil Lel/Reidy had won 59 games at the end of the day, while West won 57.
The second fixture of the round had Suttontown/Glencoe Tigers visit West Gambier Red at Malseed Park.
The teams sit second and first on the ladder respectively, so the early bragging rights were on the line between the top teams.
In the end it was the combined side which edged out the hosts with a 7-5 set win.
The men’s singles were all won by Suttontown/Glencoe.
The top rubber went to Sam Auld in a tiebreaker over Peyton Robinson, while Brody Sharam was too strong for Justin Robinson on the day.
Alexandre Rigaux rounded out the men’s singles winners with his 6-4 triumph.
The women’s sets were balanced in favour of West.
Suttontown/Tigers’ Casey Sampson defeated Kyra Kuchel 6-3, while the other sets went to West as Rylee Kuchel and Layla McPherson both won 6-1.
The doubles were an even split, with three sets each.
The Suttontown/Glencoe men dominated the court as Auld won his sets with Sharam and Rigaux 6-1 and 6-0 respectively, won 6-0, while Rigaux and Tom Inglis had a 6-3 victory.
West had the better of the women’s doubles, with the closest result a 6-3 win to Kyra Kuchel and McPherson over Lizzie Doyle and Molly Lennon.
