LOCAL TENNIS with Donna Schoenmaekers
It was a dark morning for semi-final day in the Tennis Geelong junior pennant with several matches being delayed due to rain.
But being finals day, teams were up and about and not likely to let a little bit of water dampen the day, especially those in do or die elimination finals.
It was a mixed bag of results, from Wandana Heights (Green Ball 4) and Western Heights Uniting (3 Boys) winning their matches 6-0, to the Heights 5 Boys team drawing with Surfcoast Jan Juc.
The Heights were three sets to one after the singles, but Jan Juc fought back
winning both doubles, levelling the match on sets and games. Jacob Furness and Harrison McHale prevailed for Jan Juc in the deciding seventh set, booking a place in the prelim against Ocean Grove.
All Saints came through in their two second semis with 5-1 wins over Highton in 2 Boys and Ocean Grove Dolphin in 10 Boys, while Ocean Grove Orca’s came through in a close one against Point Lonsdale in Green Ball 3 after being down three sets to one, to win on game difference.
Wandana Heights stole the show in their two elimination finals coming from fourth to beat Geelong Lawn 5-1 in Green Ball 1 and just edging out Surfcoast Torquay by one game in 1 Girls. Wandana held a two-game lead after the singles, but with a 7-5 loss and 7-6 win in the doubles, they managed to stay ahead and keep their finals hopes alive.
Geelong Lawn played in four other knockout matches this week with mixed results, taking a comfortable 5-1 win over Bannockburn in 7 Boys and winning both doubles to secure a 4-2 win over Barwon Heads in 4 Boys.
The 6 Boys team fought hard but missed out to St Mary’s by two games and Barwon Heads came from behind in 1 Boys to snatch victory by three games.
Grovedale’s Green Ball 2 team rounded out the close matches, after just sneaking into the finals last week, they overcame Highton by just four games with the teams even on sets.
There is a week’s break for the Labour Day long weekend, with preliminary finals for the eight team sections and sudden death finals for the six team sections on March 16, giving everyone a chance for a good rest and all teams will be ready to come out swinging.
