Crowlands has kept in tough with the ladder-leading Elmhurst team after a big win against bottom-placed Landsborough in round six of the Ararat and District Tennis Association on Saturday.
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The second-placed team got off to a strong start in the men’s doubles with Doug Newberry, Keith Boatman and Steve Jardine teaming up to knock off the Landsborough trio of Aiden Lee, Dean Mannington and Karl Scott.
The visitors won the section by six games, 23-17 to take the first points of the match.
In the ladies doubles, it was a similar story, as the Crowlands team continued to dominate on the court, as they won all three sets to win 27 games to nine to put the overall result beyond doubt.
The mixed doubles was a closer affair, as Landsborough fell just short of Crowlands 7-9 in the first set, but the visitors were able to make light work of the home team in the final two sets to record the 27 games to 13 win to make it a perfect result for the second-placed team.
The 10 points Crowlands takes keeps them within 10 points of Elmhurst at the top of the ladder.
The 10 points Crowlands takes keeps them within 10 points of Elmhurst at the top of the ladder.
Elmhurst did not take to the court, as it had a bye and got the 10 points on offer but Crowlands’ victory keeps pressure on the ladder leaders, as the competition approaches the Christmas break.
In the other match, Ararat looked like it was back to its best, as the reigning premiers accounted for Buangor to move off the bottom of the ladder.
Buangor struggled to match the intensity of the visitors, as Ararat won all three sections to claim the maximum points on offer to move up into fourth position.
The dominance started in the men’s doubles, as Ararat won two of the three sets with Josh Matthews and John Hannett dropping the first set to Ben and Chris Hartwich 6-9 the only loss.
The 24 games to 16 win gave the visitors the first two points on offer and would have given the rest of the team confidence for the remaining sets of the fixture.
In the ladies doubles, Ararat put on a clinic and easily accounted for Buangor in two of the three sets.
AnnMaree Driscoll, Maryanne Harricks and Genesis Rameka combined well to give their team the points while Caitlyn Ridgway, Muffy Dyer and Katie Sanford tried hard for the home team but couldn’t match the skills of their opponents on the court.
The mixed doubles finished off the fixture and it was a tight contest in the first set, as Ben Hartwich teamed up with Ridgway to take on Matthews and Rameka.
The home team lost 5-9, with Ararat gaining momentum and taking it into the other two sets to record the 27 games to eight win, giving the reigning premiers an overall result of 78-32.
The win moves Ararat six points clear of Landsborough while Buangor maintain third sport despite the loss.
Elmhurst sits top while Crowlands has a 14-point buffer ahead of third place going into round seven.
