Three perfect nights of tennis

AFTER last week’s washout everyone was eager to play, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Team Crockett defeated Team Hutchinson 4 sets 34 games to 2 sets 25 games. Guy Taylor as a fill-in played some great tennis and won all three sets. Young Max O’Loughlan looked to be striking the ball very cleanly and won the last set of the night in a thriller tiebreaker 11/9. Max looks like a future club champ. Team Aldous defeated Tram Murray 5 sets 35 games to 1 set 19 games. Team Murray sitting second on the ladder have been on fire in recent weeks, but Aldous’ team Fiona Lindsay and fill-in Mark O’Loughlan won all three of their sets. Won’t take long for team Murray to get back in the winners’ circle. Team Yencken defeated Team McDonagh 4 sets 31 games to 2 sets 23 games. The score card did not reflect the match, as team McDonagh played some very good tennis however with a bit of luck and some great tennis by Dion Theodossi, Anna Speirs and Soph Yencken they managed to get over the line in the end. Tuesday Ladder: O’Loughlan 48, Yencken 43, McDonagh 41, Murray 40, Aldous 39, Crockett 36.5, Blackall 36, Hutchison 23.5 Ladder leaders “Out of the Blue” started strongly against “Red Roses” racing to a 2-set lead despite a gallant fight from Robert Williams and Sean Pitchford going down 9-7 in the tie breaker. Emma Kay and Sean got the better of Chris Hewlett and Steph Herridge to snatch one set back whilst Matty Lowe and Will McAlister were winners. Going into the final pairings it was 3-1. Lisa Morgan and Sean emerged victorious 6-3 against Will and Steph with Sean continuing to chase everything down to the point of near exhaustion! In a monumental tussle Emma and Robert won the tie breaker 9-7 to tie the match up at 3 sets a piece. With the bonus point going to the “Red Roses” with a 1 game advantage this match could not have been any closer. Well done, “Roses”! Meanwhile, over on Courts 1 and 2 “Burnt Orange” took on Husbands and Wives team “True Colours”. Kate and Rob Les, Liz and Peter Scales proved a cut above their opposition running out to win all 7 match points. It wasn’t all a walk in the park though with Laura Gosney and Mel Kormoczi pushing Rob and Liz all the way in a tie breaker, falling just short 5-7. Laura and Max O’Loughlan, filling in for Warren, were unable to celebrate Max’s birthday eve, coming close but losing 4-6 against the crafty pairing of Rob and Peter. Happy birthday Max. Pete and Liz showed that their newfound hobby of crocheting has not dulled their competitive edge, beating Max and Mel 6-2. Kate continued her impressive form against Abbey McConnell, conceding only 5 games over the night. As always, they were cheered on, and only occasionally distracted, by the resident Kookaburras!! With 4 rounds to go there was everything to play for 4th placed “Crimson Souls” and 3rd placed “Brown Sugar”. “Crimson Souls”: Simon Young, David Mims, Aaron Knight (filling in for wife Helen) and Suzie Wellborne proved way too powerful for Nick Ferguson, Hannah Aldous, Julie Aldous and Leonie McLaughlin, cruising to all 7 match points in a commanding victory. It wasn’t all power though, especially with Simon adapting to the blustery conditions and giving Ferguson the runaround with accurate placement and deft touches all night. 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Team captain Suzie was far too consistent for her opponent Leonie winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-0. Mims made a mockery of the rumor that he was playing on one leg by only dropping 6 games for the night. Handy fill in Aaron was only challenged in his first set triumphing 6-4 before running out 6-0, 6-0 to complete the rout. Wednesday ladder: Out of the Blue 60, True Colours 47, Crimson Souls 43, Brown Sugar 38, Red Roses 31, Burnt Orange 12. It was a stunning evening for tennis and perfect conditions after the rain interruptions of last week. Let’s Dance included newcomer James Riedel and Millie Bell into their match against Come Together. Michael McCormack and Bec Wardenaar needed time to adjust with their new teammates but eventually they did and later claimed that more sets would’ve seen them win the match. Shane Richards, Kass Thomas, and Rhonda and Bob Carpenter combined strongly in the first two sets, but Let’s Dance got on top in the last sets taking both in style against the top side. Come Together won 4/30 to 2/23. The centre courts saw a great tussle between 2nd and 3rd on the ladder Smooth Operators and Let it Be. The opening set between Arthur Gerrans and Brendan Purcell and Natalie Bergsma with Agnes Kay went for almost an hour and with the boys eventual winners in a tie breaker. Perhaps Arthur's big serve was the difference. Let it Be were lucky enough to have Carol Watts fill in for an injured Jodie Morrow, and she may have been their lucky charm. Carol was the only player to win all 3 of her sets. Let it Be won the evening 4 sets to 2 and took home 5 match points. This wasn’t enough to take second spot from Smooth Operators, but it was an enjoyable hit out against great opposition. Over on courts 5 and 6 Changes took on Night Fever. Liza Karras and Jo O’Brien set the tone for the evening when they took on Suzie Wellborne and Chelsea Dean and came out 6 to 0 victors. Night Fever’s Suzie, Chelsea, Bron Sly and Courtney Purcell took games in every other set, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Changes dominance on the night with Changes Liza, Jo, Jason O’Brien and Les Kerr winning 36 games to 12 and taking home 7 match points to 0. Thursday ladder: Come Together 58, Smooth Operators 51, Let it Be 41.5, Changes 40.5, Night Fever 24, Let’s Dance 16. The Juniors were excited to be back in action this week with many close matches throughout the morning. Thanks as always to our amazing parent helpers. Well done to our section winners Jota Andrijweskyj, Noah Kayssar, Henry Yencken, Henry Dunlop, Alastair Ross, Patrick Delany and Eadie Hostetter. The Junior club championships will be held this Saturday 1st March. Girls and Boys singles will be sorted into 16/Under, 14/Under, 12/Under and 10/Under sections played in a round-robin then knock-out format. Players are welcome to warm up from 8.30am for a 9.00am start. Please register your interest by Thursday 27th Feb with our Junior Co-ordinator Joanne O'Brien and a BBQ will be provided on the day. This event is for Mansfield Junior Club members only. Entries for the MTA Club Championships have closed. On Monday 3th March - Mixed Doubles, both A and B Grade, Tuesday 4th March - Men’s Singles, both A Grade and B Grade, Wednesday 5th March - Women’s Singles, both A Grade and B Grade, Thursday 6th March - Men’s and Women’s Doubles. Spectators are most welcome. Play will commence at 6.00pm each evening. Courts will be open from 5.30pm for warm up. Entry fee ($5) payable each evening on arrival. The MTA committee will oversee each evening's play, allocate courts and referee if necessary. Trophies will be presented at the conclusion of each championship.