WANDANA OFF TO FLYER
TEAM TRAINING PAYS OFF
WANDANA Heights kicked off its 2017-18 Tennis Geelong Section 1 season with a thumping win over Ocean Grove on Saturday.
Led by new coach James Brushfield, who moved across from Ocean Grove ahead of the summer, Wandana Heights scored a comfortable 6.0-36 to 0.0-12 victory at home.
Five of the six games resulted in either 6-1 or 6-2 results in Wandana Heights’ favour, with the final match ending 6-4.
Brushfield, 24, said his team, which featured Jack Henry, Lachlan Hansen and Jarrod Zanardo, had worked hard over the off-season on jelling together.
“It was a really great win, a team effort. All the boys stepped up and we really worked well together, so it was great to get a win in the first week,” he said.
“We spent a few weeks going into it preparing on how to work as a team and we spent a lot of time on court together.
“A big part of it is the communication and getting familiar with each other on court, so that’s the area we focused on.”
Wandana Heights next faces Hamlyn Park — which scored a 6.0-37 to 0.0-25 win over Surfcoast — away from home this Saturday.
Brushfield said it was too early to tell where his side would fit among its Section 1 rivals.
“After the first week, it’s always hard to gauge,” he said.
“We haven’t seen the other teams and you can’t weigh up results from how the other teams of gone, so you’ve got to just go week by week.”
In other Section 1 results, St Mary’s managed a 4.0-28 to 2.0-25 win over Newcomb at home, while Barwon Heads proved too strong for Geelong East Uniting, 5.0-36 to 1.0-20.