It was a mixed bag this week with the majority of junior sections playing their final round of home and away, but there were four sections playing semi-finals.
Both finals in Section 3 Boys were close affairs with only a few games the difference.
Drysdale, after two 5-1 losses to Surfcoast Torquay Blue, pulled out an upset win over the minor premiers. Surfcoast started well with Samson McGrane and George Montgomery winning the first two singles, but Owen McCoughtry and Thomas Palmateer kept Drysdale in the match winning the third and fourth to level the tie on sets, but with Surfcoast holding a two-game lead going into the doubles.
The result was 6-4 in both doubles with the combinations of Palmateer with sister Georgina, and Jimmy and Gracie Worrall putting Drysdale into the grand final.
Surfcoast will play Geelong Lawn next week after they defeated Wandana Heights by one game. The match went set for set and almost game for game with Lawn’s Rayaan Bava winning the first singles 7-5, while Lewis Myers took the second for Wandana in a tie-break.
Ajitesh Thatipamula won the third for Lawn 6-1, while Spencer Myers levelled the sets for Wandana winning the fourth 6-1. Lewis Meyers and Eli Low put Wandana ahead, winning the first doubles 7-5, but Thatipamula, teaming with Xavier Clair, put Lawn over the line to keep their finals hopes alive.
Things were more one sided in Girls 4 with Wandana Heights and Lara taking 6-0 and 5-1 wins respectively. Lara and Barwon Heads had posted a win against the other, but this proved a poor indicator of the match with Lara’s Sarah Smith, Caitlin Van Wyk and Tahlia Candy winning their singles, followed by Smith and Van Wyk, and Candy with Kaylene Van Wyk in the doubles. Charlie Fitzpatrick won the fourth singles for the Heads.
Wandana had things go their way with the team of Jenny Zhao, Lauren McAlister, Clementine Oliver, Georgia-Rose Hart and Joanna Zhang earning a grand final berth, although with four sets decided 6-4 and another 7-6, they were pushed.
Ocean Grove had better success in Green Ball 4 beating St Mary’s by seven games. Isabella Wettenhall and Charlise Bapaum got the Grove on the scoreboard winning the first two singles, but Fajr Kamran and May Bicknell levelled the tie, winning the third and fourth singles for St Mary’s. Wettenhall teamed with Frankie Wallace to win the first doubles for Ocean Grove 6-1 while Annabelle Lockett and Alienna Veldhuis pushed Bicknell and Claire Dobney, eventually going down 6-4, but the close result gave Ocean Grove the win on game advantage.
Wandana Heights and Geelong Lawn played the elimination final in another close result.
Charlie Eddy and Fay Hamoody won their singles for Wandana while Saskia Moodie and Amy Walker did the same for Lawn. The doubles were hard fought with Hamoody and Olive Lang putting Wandana in front before Eddy and Kitty Ogilvie sealed the win in a tie-break for Wandana four sets to two, but level on games.
Minor premiers St Mary’s booked a grand final place with a win over Leopold in Green Ball 1, aided by Leopold not being able to field a full team. St Mary’s proved too strong in two singles with Pinot Wang and Leo Rivo posting comfortable wins 6-0, 6-1 while Leopold battled with Henry McGillivery winning his singles 6-4 and teaming with Sam Kneeshaw to take a tie-break.
Despite finishing third, Grovedale had not managed a win over fourth placed Hamlyn Park and the elimination final didn’t improve that statistic. Wil Kennedy Maddy and Eva Siljac put the Park ahead after the first two singles, but Grovedale’s Adam Ashley Coetzer and River Wilson levelled the sets, with Hamlyn Park ahead by two.
Kennedy Maddy and Siljac extended the lead to seven games, and while Wilson and Logan Burke took the final set for Grovedale 6-4, the lead was too big with Hamlyn Park winning.
