Tennis Geelong’s Thursday night Triples season has reached its halfway point and a clear leader has emerged in Section 4.
However, if the competitive round five matches were anything to go by, any team could still emerge victorious when the season is complete.
Three Highton teams comprise half the section, including ladder-leaders Kiss My Ace. They travelled to play sixth-placed Lara in round five, but the result was anything pre-determined.
Lara opened with a strong start with Louis Smith and Ben Griffin winning the first doubles set 6-4 over Joseph Glanville and Brandon Goli.
However, Highton’s Wilhelm Concha took the No 3 singles set by the same margin over Lara team captain Richard Blanco, and the match was tied one-third of the way through.
Highton took a competitive 6-3 result in the second doubles, and while Griffin took Highton’s captain Goli to a tiebreaker in the No 2 singles, he was not able to get the win. The last two sets followed the same structure, with Highton taking a 6-3 doubles result, and Smith not being able to succeed in a tiebreaker against Glanville.
Lara will be encouraged with their potential to move off the bottom of the ladder with a competitive loss, 5-1 and 34-26.
Highton’s Get a Grip look like the favourites to face Kiss My Ace in the finals, but they also had a tough match on their hands against Hamlyn Warriors. The first two sets were the most straightforward with Joshua Palmer and Felix Booth winning the top doubles combination over the Warriors’ Tim Westwood and Pearl Thompson 6-4. Felix Booth took the No 3 singles over Jaan McKenzie 6-3.
It got closer after that, but Highton’s tiebreaker prowess prevailed with 6-5 wins at No 2 doubles and Josiah Wong’s singles set against top junior player Thompson.
Westwood got Hamlyn on the board with a 6-4 singles triumph over Highton captain Palmer, but Highton closed with yet another tiebreaker win at doubles, sealing a 5-1 34-28 finish.
The last match of the round in the section featured fifth-placed Highton Three of a Kind hosting third-place Leopold Hit for Brains. Leopold opened to a lead after a 6-2 win from Hayden Walters and Georgia Verlin over Corey Hird and Guilliano Andy, but Highton strongly returned with a 6-1 singles win by Dale Heath against Amy Lizmore.
The results were flipped in the next sets, seeing Highton take a 6-3 doubles win and Verlin winning 6-1 over Andy. Leopold’s ladies won in a strong 6-2 result in the third doubles, but Highton’s Hird won the third straight 6-1 singles set, creating a final result draw on sets and games, 3-3 and 23-23.
