Tungamah Green were crowned premiers of the Wilby and District Tennis Association on Friday night. This continues the domination that Tungamah have had over the past decade in this competition.
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In B Grade Savernake received the silverware and it has been a while since their name has appeared on the cup.
In the spirit of the competition there were seven players under 18 in the four sides and this bodes very well for the future of the association. The tennis is always played in a social manner and everyone who played on Friday night enjoyed themselves.
In the A Grade final the winners of the past two seasons did battle with Burramine keen to do well against Tungamah Green.
Tungamah’s men proved their strength with a dominant display winning 5 sets to 1. Luke Buerckner and Will Cooper were undefeated, whilst teammates Josh Buerckner and Tom Wren lost one set. Burramine’s ladies reversed the result, winning 5 sets to 1. Lucy Bassett and Loz Wallace won all of their matches and Tess Bassett and Kirsty Skene dropped only one set.
At the commencement of the mixed Tungamah Green had a narrow 4 game lead. Tungamah’s depth proved too strong in the mixed where they won 3 sets to 1. Overall Tungamah won by 13 games in a fantastic final.
B Grade’s final was a replay of last year with Tungamah Gold taking on Savernake. Savernake’s men proved they were out to play winning all of the 6 sets. Jeremy Kelly, Cam Arthur, Jock Toms and Jason Arnold all in terrific form.
Tungamah fought back hard in the ladies to win 4 sets to 2. Zade Ussher played really well to win all of his sets as a youngster. He was supported by Mandy Williams who won 2 sets. The mixed sets were split 2 each with some fantastic rallies.
At the end of the night Savernake were the winners by 21 games.
Association Secretary, Dario Prighel presented the medallions to both the winners and runners up in both divisions.
He also had the privilege of announcing that Telford’s Ang Mitchell and Andrew Brew were the Most Valuable Players for the season. Everyone agreed that these two were very worthy winners as they are excellent players but also extremely fair on the court.
Dario also awarded two Junior Encouragement Awards. Wilby’s Xavier Chessells and Tungamah’s Zade Ussher were the very worthy recipients. Both boys are always keen to play tennis at every opportunity. They have both also improved their games through their hard work and dedication.
It has been another fantastic season for the Wilby and District Tennis Association.
It is always great fun and a building block for juniors entering adult competitions. Thank you to everyone involved and especially the captains who managed to put a team on the court every week.
Godfathers Tournament
On Sunday the Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club hosted the annual Godfathers Junior Tournament. The tournament was a huge success with 78 juniors competing. Players from throughout the northeast region competed, with players travelling from as far as Yackandandah and Echuca.
It was extremely pleasing to see a large contingent of local juniors playing as well.
Two of Yarrawonga’s stars of the future played wonderfully to take out their respective A Grade divisions. Annabelle Buerckner won the 10 and Under group and Poppy Robinson claimed the 8 and Under event.
A fantastic result against some excellent competition.
Five of the local players were finalists in the A Grade events. Billie Prestage 12 and Under, Taylah Chessells 10 and Under, Ernie Buerckner 8 and Under and Grace Hargreaves 8 and Under all played very well. These players have each improved so much during the junior season.
Six local juniors were successful in winning B Grade titles. Kiera Buerckner 12 and Under, Tague Saunders 12 and Under, Eliza Prosser 10 and Under, Flynn Cox 10 and Under, Xavier Chessells 14 and Under and Emily Linehan 14 and Under all played a lot of matches for the morning. Their concentration ensured a successful morning.
Three of the Saturday morning players also were finalists in B Grade. It was great to see Nat Linehan 12 and Under, Eliza Lawrence 10 and Under and Olivia Lewis 14 and Under really enjoying their tennis and as a result playing some very consistent tennis.
The Godfathers have been long term supporters of this event. The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club appreciates their ongoing support.
The enjoyment the players gain from playing tennis is immense. It’s also an added bonus if they receive some silverware for their efforts.
Daryl’s big week
Club President Daryl Bennett has been recognised for the amazing job he does as President of the club.
Daryl was awarded the Community Champion of the Month by Tennis Victoria. Daryl has been a long serving President and always is looking to improve the tennis club.
Daryl’s award was on the back of his hard work in allowing Yarrawonga to host Country Week. With 10 weeks to prepare for the event he worked tirelessly with a range of organisations to allow the event to happen.
Last week Daryl also won the Club Championship at Cobram Lawn Tennis Club. Daryl won the final comprehensively 6-3, 6-3 to take home his first ever Club Championship.
He will be installed as an early favourite to win Yarrawonga’s Club Championship which will be held on Sunday, March 26.
Saturday morning juniors
Saturday morning juniors had another terrific morning of tennis. The atmosphere is always incredible with everyone enjoying themselves.
The Hot Shots and coaching groups continue to really enjoy their programs. The junior coaches are doing a terrific job guided by club coach Greg Duns in making the sessions enjoyable.
The groups are always changing with many Hot Shot players moving to the coaching group. The older players from the coaching group are transitioning into matches and really enjoying it.
The players that participate in matches commenced the Junior Club Championships. All players were in two age groups to allow maximum participation on the morning.
With record numbers playing it meant that most sections only reached the quarter final stage of their events. Matches will be completed over the next few weeks to finalise the winners of each division.
Players are reminded that there is no Saturday Morning Juniors this week as it is the long weekend.
Thursday Night Ladies
Thursday Night Ladies had a great hit in ideal conditions. With the daylight hours reducing, it was near darkness when matches were completed.
This was mainly due to the consistency of the players meaning matches go for a long time.
Fierce rivals in the football arena, Argentina and Brazil took the rivalry to the court with some intense sets before Argentina where able to win 5 sets to 1.
Lucy Bassett and Beth Robinson were the stars of the night, not dropping a set whilst their teammates Norma Toms and Shelley Johnston won 2 matches.
England had a night out against Portugal winning all 6 sets in a great display. Win Win Htwe, Tess Bassett, Kate Porter and Tess Bassett all played very well.
Netherlands and Croatia had some close sets before Netherlands were able to seal victory 5 sets to 1. Jess Linehan and Erin York were the best for Netherlands winning all of their matches whilst Lisa Ramadge and Olivia Lewis only lost 1 set.
In the final match of the night Morocco were on fire to claim a 6 sets to 0 win against France. All of Morocco’s team played very well. Great work Maddy Allan, Kirsty Skene, Jerry Browning and fill-in Noah Cox.
The ladder is England 28, Argentina 21, Netherlands 21, Morocco 17, France 16, Portugal 8, Croatia 8 and Brazil 7.
Tuesday Night Mens
The final round of Tuesday Mens Tennis was completed last week. This week will be the first week of finals. Not much will change, although the banter from the number 4 players might need to step up a notch to create the finals atmosphere.
In A Grade ladder leader Duns will take on Head. Captain Greg Duns has been on the long-term injury list and it will be interesting to see if he gets back to take on club legend Pete Thomas in what will be a great battle.
ProKennex are playing Wilson in the other semi-final. Newly engaged, Matt McLachlan will be on top of the world this week and it will be interesting to see if Brett Chapman will make his first appearance for the year for Wilson.
The battle in the first semi in B Grade between Volkl and Prince promises to be interesting. It would be a long time since John Brunner has not been in A Grade finals action and the likes of Ben Cope will be hoping that Prince can take out this match.
Early ladder leaders Lacoste and Technifibre have both had poor ends to the season and this clash could be decided between the number twos Andrew Brew and Peter Hollands.
In C Grade, Slazenger would be the favourites against Yonex who have had a tough season as cellar dweller. The number four players of Fred Exton and Troy Seddon are likely to be called upon to hold up their more highly fancied teammates.
Babolat play Donney in the final match of the night. Club President Daryl Bennett and Tuesday Mens Organiser Ash Wheaton will be both keen to win to avoid having to clean the barbecue on Grand Final night.
Goulburn Murray Tennis
Numurkah will play Kyabram in the Division 1 Grand Final of the Goulburn Murray Tennis Association on Saturday, March 18.
Four Yarrawonga players are part of Numurkah’s squad. John Brunner, Grant Chappell, Jack Bassett and Lucy Bassett have all enjoyed playing a very high standard of tennis and are looking forward to playing in the Grand Final.
Numurkah played Kyabram on Saturday. After losing 11 sets to 1 the week before, Numurkah were keen to be competitive. The match was certainly that with the score extremely even all day before Kyabram eventually won by 9 games.
Numurkah were able to seal a spot in the Grand Final after defeating Shepparton quite convincingly on Sunday. The three mixed sets were not played as Numurkah had secured a big enough lead on games that Shepparton couldn’t win.
Cobram will play Stanhope in Division 2 also on Saturday, March 18. Daryl Bennett and Hayley Bennett will be Yarrawonga’s representatives for Cobram.
Cobram advanced to the Grand Final after an incredible battle with Numurkah at Sunday’s Preliminary Final. Yarrawonga’s Tess Bassett plays for Numurkah so Yarrawonga was well represented.
The match was close all day, with only a few games separating the teams. The lead changed hands many times before Cobram won by a single game to advance to the final.
Yarrawonga Chronicle