It was blue skies this week for Tuesday’s Midweek competition, and the ladies in Section 5 made the most of it, with tight matches and multiple changes to ladder positions.
It was a top of the table battle, when first placed Clifton Springs hosted second placed Teesdale.
With only two points separating the teams, the match was expected to be close, and the end result lived up to it. Both teams started well with the home teams Julie Bolton and Kristine Mortimer taking the first set 6-2, while Teesdale’s Annette Connors and Rosemary Morgan evened the score winning the second 6-2.
Connors paired up with teammate Jen Schefferle in the third set, and put Teesdale in front with a comfortable 6-0 win, but the Springs weren’t giving it away, with Geri Windsor teaming with Mortimer to tough out the fourth set 7-5, but left Teesdale with a four-game advantage going into the final two sets.
As with the rest of the day, the sets went one each way, but Annette Connors taking her third set for the day, this time with Judi Evans, 7-5 was enough to get them across the line despite Bolton and Windsor winning the final set 6-3 for the Springs.
With the win, Teesdale is now only behind its adversary on percentage.
The second match was third versus fourth when Aireys Inlet hosted Surfcoast Black Torquay.
In a similar start to the first match, the result was tight, with teams level after the first two sets, but Surfcoast took the middle two sets in incredibly close results, 7-5 and 7-6.
With a two-set lead and three games up its sleeve, Torquay was in the box seat, but that wasn’t how Aireys played it.
Kelly Turner and Sue Clark in the fifth, and Susan Reilly and Trudi Anderson in the sixth pulled out fantastic wins with scores of 6-0, 6-2, putting them back to three sets all, and gaining the extra two points for a seven-game advantage. The loss has now put Torquay back to sixth, showing just how close this section is.
Portarlington boosted its position this week with a 4-2 win at home against Surfcoast Green Bellbrae. The teams were tied at two sets all going into the final sets, but Angela Jilich and Callee Schembri took the fifth 6-3 and Wendy McLennan partnered with eventual three-set winner Lynne Treloar to give Portarlington the win, and move into fifth, only two points out of the four.
The final match of the day was Barwon Heads hosting Highton. The home team pushed itself into the four with a 5-1 win, with Sally Ford a three-set winner. While the score looked one sided, the result didn’t reflect the standard of tennis, as evidenced by the 21 games Highton put on the board.
At the end of the day, the top three teams have consolidated their positions, while only two points separate fourth from sixth, which will make for some interesting watching for the balance of the season.
