LOCAL TENNIS with Donna Schoenmaekers
As seems to be the way most Tuesdays, early rain cleared to permit preliminary finals to go ahead in Womens Midweek and the grand finalists are now set.
The one section with semi-finals was Section 7 where Grovedale were favourites coming up against Anglesea with two wins already under their belt. The minor premiers made the most of the home court advantage winning the tie 6-0 booking their place against second-semi winners St Mary’s, who also had a strong win over Wandana Heights five sets to one.
Grovedale would have liked their chances against Drysdale in Section 5, having won their only encounter during the season, however, it was not to be. Both teams were well matched, with the teams level on sets after the first four, but Drysdale won the final two sets, resulting in Mandy McManus getting her three sets for the day and helping Drysdale to a place in next week’s final against Surfcoast Jan Juc.
Grovedale proved unlucky again in Section 6 when they faced St Mary’s at home. St Mary’s came out firing winning the first three sets and this lead proved insurmountable with Natalie Purves winning her third set for the day in the fifth with Kaye Moores to seal the win.
The biggest upset of the day went to Ocean Grove who produced their first win against Winchelsea when it mattered most, to put them into the final of Section 2. Winchelsea fought well to take the first set 7-5, but from there Ocean Grove took control winning the next five sets, with Kahlee Rennes and Kirsty McCallum winning their three sets for the day.
Surfcoast Torquay also had a comfortable win on paper in Section 3 in their match with Mount Moriac. The home team started well taking three of the first four sets, but the ladies from the Mount weren’t going to give it away making Torquay work for 6-4, 7-6 wins in the final sets, with Rebecca Lewis and Jennifer Aitken winning their three sets in the 5-1 win.
Geelong Lawn Pink will be lining up for a rematch against Surfcoast Bellbrae after they defeated Surfcoast Torquay this week. The teams were level at two sets all going into the remaining two sets, with Torquay ahead by seven games, before Lawn moved up a gear to take both sets 6-4, 6-1 to give them a 4-2 win.
Barwon Heads will meet minor premiers Torquay Yellow after they ground out another tight win in Section 4, the closest result for the week. After getting home by only one game against Eastern Districts in the second-semi, it looked like this week was going to be a cliffhanger as well. Torquay held a one-game lead with the teams tied at two sets all with two sets left to play, but Emma Webb and Sally Ford burst out of the blocks to take the sixth set 6-0 for the
Heads while Robyn Lont and Peta Timothee fought to win the fifth for Torquay in a tie-break to tie the match on sets, but the game difference went to the Heads.
