Manawatu seniors face Hawke’s Bay
A titanic clash is awaiting the Tennis Manawatu¯ senior representative side tomorrow at the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club, when they host a strong Hawke’s Bay team.
Both sides feature past international-level players and Hawke’s Bay have also included former top-200 international player and New Zealand No 1 Dan Willman in their men’s lineup.
Willman was New Zealand’s topranked male tennis player in the early 2000s and was a Davis Cup representative. He joins Hawke’s Bay’s No 1 player Luke Donovan, who will lead the team, alongside fellow top player and coach Rynold Timothy.
The remainder of the men’s lineup is likely to be filled with top Hawke’s Bay regional players and coaches, which will make for a strong opposing side.
Manawatu¯ will feature their own former international tennis star in past Mexican Davis Cup player and world top-300 male Victor Romero.
Romero has been the No 1 player for this region since relocating here nearly 10 years ago and has featured in the Manawatu¯ representative lineup on more than 20 occasions. He will be supported by Feilding coach Kurt Mcnamara, along with Kurt Amey, Caleb Young, Gareth Toland and Terry Lee.
Lee will be included in the side for the first time in three years after having a break from tennis. Young Palmerston North Boys’ High School student Alex Evans will be listed as the first reserve with myself, Jono Spring, included as a doubles specialist and team captain.
The women’s side of the fixture is where Manawatu¯ will be looking to assert some dominance, with the home side featuring its strongest female lineup in recent memory.
Local Manawatu¯ women’s stocks have grown in strength considerably over the past five years, with a lot of focus having been put into developing the number of young girls training regularly and intensively.
These girls have also been training alongside many of the top local male players, which I believe has added strength and adaptability to their game.
With the inclusion of former international-level juniors Jennifer Green and Caroline Andrieux, the Manawatu¯ women’s side will be headed by top local junior Hannah Sutherland Smith and will include former Manawatu¯ No 1 Bridget Dickins, as well as junior players Ella Marshall and Ella Wells.
As it has done previously in recent fixtures, the tie will likely come down to the doubles and combined matches. It will be a test to see whether the strength of the Manawatu¯ women will overcome the strength of the Hawke’s Bay men.
I am predicting the scorecard will be even throughout the fixture, with the overall result being decided by an ‘‘upset win’’ by either of the two teams.
The last time the two sides met, in Havelock North last November, the contest ended in a thrilling 12-12 draw, after the Hawke’s Bay side appeared to have the fixture sewn up, leading 12-9 with the final three matches on the court. On that occasion, Manawatu¯ were able to dig themselves out of trouble and retain the coveted Christie Cup by winning those last three matches.
The Christie Cup is not on the line this time, as Taranaki finished the season with it last summer, but there is still a lot of pride on the line between these two sides.
Here’s hoping our Manawatu¯ representative tennis team can turn around the fortunes in interprovincial competition after the Manawatu¯ Turbos went down to their Hawke’s Bay rivals two weeks ago.
The Manawatu¯ versus Hawke’s Bay fixture will be played tomorrow at the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club on Fitzherbert Avenue, beginning at 10am and concluding at the completion of play about 4.30pm.