Feilding win battle of the titans
Feilding 100 Percent tennis won a nailbiting match 5-4 against the top-ofthe-table 24 Indoor Titans in the Tennis Manawatu premier interclub competition on Wednesday night.
The men’s singles matches were played first and dominated by Feilding three matches to one.
Year 13 Palmerston North Boys’ High School student Kieren Rooney led from the top once again with his tough one-and-a-half hour match against Vincent Baylis, winning 6-4, 6-3.
Geoff Charleson battled past Caleb Young to win 10-8 in a third-set tiebreak in the only singles win for the Indoor men.
Connor Backhouse in his first match back from injury and beat Jonathan Bennett, 6-4, 6-3, while Alex Evans won by the same scoreline against Liam Mcknight.
Paris Butters and mother Tara began their night with a comfortable two-set doubles win over Feilding’s Ella Wells and Ella Marshall.
Paris Butters then secured another win for the Indoor team with her 6-0, 6-1 win against Wells, while Marshall got a vital win for Feilding, beating Tara Butters 6-3, 6-1.
The score was then 4-3 to Feilding, with both men’s doubles to play.
Bennett and Mcknight teamed up to take on Backhouse and Jonty Stewart in the bottom men’s doubles.
After trading the first two sets, it came down to a third-set tiebreak, which the Indoor duo secured, meaning the fixture was tied at 4-4.
The overall result came down to the final match, the top men’s doubles between Rooney and Young against Baylis and Charleson.
The Feilding youngsters took the first set, but then quickly found themselves down a set point in the second set at 4-5 and 30-40, fighting to stay in the set.
Rooney managed to serve them out of trouble and into a second-set tie break, where Feilding finally triumphed in the tie break 7-4 to win overall 5-4. The second Indoor team the
off against the at Feilding.
The All Stars faired much better than their compatriots, as they beat the Firebirds 6-3.
Indoor All Starssquared Feilding Firebirds 24
Benedict Grant’s roller coaster season continued, as he succumbed to the experience of Feilding No 1 Gareth Toland 6-4, 7-5.
Matt Ward continued his winning ways for his Indoor side, with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 battle against David Baker.
Phil Mcnamara went down to the talented Firebirds player Tim Mckenzie 6-2, 6-2. Nick Forrest gained a win for the All Stars with his 6-0, 6-4 win over Feilding’s Mike Short.
Indoor’s Hannah Sutherland-smith and Gorgi van Lienen dominated the women’s matches with their two-set wins over respective opponents Ngakuira Osborne and Alyssa Toland.
Sutherland-smith and van Lienen then paired up to take the women’s doubles, winning 6-1, 6-1.
The men’s doubles were split 1-1 and were highlighted by the return of local legend Stephen Scott to the premier competition.
Scott was the player to beat in Manawatu in his prime playing years and proved he is still a force to be reckoned with, as he paired up with Toland to tackle Grant and Ward.
The result went the way of the younger Indoor pair, however, but not without a battle, as the scorecard read 1-6, 6-3, 10-5.
Mckenzie and Baker would take the honours in the final match against Forrest and Mcnamara 6-3, 6-4. The match against
match is being led by Black 4-2, with three rain-affected matches yet to be played.
MLTC Red MLTC Black