It’s the beginning of finals for Tennis Geelong’s Summer Night Competitions, with the different sections spread over two weeks.
Thursday Triples Section 1 this week saw a rematch of last spring’s final with Moolap’s Two Phones Chol hosting Grovedale.
Chol won through in two of their three meetings during the season, but Grovedale were good enough to get over the line in their Round 8 encounter by three games. With clouds looming and rain threatening, the final got underway, and as expected the competition was fierce, with both teams familiar with the other’s style of play. Grovedale took an early lead with Nick Armstrong and Brodie Spong winning the first doubles 6-2, while Jacob Dingli took the first singles 6-4.
The second singles was a nail biter, going down to the wire, before Lachy Edgar secured the win in a tie-break for Moolap, while on the other court Sophie De Wit and Connor Chivell levelled the match at two sets all with a 6-2 win, leaving Grovedale one game ahead going into the final two sets.
At this point the skies opened, and play was suspended with the match resuming on Monday. Coming back in much better conditions, the match was poised as a thriller.
Edgar and Chivell did the job for Moolap in the third doubles posting a 6-3 win, and Callum Davey sealed the night for Moolap winning the final singles 6-0, giving them the come from behind win four sets to two, and their fifth win in six seasons.
It was also grand final night for Monday Women’s Section 1, with minor premiers Grape Therapy coming up against Highton’s Smash Hits. It was a tough battle on the first court with many long rallies and some great shot making, and the teams held serve until five-all. From there, Emily Sullivan and Sharon Miguel-Cranston broke to take the lead, then went on to win the set 8-5 for Smash Hits.
Things were a little easier for Anne-Marie McCaskell and Claire Mullen on the second court, taking the win 8-1.
The third set saw Sullivan team with McCaskell, and despite a concerted effort from their opposition, they proved too consistent taking the win 8-3. Lengthy rallies punctuated the final set, with Miguel-Cranston and Mullen taking the court, and again taking the win for Smash Hits 8-5, giving the team a clean sweep for the night and their first premiership.
This week will see the remaining six Triples sections and Section 2 Women’s play their finals, which will provide a lead in for Tuesday Midweek finals which start on Tuesday.
There will be plenty of great tennis over the next few weeks, so if you want to see what’s on offer, sneak down and take a peek.
