The annual Godfathers Junior Tournament was held on Sunday. There were 97 players in attendance ranging in ages from 7 to 16.
With a round robin format every player participated in a minimum of three sets ensuring a lot of balls were hit.
It was fantastic to see players travel from throughout the north east region as well as a very strong local contingent.
A special thank you to all the parents for bringing the players and then assisting in various capacities during the day.
In the prestigious 8/U Boys Division local Beau Lawrence played beautifully to win his pool and then claim victory in the final against another Yarrawonga player Jimmy Leslie.
These boys have improved immensely and have a great future in tennis.
In the 16/U Girls division there were many local girls and each played very well. At the conclusion of their round robin Tess Bassett was the winner with Ella Lewis runners up.
A lot of fun was had and there were some excellent shots played.
Siblings Xavier and Taylah Chessells had a fantastic tournament and both have developed into powerful strikers of the ball as a result of playing lots of local tournaments.
Xavier was runners up in the 16/U Boys and Taylah was runners up in the 12/U Girls. Billie Buerckner was also runners up in the 14/U Girls group. Billie has developed a fantastic range of strokes and is extremely consistent with her shots.
Thank you to the Godfathers for supporting our tournament and junior sport in our region. Everyone in attendance had a fantastic day.
Club Championships
The prestigious Club Championships will be held this weekend. All members are encouraged to be involved and there are a range of events.
The junior age groups are 10/U, 12/U, 14/U and 16/U with players able to play in two age groups.
All events are singles. Juniors will commence on Saturday and this will replace the regular match play.
Due to the high numbers this will not be able to be completed in one day. Therefore, players still left in the events will finish on Sunday.
Please note this is different to previous years as it was getting too hard with clashes to finish all the events.
The senior events will be played on Sunday, February 23. This day consists of Open, 18/U and 35+ singles and well as Open Doubles.
It is hoped that with many parents being there to support the junior events they might also have a hit in the senior events.
Country Week
Yarrawonga had around ten players competing in Tennis Victoria’s Country Week last week. The event was held in Swan Hill. It is a massive event with 28 different divisions each consisting of 8 teams.
None of Yarrawonga’s contingent competed in finals on Friday. Despite this there has only been positive reports about how amazing the week was both on and off court. Next year this event is in Shepparton and members are encouraged to consider playing.
Premier League
The second round of Premier League was played on Saturday morning. This is the second season of Premier League and the competition runs for three weeks.
There are four teams and each team has 13 players. Each players completes a doubles, mixed doubles and a singles match each morning.
It was very enjoyable to watch the rallies with the players mixing strong hitting with crafty court technique.
Eagles and Dockers had a fantastic battle all morning with the rubber going set for set before Eagles snuck home by a single set 14 to 13.
Indicating how close it was the only player to win all three sets was Georgie Smith representing the Dockers.
In the other rubber Crows played Suns. The Crows team was on fire all day and were dominant winning 21 sets to 6. For Crows Jimmy Robinson, Ella Smith, Noah Cox, Maya Isaac, Tully Ellis, Raffa Leary, Lenny Robinson and Izzi Porter each won all of their matches.
The ladder after round 2 is Crows 48, Dockers 33, Eagles 31 and Suns 18. The final round of Premier League will be played on Saturday March 1.
Saturday morning tennis
The Saturday morning junior program had unusually cool weather. This didn’t reduce the amazing numbers in attendance although there were significantly less icy poles consumed compared to normal.
The Hot Shots players really enjoy the range of activities they undertake. The littlest stars are developing rapidly with most players demonstrating powerful forehands.
The coaching groups continue to improve and are enjoying the range of drills they play each week.
Competitors in matches played three sets of doubles and many of the rallies had to be seen to be believed. A special thanks to the parents who assist with the scoring every week.
Group winners were Annabelle Sandral, Jack Cummins, Alex Mulquiney and Ollie Legudi.
Thursday Ladies Tennis
Thursday Ladies started season two on Thursday evening. The number of players in the is competition is very pleasing and there a few new players which is fantastic. The theme of the teams’ names is popular biscuits and this created a lot of discussion around what is the best biscuit.
The weather on the night started well but some matches couldn’t be completed as storm arrived on dusk.
The first rubber saw Monte Carlos win 3 sets to 2 against Monte Carlos with the last set being declared a tie. Indicating how close the contest was no player won all of their matches.
Tim Tams won 4 sets to 2 against Kingstons. There were many tight sets with Jil Mulally winning all of her sets.
Tiny Teddies and Iced Vo Vos also had a great hit with Tiny Teddies winning 5 sets to 1. Sam Webster and Chris Hawkings were best on court not dropping a set.
In the final match of the night Choc Royals combined in great fashion to defeat Oreos 6 sets to 0. The Choc Royals squad consisting of Renee Burns, Kirsty Skene, Lisa Ramadge and Norma Toms look to be the side to beat.
The ladder after round 1 is Choc Royals 8, Tim Tams 6, Tiny Teddies 6, Monte Carlos 6, Tic Tocs 4, Mint Slices 2, Kingstons 2, Oreos 1 and Iced Vo Vos 1.
Tuesday Mens Tennis
Round 11 of Mens Tennis was played in beautiful conditions and the tennis was enjoyed by all. There were quite a few fill ins and their efforts in having a hit were appreciated. There are only two rounds left and the ladder is quite tight at the top.
Wilander and Sampras had many tie breakers with Wilander claiming the night 4 sets to 2. For the victors Davey Jones was the star winning three sets.
Borg and Djokovic produced the same 4 sets to 2 scoreline although Borg only won on games by 3 indicating many close matches. Trent Head was best on court not dropping a set.
Top of the ladder McEnroe showed their strength with a strong 5 sets to 1 win of third placed Federer. Best player for McEnroe was Jim Zanin who is in great form leading into finals.
Edberg and Agassi has some long sets with Edberg winning 4 sets to 2. Thomas Lawrence was the best player winning three sets.
In the battle for fourth position Laver proved way to good winning 5 sets to 1 against Connors. Aidan Humphry and Fred Exton combined well to lose a match.
In the last match of the night Lendl had a 4 sets to win over Becker. Scott Jaques was in elite form showing his opponents how tennis was played with some powerful shots.
The ladder after Round 11 is McEnroe 59, Nadal 56, Laver 52, Federer 50, Connors 44, Sampras 43, Agassi 43, Lendl 42, Borg 38, Edberg 38, Wilander 36, Djokovic 36 and Becker 35.
Wilby Tennis
The final round of Wilby and District Tennis Associations matches were played over the weekend. The home and away season is now completed and it has been fantastic to see so many different players having a hit. This competition caters for a range of ages and abilities and is an essential part of tennis in our region.
Telford hosted Wilby at Yarrawonga on Friday night.
The mens section was very close with Telford sneaking home 4 sets to 2 with Andrew Brew in great form winning all of his matches. The Telford ladies consisting of Sandra Banks, Hayley Bennett, Chris Hawkins and Emma Pearce all played well to win 6 sets to 0.
The mixed sets were split 2 all with Telford winning this section by 5 games. Overall Telford took the 8 points.
Mulwala Maroon also played Burramine on Friday night at Yarrawonga. Burramine’s men combined very well to win 5 sets to 1. Tess Bassett and Wil Anderson were both undefeated.
The ladies section produced the same scoreline but again there were many close sets. Kirsty Skene and Olivia Lewis were both in good form not dropping a set. Burramine proved too strong in the mixed winning all of the sets mostly in near darkness. Burramine claiming all 8 points.
Savernake had to forfeit against Mulwala Gold as they couldn’t quite find enough players. Tungamah Gold also forfeited to Tungamah Green as Tungamah’s 150 years celebration was in full swing.
After Round 12 the ladder is Tungamah Green 76, Telford 72, Burramine 70, Mulwala Gold 55, Wilby 40, Mulwala Maroon 29, Tungamah Gold 28 and Savernake 14.
This week the finals commence. In A Grade Tungamah Green will host Mulwala Gold at Tungamah whilst Telford and Burramine will play at Yarrawonga. In B Grade Savernake will travel to Wilby and Mulwala Maroon will welcome Tungamah Gold. Good luck to all sides.
Goulburn Murray Tennis
Goulburn Murray Tennis was played in beautiful conditions on the weekend. After a very slow start to the season Numurkah’s Division 1 team are finishing strongly with a win over top placed Shepparton 7 sets to 5.
Big serving Grant Chappell was in superb form winning all of his sets. Lucy Bassett played very well to win 2 of her matches. Jack Bassett and Ellen Bruce both won one set each to close out Yarrawonga’s representation in the team.
In Division 2 Numurkah had a tough match against top placed McEwan Reserve losing 9 sets to 2. Tess Bassett was Numurkah’s best player with wins in the singles and doubles.