Country Week Tennis was an incredible success. After having only 10 weeks to prepare for the event the entire Yarrawonga community banded together to welcome an estimated 1600 players from 200 teams.
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Matches were played at the Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club, Yarrawonga Football Club and the Yarrawonga Cricket Club on 101 courts. This event is the biggest grass court tournament in Australia.
The players and their entourage enjoyed playing tennis but they also thoroughly enjoyed the social aspect of the week.
It is hard to calculate the impact of this event on the region but it is not unrealistic to suggest millions of dollars were injected into the local community.
There are so many people to thank for the success of the event. For fear of missing someone, everyone that was involved in any capacity is to be congratulated on their efforts. It was certainly a memorable week for all visitors.
From a tennis perspective, there were many locals participating which was fantastic. It is hoped that next year when Wodonga hosts the event Yarrawonga can again be well represented.
In B4 Yarrawonga Allsorts had a great week, just sneaking into fourth place. They then managed to defeat the top side in the semi-finals before annihilating their opposition 4 sets to 0 in the Grand Final.
Well done to Amy Lairson, Gert Brunner, Angela Mitchell, Ellen Bruce, Sandra Heaney, Anna Castles and Christine Turnbull.
In C4 the Bloomers finished the week in third place before winning their semi-final 3 sets to 1. They then smashed their opponents in the Grand Final 3 sets to 0.
Congratulations to Jenelle Bennett, Win Win Htwe, Helen White, Sue-Anne Stuart, Kura Fraser, Robyn Snowdon and Jan Knights.
In C3 the Juicy Fruits had a great week finishing on top of the ladder. Unfortunately after winning the first 2 sets in their semi-finals, a couple of injuries meant that the team had to forfeit the remaining sets.
Still a lot of fun was had by Maddy Allan, Emily McNamara, Sharni Hazelman, Laura Davis, Caitlin McNamara, Kylie Leslie and Hannah Symes.
In C2 Linga Longa Ladies had a very social week and enjoyed each other’s company. Despite many very close sets they didn’t quite make the finals.
A lot of laughs were had by Lorraine Cummins, Rebecca Bodycoat, Melissa Bodycoat, Chris Bodycoat, Wendy Cooper, Fiona Kennedy, Deb O’Callaghan and Libby Edis.
Maurie Tyrell and John Brunner represented Yarrawonga in B1 as part of Wangaratta Blue. Both played very well to assist their team to make the semi-finals before losing to the eventual winner.
In A Grade, Grant Chappell was part of the Hume Hornets. Playing in the highest division Grant thrived on the challenge. His team finished fourth before also succumbing to the eventual winner.
Saturday morning juniors
Saturday morning juniors were greeted with very warm conditions but that didn’t stop the players and once again there were kids everywhere. With an icy pole to finish the morning everyone went home happy.
The Hot Shots and coaching groups continue to really enjoy their programs. The junior coaches are doing a terrific job guided by club coach Greg Duns in making the sessions enjoyable. Many players are moving into coaching and match play ensuring they keep developing.
There was a large group of players undertaking match play meaning some of the hard courts had to be used.
Rallies continue to lengthen entertaining the parents who are spectating. Group winners on the day were Taylor Lewis, Charlotte Arthur, Ed Mulquiney, Ed Withers and Jack Carmichael.
Junior Premier League
The final round of the Premier League again produced some fantastic rallies. There were some long sets played even with the reduced format for the heat. All players completed 2 doubles and a singles for the morning.
In the first set in the boys section Sherbies had a 9 sets to 3 win over Freckles. For Sherbies Wil Anderson, Sam Cummins and Flynn Woolley won all of their sets and for Freckles Jordan Ibbott was undefeated.
Minties and Smarties had another good battle before Minties won 8 sets to 4. For Minties Jackson Prosser, Charlie Mouat and Cameron Brew won each of their 3 matches whilst Ian Dimble from the Smarties won all of his sets.
The final ladder was Sherbies 31, Minties 24, Freckles 19 and Smarties 10.
Congratulations to the Sherbies consisting of Xavier Chessells, Harry Wren, Tadhg Foran, Wil Anderson, Sam Cummins and Flynn Woolley on winning this event.
Also well done to the Minties who were runners up. There team was made up of James Cummins, Lachie Wren, Thomas Lawrence, Jackson Prosser, Charlie Mouat and Cameron Brew.
In the girls section the Red Rippers had tight contest with the Pythons winning 7 sets to 5. For the Red Rippers Ruby Sneddon and Billie Prestage didn’t lose a set.
Wizz Fizz and Frogs also had a great morning with Wizz Fizz winning 7 sets to 5. Nat Linehan was player of the match winning all of her sets for Wizz Fizz.
The final ladder was Red Rippers 27, Pythons 25, Wizz Fizz 16 and Frogs 16.
Congratulations to the Red Rippers consisting of Maisee Pell, Elli Buerckner, Billie Prestage, Ava Cox, Emily Judd and Alyssa Strauss on being the winners of the competition. Demi Rhodes, Olivia Lewis, Grace Foran, Isabel Hargreaves, Milla Kelly and Milla Cox representing the Pythons were runners up.
Presentations of trophies will occur at the start of tennis on Saturday.
Thursday Night Ladies
Thursday ladies tennis had a week off due to a large number of ladies playing Country Week. Play will resume this Thursday.
The ladder after the second round is Netherlands 12, England 12, France 11, Argentina 8, Croatia 7, Portugal 5, Morocco 4 and Brazil 3. The scribe apologises for the incorrect ladder that was published last week.
Fast Four Wednesday
Fast Four Tennis is back this week. Three sets of Fast Four doubles followed by pizza and refreshments is a recipe for a great night. There is currently an uneven number of teams in the competition so an extra team would be welcomed.
Wilby Tennis Association
The final round of the Wilby and District Tennis Association’s regular season was played over the weekend. With the extreme heat on Friday, three matches were abandoned and the points shared between the respective teams.
The only match that was scheduled for Saturday was between the host Wilby and Telford. Telford’s men continued their strong recent form winning 5 sets to 1 with Andrew Banks and Brett Lawrence winning all of their sets.
In the ladies Telford also won 4 sets to 2 although there were a lot of very close matches. Sandra Banks was the best player being undefeated. Telford also won the mixed 3 sets to 1. Telford taking the points 8 to 0 and reconfirming themselves as the powerhouse of the competition.
The final ladder for the season was Telford 75, Burramine 64, Mulwala Gold 57, Tungamah Green 51, Tungamah Gold 43, Savernake 36, Mulwala Maroon 32 and Wilby 26.
This week will see the first week of the finals. In the A Grade section, Telford will host Tungamah Green and Burramine will play Mulwala Gold. In B Grade Tungamah Gold take on Wilby and Savernake will play Mulwala Maroon. Captains are to work out the venues and when the matches will be played. Good luck to all teams.
Tuesday Night Mens
The Tuesday Mens competition were encouraged by the Country Week players and tried their best to display their skills. As usual a fun night was had by all.
Slazenger and Prince had the most amazing battle that could simply not have been any closer. At the end of the night the sets were tied 3 each and the games were shared 28 apiece.
Tom McKimmie was bet on court winning all of his sets for Prince whilst for Slazenger Ben Cope, Brad Sneddon and Andrews Banks had 2 wins.
ProKennex continued its strong second half to the season with a 5 sets to 1 win over Donnay. Luke Buerckner and Kieran Kelly both played well to be undefeated whilst teammates Jack Bassett and Jamie Hicks both won 2 sets.
Volkl had a 4 sets to 2 win over Babolat. Jason Cox demonstrated his talent to be undefeated for Volkl whilst for Babolat Grant Lewis was the best with 2 wins.
Head moved into fourth position on the ladder with a ruthless display against Yonex winning all 6 sets. Pete Thomas, Tim Clarke, Nev Page and Corey Beggs demonstrated they are going to be hard to beat come finals.
Duns moved to the top of the ladder with a 5 sets to 1 win over Wilson who were the ladder leaders. For Duns, Chris Page and Sean Robinson both won all of their matches.
Lacoste won 4 sets to 2 against Technifibre but indicating the closeness of the matches the games on the night were shared 30 all. For Lacoste Pat Mansfield was on fire to claim 3 wins on the night. Andrew Beggs was Technifibre’s best player with 2 victories.
The ladder after Round 10 is Duns 57, ProKennex 54, Wilson 52, Head 51, Volkl 49, Lacoste 47, Technifibre 45, Prince 40, Babolat 34, Slazenger 32, Donnay 26 and Yonex 18.
Goulburn Murray Tennis
Numurkah played Shepparton in Division 1 in the second last round of the season. John Brunner had a hard-fought singles win and Grant Chappell won both his doubles and mixed doubles matches. This helped secure Numurkah a 7 sets to 5 win.
Numurkah played Shepparton in Division 1 and had a great battle with top of the ladder Stanhope. Tess Bassett had two losses before winning her mixed 8/0. Numurkah narrow losers on the day 6 sets to 5.
Hayley Bennett playing for Cobram had some narrow losses with her winning 7 sets to 4 and consolidating second place on the ladder.
Numurkah Club Championships
Lucy Bassett won the Numurkah Lawn Tennis Club’s Club Champion on Sunday. In an entertaining final Lucy defeated Tess Bassett 8/3.
At the age of 15 Lucy has now won Club Championships at both Yarrawonga and Numurkah. This is an impressive effort.
In the men’s side Jack Bassett was runners up to Nick Fenaughty. The six-time Club Champion Nick played superbly to win the final 8/2.
Numurkah Lawn Tennis Club is a fantastic club and has been very supportive of 5 Yarrawonga members who play their every Saturday.
Yarrawonga Chronicle