TATYOON has clinched the A grade Mininera and District Association Junior Tennis Association premiership for 2015/16.
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Overcast conditions and a chilly breeze greeted players on Saturday. Despite the cool conditions, the action on the court was anything but.
Tatyoon edged out Willaura by one game in the A grade grand final. There had been nothing between the two teams all season and it was the same in the premiership decider.
Archie Conboy and James Phillips opened proceedings, winning the first set 6-4 from Nick Vallance and Charlie Waites. Willaura levelled the set score and took a two game lead after Scott Evans and Toby Vallance won the second set 2-6 from Georgia Richardson and Grace Astbury.
Phillips and Astbury put Tatyoon back in front after defeating Waites and Toby Vallance 6-2.
But Willaura wasn’t done yet.
Spectators waited on tenterhooks while a titanic struggle occurred in the final set. With games going with serve, there was nothing separating the two teams. Vallance and Evans finally broke through in a tiebreaker to win the set from Conboy and Richardson 7-6.
After such a close match, it was a shame anyone had to lose but despite its best efforts, Willaura couldn’t get across the line.
The B grade grand final was equally as close. Buangor started slowly, with Tim Hartwich and Riley Walker no match for the consistent Nathaniel Kuchel and Philippa Bush.
The second set went the same way as the first with Nick McInnes and Rita Dyer going down to Gabe Tonks and Thomas Bartlett.
Buangor rallied in the second half to take both sets 6-4. With the set score tied at two-all, it came down to games with Ararat victorious by three games.
The final match was a round robin mini tournament, with all three doubles teams playing each other. Alex Fraser and Erica Evans were the most successful combination, winning one set and losing the other in a tie breaker to win a total of 12 games.
Organiser of the competition, Leesa McInnes was pleased with the grand final day proceedings.
“All players should be proud of their performance whether they won or lost,” Mrs McInnes said.
“It was a really terrific morning of tennis with very little between the teams in any of the matches. We had a large crowd of spectators and all the kids played really well and displayed excellent sportsmanship. I was very proud of them all.
“It was great to see everyone enjoying the morning and parents all helping out with various jobs. We couldn’t have such a fantastic competition if it wasn’t for their support and I thank them very much for this.”
Willaura/Lake Bolac Community Bendigo Bank continued its sponsorship of the event for the sixth consecutive year.
Manager Trevor Link attended the morning to present medallions to the winning players, tennis socks to the runners up and exceptional sportsmanship awards to a player from each team.
A barbecue lunch for players and their families followed the presentations.
RESULTS
A grade grand final: Tatyoon 2-20 defeated Willaura 2-19.
A Conboy J Phillips def N Vallance C Waites 6-4, G Richardson G Astbury lost to S Evans T Vallance 2-6, A Conboy G Richardson lost to N Vallance S Evans 6-7, J Phillips G Astbury def C Waites, T Vallance 6-2.
B grade grand final: Buangor 2-17 games lost to Ararat 2-20.
T Hartwich R Walker lost to N Kuchel P Bush 1-6, N McInnes R Dyer lost to G Tonks T Bartlett 4-6, T Hartwich N McInnes def N Kuchel G Tonks 6-4, R Walker R Dyer def P Bush and T Bartlett 6-4.
Round robin: A Fraser E Evans lost to T Fraser J Day in a tie break 6-7, S Phillips C Richardson lost to A Fraser E Evans 4-6, T Fraser J Day lost to S Phillips C Richardson 1-6.
Winners: A Fraser E Evans 12 games; Runner up: S Phillips and C Richardson 10 games; Third: T Fraser and J Day eight games.
Exceptional sportsmanship awards: Tatyoon – Grace Astbury; Willaura – Nicholas Vallance; Ararat – Gabe Tonks; Buangor – Tim Hartwich; Moyston – Jessica Hope.