Tuesday night by Callum Bono and Jemma Blackall THE opening sets saw team McDonagh dominate early, taking both sets decisively with a commanding score of six to two. Their well-coordinated play and sharp court coverage left team Crockett struggling to find their rhythm. However, the momentum shifted dramatically in sets three and four. Brendan Grant and Simon Young, stepping in for team Crockett, mounted an incredible comeback, delivering a crushing six to zero defeat in the third set. Their relentless serves and precision volleys were a highlight. The fourth set was also won by team Crockett; Rohan West and Al Crockett won in a nail-biting tiebreaker. With the teams now separated by just one game heading into the final sets, the atmosphere was electric. In the end, McDonagh found their second wind, regaining their dominant form. With renewed focus and unmatched consistency, they swept the fifth set six to zero and clinched the sixth set six to three, securing their well-deserved victory. McDonagh’s Greg McDermott, Glenn Fox, Callum Bono and Keira McDonagh won 4/29 to Crockett’s 2/19. After a recent loss to the O’Loughlans, team Yencken was feeling vulnerable and for good reason. The top team came out firing, winning both opening sets. Jemma Blackall and Jaden Findlay took it right up to Max and Mark O’Loughlan in a tie breaker but couldn’t get the job done losing seven to one. Max gave Dan Robertson a tennis lesson with a brilliant cross court taking the second set six to four. Team Yencken was on shaky ground and struggling to find form in the windy conditions. Captain Mark Poole pulled it together in the final set in an outstanding match up partnering Jemma against Max and Sarah Fox. He found the energy to run down every ball on the baseline, winning the third set with dominance. As expected, O’Loughlan took the overall win, but only by two games. Yencken got close, proving the O’Loughlans might just topple in the coming weeks. O’Loughlan 4/30 to defeated Yencken 2/28. Murray’s regulars were back with a strong return to form over Hutchison. Jason Blake, Michelle Pigdon, Dan Dundas and Kathryn Murray picked up seven points winning every set. Subs Max Ree-Goodings and Fiona Lindsay made them work for it in their opener picking up four games. Murray was convincing in the other sets though and took the win 6/36 to Hutchison’s 0/14 games. Tuesday ladder: O’Loughlan 34.5, Murray 32.5, McDonagh 26, Yencken 24, Aldous 21.5, Blackall 21.5, Crockett 20.5, Hutchison 15.5 Wednesday night by Rhonda Carpenter OUT of the Blue powered past Burnt Orange who were missing their captain on a warm calm night perfect for tennis. Teammates Matty Lowe, Will McAlister, Steph Herridge and Kelly Purcell dominated in every set not allowing their opponents a look in. They picked up seven match points and moved further ahead at the top of the ladder. Crimson Souls Simon Young and Suzie Wellborne were strengthened by Arthur Gerrans and Laura Gosney, and sported team hats for their match against Red Roses. Jane Swinburne had provided the matching hats and Arthur’s serve was as terrifying and powerful as ever! Alice Kilpatrick and Lisa Morgan took it right up to them in their set winning four games. However, the Souls were simply too strong in all the other sets and snatched a handy seven match points. The closest match of the night was between Brown Sugar and True Colours where two tiebreakers were played. Nick Ferguson and Kimberley Marsden won theirs seven to four and Pete Scales and Max Les won theirs seven to four. The Les family, Rob, Kate and Max, combined with Pete, dominated with skill and strength over Brown Sugar who battled hard. True Colours won 5/35 to Brown Sugar 1/13. Wednesday ladder: Out of the Blue 41, True Colours 31, Brown Sugar 30, Crimson Souls 21, Red Roses 16, and Burnt Orange eight. Thursday night by Bron Sly A HOT and humid night greeted the players for the final Thursday tennis for 2024. Everyone knew things were serious when Rhonda Carpenter began the night by saying “No more Mr Nice Guy!” Let It Be and Let’s Dance were enjoying the early shade on courts one and two. Natalie Bergsma, Tim Vardy and Jodie Morrow from Let It Be joined by Rob Williams faced off against Michael McCormack, Bec Wardenaar, Naima Crisp and Zoe Richards from Let’s Dance. Natalie and Rob were pushed in the first set of the night against Michael and Bec, eventually claiming victory six to four. On the other court Jodie showed no signs of her injury stopping her when she partnered with Tim to win their set six to zero against Naima and Zoe. Michael and Zoe paired up in the second set to take victory over Natalie and Jodie six to three. The rest of the night went the way of Let It Be six to zero, six to two and six to zero. Let It Be taking the honours against the always improving Let’s Dance 33 games to 12. Night Fever’s Bron Sly, Chelsea Dean and Courtney Purcell were once again joined by Suzie Wellborne who was filling in for the injured Ben Nally. Suzie has been Ben more games than he has been himself this year and is a welcome addition to the team. Come Together’s Rhonda and Bob Carpenter and Kassy Thomas took the court with Liam Wilson. The courts were filled with lots of laughter and fun. Rhonda and Bob took the honours six to four against Bron and Courtney while Kassy and Liam won their first game against Suzie and Chelsea six to two. The remaining sets all fell the way of Come Together, but many long rallies and deuce games were had. The final game of the night saw Bron and Suzie exhausted and taking turns accidentally hitting each other! Come Together claimed victory 36 games to Night Fever’s 13 games. The final matchup of the night was Changes against Smooth Operators. Liza Karras and Jason O’Brien went down fighting in the first set three to six against Arthur Gerrans and Ilena Meek. While Jo O’Brien and Les Kerr were no match for young guns Millie Bell and Max O’Loughlan losing one to six. Chaos ensued when a rogue ball was returned over the fence by Bob Carpenter and hit Ilena square in the back- thankfully she could see the funny side while Bob had a good chuckle! In the second set Les and Liza and Arthur and Millie were having so much fun that they forgot they had played two games before restarting. Arthur and Millie eventually claiming victory six to four. Ilena and Max won their set against Jo and Jason six to two. During their final sets they were the last teams on the court, Millie enjoying the music by DJ Bob so much that she was too busy dancing to even notice Jason serving to her. It made little difference though with Millie and Ilena won six to two against Jason and Les. Arthur and Max won the final game of the night six to zero against Liza and Jo. Smooth Operators won 36 games to Changes 12. Extra points should be awarded to Jodie and Jason who played injured when fill ins couldn’t be found. Thursday night ladder Smooth Operators 43, Come Together 42, Let It Be 34, Changes 27, Night Fever 12, Let’s Dance 10. Juniors on Saturday by Jo O’Brien DESPITE the weather, the Juniors got out and had one last hit before Christmas. Well done to Eadie, Spencer, Ben and Archie for taking out the Christmas hat prizes. Junior Tennis will return in Term one on February 8. Tuesday will play again next week, and Wednesday night will play their washout round seven after all teams agreed to play. Thursday night celebrated the Christmas Break with a party and will return on February 6 2025.
