Telford has claimed its second premiership Wilby and District Tennis Association’s premiership in three years.
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Telford took on Tungamah in a fantastic battle on the superb Yarrawonga grass courts, with the victors eventually winning by a single game, the final score being 71 games to 70.
This is certainly the best Grand Final in the long history of the Wilby competition.
Tungamah jumped to an early lead, winning 4 sets to 2, with Josh Buerckner in his usual fantastic form to win all of his sets. The ladies saw the scoreline reversed, with Telford winning 4 sets to 2.
Angela Mitchell was dominant, winning 3 sets. Entering the mixed, Telford had a 9-game lead.
Tungamah fought back strongly to claim three mixed sets and nearly pull off a miraculous victory.
Congratulations to the Telford team consisting of Craig Stevenson, Andrew Brew, Andrew Banks, Finn Mitchell, Angela Mitchell, Sandra Banks, Chris Hawkins and Laura Nunn.
This is Telford’s second premiership in three years.
There was also another match played between Savernake and Wilby.
This match saw some fantastic sets played, with a tie the result.
Well done to Helen White on organising this concept, giving people an extra hit of tennis and ensuring there was a great atmosphere at the venue.
At the conclusion of the tennis, there were some awards presented.
Billie Buerckner and Finn Bruce both received the Junior Encouragement Awards.
Billie and Finn are outstanding players but, more importantly, always play tennis in great spirit.
The prestigious Most Valuable Player Awards ensured extra trophies needed to be ordered.
The men’s award resulted in an incredible four-way tie.
Congratulations to Andrew Brew, Thomas Lawrence, Josh Buerckner and Bailey Lewis on sharing the award. The ladies’ award was won by gun junior Elli Buerckner, who was a very deserving winner.
The Wilby and District Association is an integral part of the fabric of the tennis community in Yarrawonga. It provided a fantastic opportunity for a range of players, especially juniors, to have a hit.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2025/26 season, and a special thanks to the team captains who ensured matches were played every week.
Premier League
The final round of the Saturday morning Premier League was completed on the weekend.
This three-week event provides the opportunity for older players to compete in a team-based competition.
In the first rubber, Saints and Blues battled it out with some close sets played. Saints were the winners, 15 sets to 9, with Alex Hemphill, Cooper Beggs and Maya Isaac all winning their three sets.
In the second match, the two top sides played each other. Demons proved too strong, winning 16 sets to 8 against Power.
Thomas Lawrence, Jack Carmichael, Annabelle Buerckner, Eliza Lawrence, Jimmy Robinson and James O’Kane won all of their sets for the Demons, while Lenny Robinson and Ella Knight didn’t drop a set for Power.
This meant the final ladder is Demons 50, Power 44, Saints 41 and Blues 23.
Congratulations to the Demons team consisting of Annabelle Buerckner, Eliza Lawrence, Claire Pearce, Bailey Richardson, Winnie Cooper, Thomas Lawrence, Finn Angwin, Jack Carmichael, Jimmy Robinson, Ollie Bridgeman, James O’Kane, Jack Bruce, Abel Stilo and Tom Bruce.
Well done to all four sides for their efforts, and a massive thanks to the players who filled in during the competition.
Saturday morning juniors
Hot Shots and coaching groups enjoyed another excellent morning of junior tennis.
With conditions perfect for tennis, it was great to see how well all of the juniors were hitting the ball.
The progression of these groups has been so pleasing to see.
The younger players who play match play were broken into two groups.
Ollie Page won the most games in the boys’ group, while Leah Moore and Penny Perkins won the most games in the girls’ group.
Next week there will not be any junior tennis due to the Labour Day long weekend.
The following week, all junior tennis will be held on Friday evening commencing at 6.00 p.m., due to the unavailability of courts on Saturday morning. The final Saturday of junior tennis will be held on Saturday, February 21.
Thursday Ladies Tennis
Season Two of Thursday Ladies Tennis continued last week.
The season is now four rounds into the six-week competition. Having two seasons for the ladies has proven very successful, as players do not have to commit for three or four months.
The tennis was of a high standard, with many very long rallies. Quite a few ladies enjoyed a refreshment and a chat after the matches on a beautiful night for tennis.
In the first match of the night, top-placed Jones had a great battle with bottom-placed Birrell.
In the end, the sets were split 3-all, indicating how close the competition is. Jones won by 3 games, with Alice Cooper best on court, winning all of her sets.
Hunter and Tomljanovic had many close matches, with Hunter winning the night 4 sets to 2. Indicating how close the sets were, no one was able to win all of their matches.
The match of the night was between Hon and Joint.
The sets were shared 3-all and, when the games were calculated at the finish of the rubber, the teams were equal on 23 games apiece.
Competition organiser Narelle Bassett was hitting the ball superbly to win all of her sets.
The ladder after Round 4 is Jones 25, Inglis 17, Hunter 17, Joint 15, Hon 14, Tomljanovic 12 and Birrell 12.
This week will be the last regular round before the rankings shootout takes place on March 12.
Tuesday Men’s Tennis
The final round of Tuesday Men’s Tennis was completed in humid conditions, which eventually produced a heavy downpour just as matches were completed.
This didn’t stop everyone enjoying their night, with some excellent tennis being played.
Connors and McEnroe had a tight battle with many close sets before Connors won 4 sets to 2. President Pat Mansfield demonstrated his class to win all of his sets.
Wilander and Lendl were evenly matched all night. Both teams finished with 3 sets, with Wilander winning by 2 games. Young gun Xavier Chessells was in great form to remain undefeated.
Top-placed team Edberg were in ruthless form, defeating Becker 6 sets to 0. It is hard to see anyone getting close to Chris Page, Gary Page, Nev Page and Brendan Foran.
Sampras had a 4 sets to 2 win over Federer. Les Ryan continued his fantastic form of late to win all of his sets.
The match of the round was between Nadal and Djokovic.
The sets were split 3-all, with Nadal winning by a single game.
Daryl Bennett was hitting the ball extremely well to be best on court.
Borg and Agassi played out many long sets, with Borg winning the night 4 sets to 2.
Junior star Viktor Lairson won all of his sets.
The ladder at the completion of the season is Edberg 77, Lendl 62, Nadal 59, Becker 56, Sampras 55, Laver 54, Borg 54, Agassi 49, Federer 47, Connors 47, Wilander 44, Djokovic 39 and McEnroe 31.
This week in the A Grade semi-finals, Edberg will take on Becker and Lendl will play Nadal. The other teams will also participate in B and C Grade finals, ensuring everyone still gets a hit.
Goulburn Murray Tennis
The final round of Goulburn Murray Tennis was played across the region on the weekend.
Yarrawonga’s Division 3 side hosted third-placed Karramomus.
Yarrawonga once again had a win over a top-four team, which is indicative of the fantastic improvement the team has made during the season.
It was a very even rubber, with sets shared 5-all. Yarrawonga won the day by 13 games.
Damian Cook was ruthless, winning his 3 sets and only dropping 1 game for the entire day. He formed a great combination with Josh Buerckner and Amy Lairson.
Amy was also hitting the ball superbly to win her doubles with Renee Byrne and Danielle Lawrence.
Yarrawonga’s season is now complete. Congratulations to everyone who played during the season.
There were a total of 19 players who played at least one game.
A special thanks to captain Danielle Lawrence, who was the mainstay of the team and always ensured everything ran smoothly.
This was the first time for many years Yarrawonga has participated in this competition, and it has been a great addition to the club.
Numurkah’s Division 2 team played at Euroa. Remarkably, this was the first match for Numurkah since Christmas due to heat outs every week.
Despite the lack of match practice, the team played well before going down 8 sets to 3.
Elle Bruce was the standout for Numurkah, winning her singles and ladies doubles.
Numurkah’s Division 3 side played against Tatura.
With a win required to lock in a top-two position, Numurkah was keen to do well. In a day of very close matches, Numurkah was able to get the required result, winning 7 sets to 5.
Jack Bassett was in great form and won his 3 sets, including the mixed with Tess Bassett. Numurkah will now face Shepparton in the semi-final.
Rock up and play sessions
The YLTC holds social aggregate-style tennis on Tuesday mornings commencing at 9am for ladies, and Wednesday mornings at 9am for men’s social tennis.
There is no compulsion to attend each week, although once you have tried it once, it will be hard not to keep going back.