In Section 1 Tennis Geelong Women’s Doubles, Grape Therapy all but sealed a reappearance in the grand final with a 3-1 win in round 8 over The Smash Hits.
Going into the evening, the 2024 Autumn Premiers, Smash Hits, held a slim lead over 2024 Spring Premiers, Grape Therapy, for second position on the ladder.
The two teams had split the previous two matchups, but both times the losing team did not have their full lineup.
Smash Hits got the win in round 2 as Grape Therapy played two fill-ins, and Grape Therapy returned the favour in round 5 when Smash Hits only had three players and had to forfeit two of the four sets.
Both teams were at full strength for the deciding round eight match-up and also seemed to recognise the moment, and both of the first sets were very competitive.
The first set had each team’s top two players and went the distance, with Grape Therapy’s Jo Puckett and Fiona Walker winning 8-7 over Smash Hits’ Emily Sullivan and Sara Earls.
Claire Mullen and Emily Nalesnyik came back to win 8-5 over Grape Therapy’s Donna Schoenmaekers and Alison Lugg, giving Smash Hits a two-game lead with sets drawn going into the last two sets.
Walker, a former number 5 internationally ranked player for her age division, teamed with Lugg to get an 8-6 win over Earls and Mullen, meaning the last set would decide the match.
Grape Therapy’s Schoenmaekers and Puckett also had an 8-6 result over Sullivan and Nalesnyik, finalising a 3-1 29-27 win.
The final round of the home and away season will not take place until April 28, but with Grape Therapy playing the Western Warriors, who have struggled with their transition to Section 1 after winning Section 2 last season, and Smash Hits playing top of the ladder Rust-eze, it appears the grand final match-up is likely set.
However, it is not all bad news for the Smash Hits, as their premiership from last year has enabled them to play in the Tennis Victoria League Championships this weekend, where they will play for a Section 1 Women’s Division State Championship against some of the best women’s tennis teams from across the state at Beaumaris Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne.
