Grovedale had the best representation in Tennis Geelong’s Saturday Senior Pennant grand finals, participating in four finals and being successful in two.
It would have been understandable if the minor premiers of 2 Open were nervous going into their match with Ocean Grove White, with their last two matches being decided on games, but the youngsters weren’t going to be deterred.
Eliott Feruglio-Tai put Grovedale on the right track winning the first singles 6-2, 6-0, but Adam Golding and Ethan Franks pulled out a close win for Ocean Grove 7-6, 6-4 in the doubles. The match was hanging in the balance through the second singles and doubles, but Grovedale made it over the line with Lachie Rae prevailing in the singles 6-3, 7-5 and Fergulio-Tai and Zane Ryan in the doubles 7-6, 6-4. The final result, three rubbers to one.
Hamlyn Park had two wins over minor premiers Grovedale Black in 3 Open before Black won the semi, so the grand final could have gone either way, and things couldn’t have been closer.
Andre Attard put Grovedale on the board with a 6-0, 6-0 win, but Hamlyn Park countered in the doubles with Xavier Willoughby and Lachie Smith winning 6-4, 6-2. Grovedale looked to be in the box seat with Jaylen Sach taking the first set in the singles and Attard teaming with brother Beau to do the same in the doubles, but the Park weren’t going away, with Willoughby winning the second set of the singles in a tie-break, as did Smith and Flynn Stewart in the doubles.
The match came down to who could hold their nerve in the super-tie-breaks, and Sach got to the line 10-3, while the doubles was tight, with Hamlyn Park winning 10-8. The final result – two rubbers all, four sets all, but Grovedale by 11 games.
Surfcoast Torquay managed two wins from three outings and they did it in fine style with both 2 and 3 Mixed taking 5-1 wins. 3 Mixed had big wins over Wandana Heights in all of their three matches, and the final was no different while 2 Mixed followed up on their big 6-0 semi-final win over Lara White.
Torquay didn’t fare so well in 1 Open going down to third-placed Highton Blue, in yet another cliffhanger. Michael Hili and Rhys McNabb, both unbeaten in singles, faced off with McNabb winning in two tie-breaks for Highton.
Highton’s Brodie Spong and Julius Busch backed that up with a win of their own 6-0, 6-4 to put the pressure on Torquay. Ryan Costello kept Surfcoast in the match with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win, leaving the doubles to determine the result.
Hili and Lachie Hindle looked set to take a come-from-behind win taking the first set 7-6, but McNabb and Lily Duff fought back to take the second 6-2 with the match to be decided by the super tie-break – and super it was with Highton winning 23-21 to take the rubber and a win for the day to Highton Blue.
Highton had two other teams in play, but Ocean Grove proved too good in 4 Open with the team of Raf Berra, Kade Robinson, Daniel Golightly and Jaime Warren winning 3-1, and Highton Gold unable to match it with minor premiers Newcomb with Peppe Scorpo, Chris Higgins, Rasmus Haaima and David Kos taking a 5-1 win.
St Leonards overcame their one hiccup for the season in the semi-final against Bannockburn. The one-game loss spurred the team of Rachel Knez, Wayne Bulman, Cleta Forrest, Andy Smith and Ranie Daw to turn the tables for a 5-1 win.
Geelong Lawn backed up their minor premiership with a 3-1 win over Grovedale in 5 Open. Alex Tiddlacka kicked off with a win in the singles while Sophie Bruenjes and Aria Young followed suit in the doubles. Tiddlacka and Young backed up in the doubles with a straight sets win to secure the match.
Western Heights Uniting went through as unbeaten champions in 2 Men with their win over Bannockburn. Pierce Johnson managed to take two sets for Banno for the day, but Jeff Smith, Daniel Payne, Andrew Ryan, Kaleb Alger and Tom Crosbie continued their winning way, taking the day four sets to two.
Section 1 Mixed saw Wandana Heights come from behind to take a four-game win over Grovedale
The first two mixed were split, before Grovedale prevailed in the men’s and women’s doubles giving them a 3-1 lead going into the reverse mixed. Wandana brought their A game with Natalie Killeen and Hamish McNaughton winning the fifth 6-4 and Anne Schulz and Paul Dean sealing the win, getting up 6-2 in the sixth.
