Winter Tennis heats up under blue skies

A GLORIOUS day once again dawned for winter tennis, with blue sky backdrops across Euroa, Terip, and Mansfield. Euroa hosted Moglonemby, while Seven Creeks welcomed Wappan on Euroa’s lawn under pristine conditions. Both matches proved to be lengthy, hard-fought contests. Euroa’s Lyndall Bigland, Faye Mollison, Julie Harrington, Mary Dewis, and Ruth Nolan were pushed to the limit by Moglonemby, with two sets decided by tiebreakers. Moglonemby’s Judy Sands and Sue Vaughan welcomed newcomers Kylie Ross and Ronnie Doxey, who contributed strongly to secure both breakers. Although the sets were split three-all, Euroa edged out Moglonemby by four games, winning 3/41 to 3/37. On the adjacent courts, Seven Creeks and Wappan battled through an even longer contest. Seven Creeks’ Rowena Ellis and Nicola Enright took the opening set 8-5, while Wappan’s Rhonda Carpenter and Carol Watts claimed a marathon tiebreaker against Gayle Furphy and Mary Kelly. Wappan settled in on the lawn and swept the remaining sets, winning 5/45 to 1/29. Terip endured the longest day of play against Creighton’s Creek, with three sets going to tiebreaks. Marja Wondergem, Chris Ellis, Julie Brooks and Lyn Johnson fought hard, but Cindy Hayes, Frances Lawrence, Phoebe Macdermid and Jenny Martin handled the pressure points better to secure a 5/47 to 1/32 victory. The very chilly start to round three of the winter tennis competition was deceiving, with the sun warming the courts and players soon shedding layers. Team Delatite’s Carolyn Murray, Jo O’Brien, Deb Mims, Loretta Armitage, and Deb McCormack took to their home court against Benalla’s Kate Campbell, Maureen Jewell, and Deb Siggers, who were joined by Mansfield’s Kassy Thomas. Deb Mims was feeling nervous in her first three-set match since returning gradually from injury. While Jo and Loretta, against Maureen and Deb, were the only Mansfield combination to win a set, Carolyn and Deb managed just one game in their match against Kate and Kassy. In a rare moment, Kate - normally a consistent server - delivered four consecutive double faults. Much laughter followed during her dance of frustration before she regained composure and, with Kassy, won the set 8-1. As always, the day wrapped up with a delicious afternoon tea and lively conversation. Benalla claimed the win, 5/46 to 1/23. Ladder – Round Four Euroa 33 Wappan 28 Terip 26 Moglonemby 19 Creighton’s Creek 19 Seven Creeks 12 Benalla 11 Mansfield 7 Delatite 5