Moglonemby wins tight contest in foggy start at Mansfield

On a foggy morning, Moglonemby travelled to Mansfield in what turned out to be a day of lengthy rallies and countless deuces. By the time Mansfield’s Keira McDonagh and Peta Kelly, and Moglonemby’s Judy Sands and Sue Vaughan finished their first set, the fog had cleared and the sun was out. In a set that lasted one and a half hours, it was only fitting for it to end in a tie break. Judy and Sue were victorious. On the other court, Kass Thomas, kindly filling in for Mansfield and Clare Beecham lost 8-1 to Marlene Hanrahan and Robyn Johnson. The remaining four sets were shared and played a little quicker, with Judy and Marlene winning 8-2 and Judy and Robyn 8-4. Mansfield’s Peta and Clare won 8-4, then Peta combined with Kass to win their set 8-3. Moglonemby won 4/39 against Mansfield 2/30. Thick fog shrouded Wappan on their way to Terip Terip, but sunshine welcomed them on top of the plateau. The clubhouse welcome was warm too, but players had to get going in the icy air outside. There was much laughter, some comic antics and several expletives heard in the entertaining contest. Players used every part of the court in the evenly matched, high quality hit, returning balls deep and wide. Wappan’s Natalie Bergsma faced Terip’s Cindy Hayes, and both returned low, flat balls throughout the lengthy day. Sets were split before the final pairs, and scores were close. Everyone was fully immersed in the contest, which featured freakish gets and multiple momentum swings. Jenny Martin produced some serious cross-court angles, while Jenny Bell found a few aces against Frances Lawrence, who was finding the lines with her lethal left hand. After the games were added and checked, scores were level. But Wappan, having won two tie breaks, were surprised to find they had won an extra set and snatched the win by the narrowest of margins. Wappan 4/40 defeated Terip 2/40 to move into third spot on the ladder, closely behind Terip in second. In Benalla, Kate Campbell was back from holidays to join Claire Sharp, Maureen Jewell, and Deb Siggers for their match against Creighton’s Creek. Chris Ellis, Roz Doxey, Kerry Hewlett, and Lyn Johnston worked hard to get games on the card, but Benalla had all the answers and won all the sets to finish 6/48 to 0/21. Euroa hosted Delatite, with Lyndall Bigland, Faye Mollison, Ruth Nolan, and Julie Harrington combining strongly in a good match. Julie placed excellent short cross cuts, the ever-consistent Faye placed her lobs perfectly, and Ruth outplayed her opponent with consistent strength. Delatite’s Karyn Fraser, Carolyn Murray, Loretta Armitage and fill-in Mary Kelly enjoyed the hard hitting, despite the wind playing havoc at each end. Karyn and Mary took Delatite’s only set for the day. Euroa lengthened their lead in the competition by winning 5/45 to 1/19. Seven Creeks had the bye. After the midwinter break, play resumes on Sunday, July 21 when Wappan hosts Euroa and Delatite plays Moglonemby in Mansfield. Seven Creeks and Creighton’s Creek will meet in Euroa, and Terip will host Mansfield. Benalla have the bye. Round 9 Ladder: Euroa 67.5, Terip 53, Wappan 52, Moglonemby 51.5, Mansfield 46, Benalla 31.5, Creighton’s Creek 22.5, Delatite 19, Seven Creeks 17