TENNIS

A major reason for the success of the junior programs has been the coaching of Eliza York and Thomas Loughnan. Both of these coaches have been graduates of the junior program themselves. Once finished with their playing on Saturday mornings they immediately stepped into the coaching roles. 

They both have a natural affinity with kids and they have been able to deliver programs with passion. 

This has assisted to ensure the numbers on Saturday mornings are the envy of most tennis centres in Victoria. Both Eliza and Thomas have completed their VCE studies and are continuing their education at university next year. 

The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club thanks them for their efforts and hopes they both enjoy the next adventure in their lives.

Saturday Morning Tennis 

The final Saturday morning of the season was amazing with the finale involving the Parent/Child Doubles. 

It was fantastic to see so many parents, grandparents, other family members and friends joining the up and coming tennis stars. 

Saturday morning organiser Lisa Linehan was in total shock with the number of doubles combinations and she certainly required some quick thinking on her behalf to ensure everyone was allocated a court. 

In the end there were 39 doubles pairings in 6 groups. Scoring was modified to allow the morning to flow easily. Everyone was a winner on the morning and it truly demonstrated how tennis can bridge the generations.

The Hot Shots groups had an enjoyable end to their year with lots of modified games. These kids have improved so much and the club has a great future with these players the stars of the future. Thanks to Cobram’s Jordan Bovalina for his efforts in running Hot Shots with the assistance of debutant coach Daniel Herrod.

The coaching sessions on the grass courts were action packed under the guidance of Jack Bassett and Liam Williams. 

This component of the Saturday morning has seen the biggest growth area. There were balls flying everywhere and the kids had great fun. Many of these kids will be commencing modified matches once the club resume. 

To prepare players for match play, 12 of the coaching graduates have commenced some modified match play. These players are starting to rally consistently and there were many terrific rallies. 

Club coach Greg Duns suggested that many of these players will be looking at playing matches once school recommences.

Goulburn Murray Tennis

The Goulburn Murray hosted Shepparton Celtics on Saturday. In the division there are three sides that play with all men. 

Shepparton Celtics are one of these sides and are certainly the strongest team that Yarrawonga has faced. Despite this there were some close matches and the matches were all played in great spirit.

Yarrawonga started off strongly with a narrow tie breaker singles loss to Ellen Bruce who is playing some awesome tennis. 

Youngsters Jack Bassett and Liam Williams continued their outstanding form with convincing singles wins. Karen Kaine hit the ball very well but was just beaten in her set.

In the doubles, the combination of Mike Lairson and Liam Williams were Yarrawonga’s only pairing to have a win with a victorious 8-5 set. 

Jack Bassett and Ellen Bruce were unlucky to just lose 8-7 after a nail-biting tie breaker. Lucy Bassett and Karen Kaine played some nice shots but were not able to have win for the day.

Goulburn Murray tennis now has a break until January 16. The combination of youth and experience has created a very enjoyable atmosphere amongst the team. 

Currently sitting fifth, the team has the chance to push for finals after Christmas.

Thursday Ladies Tennis

The final round before a well-earned break was held for the ladies on Thursday night. There were some extremely tight sets and some fantastic tennis was played. 

At the end of the night the bar was alive with banter as the ladies enjoyed a pizza feast and a few beverages to dissect the season to date. 

The first match of the night saw arch rivals Doc take on Bashful. The sets were all very close with Doc eventually winning 4 sets to 2. 

For Doc Julie McCabe dominated the court winning 3 sets. She was ably supported by Emma Thompson and Lisa Thompson who both won 2 sets each. For Doc, Amy Lairson was their most successful player with 2 wins.

Happy and Sleepy had an absolute nail biter with each team winning 3 sets apiece. A countback on games was called and Sleepy were victorious 28-26 to knock off the ladder leaders. 

Sleepy’s Chris Hawkins certainly showed she was not sleepy winning all 3 of her sets.  For Happy, Erin York, Win Win Htwe and Sandra Heaney won 2 sets each. This was certainly a high-class rubber.

Even closer than that was the match between Grumpy and Dopey. Again, the sets were split 3 sets apiece with the games count revealing Dopey had secured the narrowest of victories winning the games 24-23. 

The stand out player for Dopey was young gun Jess Linehan who played extremely well. For Grumpy Gert Brunner, Lucy Bassett and new player Sally Doolette each won 2 sets each.

With round 5 completed the ladder is Happy 29, Dopey 27, Sneezy 20, Doc 20, Grumpy 19, Sleepy 16, Bashful 9. 

A great start to the season by all teams and play will resume on Thursday, January 31 at the completion of the school holidays.

Tuesday Men’s Tennis

The final week of the regular competition was completed on Tuesday night. Matches were highly competitive and all players have improved since the start of the season. This week is the final week with the format of the ever-popular ratings shoot out to be played. 

This format involves players of similar abilities being placed in groups for the night. At the conclusion of the night the season to date will be reviewed over a feast of noodles and a few beverages.

In Thursday’s matches, Baw Baw had a 4-2 set win over Stirling. For Baw Baw Glen Butler was best on court winning his 3 sets. He was ably supported by Mat Brewer and new player Neville Page who both won 2 sets each. 

For Stirling youngster Lochie Forge won 2 sets and is really starting to play some fantastic tennis.

Bogong played really well to take a 5-1 set win over Hotham. For Bogong Daryl Bennett and Fred Exton won all their sets and John Arnold and Cliff Nguyen won 2 sets each. For Hotham Ben Cope and Tim O’Dwyer decided they had better win the final set of the night to stop a clean sweep. They had a convincing 6-2 win.

St Gwinnear had a 6-0 set win over Buller. Whilst this score line looks one sided, there were two sets finishing 7-5 and another two 6-4. 

St Gwinnear’s regulars Wi Wong and Michael Mills both played really well as did their fill-ins John Brunner and Jack James. Buller’s team was rutted to be visiting a sports psychologist over the weekend to find a way of clinching the close matches.

Howitt had a 5-1 win against Buffalo. Howitt are looking like a genuine premiership contender with Nick Mullavey and Jamie Hicks continuing their good form in not dropping a set. Andrew Beggs and fill in Brett Lawrence were also very solid in winning two sets each. Buffalo battled hard all night with a few narrow losses. Their sole set win was from Ash Wheaton and Scott Jaques.

Ladder leader Wellington had another good night with a 6-0 set win over Speculation. Wellington consisting of Jack Bassett, Dave Porter, Pat Mansfield and the much-improved Simon deOleveira have set the standard for the season. They didn’t have it all their own way with the last two sets of the night being very close.

With round 5 finished the ladder is Wellington 35, Bogong 29, Howitt 27, St Gwinear 22, Baw Baw 22, Stirling 21, Hotham 21, Feathertop 15, Buffalo 11, Speculation 9, Buller 8.

Veterans Tournament

On Sunday the North East Veterans Tennis series held a tournament in Numurkah. Yarrawonga was represented by siblings Gert and John Brunner. 

By all reports Gert played her usual very solid game to finish mid-card in her group. John continued his recent great form to take out his card and claim the prize.

Friday Night Aggregate

Friday night saw 17 players take the court in 4 different groups. It was great to see so many players in attendance and it is hoped that the numbers will continue to grow on Friday nights. 

The first group consisted of some of the finest local players and the tennis was of the highest quality. Former Club Champion John Brunner, current Club Champion Harley McCarthy and current Junior Club Champion Jack Bassett each won 2 sets each. Current Veterans Champion and Club President Daryl Bennett also played very well but couldn’t quite get over the line.

The standard in Group 2 was also very high. Andrew Brew was the stand out player of the evening winning each of his 3 sets. 

Mat Brewer, Mike Lairson and visitor Gary McGrohan each had some awesome tennis moments to finish with 1 win each.

Group 3 had a very enjoyable night with some very close matches. Chris Mortimore continued his recent good form to win every set. His combatants Chris Pritchard, Julie Pritchard and James Loughnan each won 1 set each.

Group 4 also had some very close matches with the comeback kid Michael Mills being the best player in the group with 4 sets won. 

Hans Lang and Ian Macpherson each won 2 matches in a really competitive group.

All Stars Classic Silver Tennis Tournament

Entries have started to flow in for the Australian Rankings Tournament being held in Yarrawonga between January 18-21. 

This event caters for Open players as well as junior from 10/u through to 16/u. Entries are made online via the Tennis Australia website and strictly close on January 4. 

It will be great to some of the best players from South East Australia playing at Yarrawonga. A massive thanks to the local businesses who have sponsored this event as it couldn’t have gone ahead without them.

Rock up and play

The sessions where you can simply sign-in on the day continue to be popular. As well as Friday aggregate all members and visitors are welcome on Saturdays at 1pm, ladies Tuesdays at 9am and Wednesdays at 9am for the men. 

Please note the change of time for the Tuesday ladies to get out of the hotter weather. More the merrier.

Enquiries

If you are interested in any of the wonderful and diverse tennis programs during the week please ring Jason Bassett on 0448 838 256 who will provide relevant contacts for each program.