John Brunner and Michelle Hill with their Gold Medals from this year’s Australian Seniors Tennis National Titles.
Yarrawonga sporting icon John Brunner has won a gold medal at the 2022 Australian Seniors Tennis National Titles at the Swan Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
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Brunner won the 55-60 years mixed doubles title with Michelle Hill of Wangaratta who is well known in Yarrawonga.
The talented pair reached the final by beating the number one seeds in the semi final 6-4, 7-6 in a very high standard match against two players who have represented Australia in seniors tennis many times.
In the final, on Thursday, January 21, the eventual winners thrashed Queensland pair Wanda Howes and Rob King 6-1, 6-0.
Brunner, who became an Ovens and Murray Football League Hall of Famer in 2012, described the win as “right up there with the best moments” of his illustrious sporting career, particularly because of its national status.
Two places where John Brunner has dominated – standing with his 2022 Australian Seniors Tennis National Titles partner Michelle Hill at Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club and in the background, Yarrawonga’s J C Lowe football oval.
The national titles were the first time John and Michelle have played together although they regularly practise with each other.
“I loved playing mixed with Johnny because he is such a great competitor who always gives 100 per cent on the court,” Michelle said.
“He is always polite, humble, enthusiastic and a pleasure to play with. He is also an excellent player!”
Michelle also won the ladies doubles title and was runner up in the singles.
She is widely regarded as Wangaratta’s greatest ever female tennis player. The 62-year-old has worked at Galen College for the past 40 years as senior PE teacher. Michelle has won 38 WLTC titles, is the reigning Oceania Seniors champion in her age group and recently won the Victorian Seniors Grass Court Championships that were held in Yarrawonga last November.
She is a certainty to be selected in the Australian seniors team to contest the World Championships in America in May.
In the mid 1990s, Michelle led Yarrawonga to a Goulburn Valley pennant title in which she won the player of the year award. Recently she reached a career high world seniors ranking of 18 in singles and 8 in doubles.
Michelle has achieved all of this despite a chronic knee injury that requires constant treatment before, during and after tennis tournaments. Himself having undergone surgery on both of his knees, Brunner understands the pain that Michelle experiences each time she plays tennis.
The recently turned 58-year-older workshop maintenance operator at Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort played over 500 games of football which included 162 with Yarrawonga, two best and fairests, and three O and M league best and fairests. Overall, he won a total of eight league top individual awards.
When living in Benalla before Yarrawonga in 1986, other sports took up all Johnny’s time before tennis. “I was watching these two star tennis players and thought I’d like to be like them but footy, soccer and cricket were the main sports there,” he recalled.
But the multi time tennis club champion at Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club has certainly since made his mark several times on the tennis scene.
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