Up-and-comers show their skills
The Tennis Central Primary School Champs were held in Palmerston North at the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club on Wednesday.
This put the best players aged year 8 and below from the lower North Island against each other to see who the top primary- and intermediate-aged children are within that region.
This event has been held in Palmerston North for many years now, with Manawatu¯ a centrally located venue ideally suited to hosting the surrounding provinces including Taranaki, Wellington and everything in between.
Local-based players represented their schools and their region proudly, with Jonty Giesen and Ronan Harbot competing on behalf of Waituna West and Ross Intermediate, respectively.
Jonty won through to the semifinal stage, losing 5-4, 4-0 to eventual champion Sean Phegan in the year 7 and 8 category. Laura Silva and Nicola Sutherland Smith also competed in this category for the girls’ competition on behalf on Ross Intermediate and Palmerston North Intermediate Normal.
In the year 6-and-below draw Matty Leary and Pascual Iniesta represented Huntley and College Street Normal schools, with Matty winning the consolation draw and Pascual winning through to the semifinals of the main draw, once again losing to eventual winner Aston Burwellgarratt.
Ayla Giesen and Kate Duncan represented Waituna West and Rongotea schools in the girls year-6-and-under, with, once again, Ayla losing to eventual champion Amber Dano at the semifinal stage in a closely fought three-set thriller 2-4, 4-2, 7-4.
It was a great result for local players across the board, being competitive in all age groups.
A big Wednesday at the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club was capped off by the second round of the premier interclub, with eight teams competing at the venue across the A and B divisions.
The night drew all eight Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club teams playing against each other in a local-derby extravaganza. It was a case of club-mate versus club-mate, as the top club premier players went head to head.
My Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club Victory managed to continue their winning fortunes, but, once again, this was done the hard way.
With two matches being decided by a third-set tiebreak, the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club Contenders’ Terry Lee and Mark Laurence held a commanding lead in the deciding tiebreak before losing eight points on the trot to go down 10-7 to Victory’s Hamish Mead and Hannah Sutherland Smith.
The Contenders picked up a win, with Vincent Baylis taking a victory over Rod Grieve, after Grieve and myself had to grind out a win over Baylis and Bridget Dickins.
Mead led the way for his Victory team with a sensational battle with Contenders’ No 1 man Terry Lee. Mead managed to win in two sets, but rallies would often be past 20 shots a point.
Victory hold a 4-1 lead over the Contenders with a match to play.
The other premier A match at the venue was between the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club All Stars and the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club Chargers.
The All Stars reversed their fortunes of the first week while leading this tie 3-1, with two matches yet to be played. Mike Harris earned his All Star team a valuable win at the top of the order, with a closely fought twoset victory over the Chargers’ No 1 man Damien Silk.
A load of tennis hitting the courts this half of the season should lead to a competitive competition throughout the grades.
I am looking forward to what the next few weeks will bring.
Jono Spring is a professional coach at the Manawatu¯ Lawn Tennis Club