Drungsters step up
Drung South got its Central Wimmera Tennis Association pennant season back on track by dealing Horsham Lawn Thompson its first loss at the weekend.
The Drungsters had recorded two losses and a rained-out draw from their past three matches but were undaunted by the undefeated Lawn outfit.
Only two games separated the teams after the opening four rubbers, with Drung South men Dylan Emmerson and Logan Casey defeating Lachlan Punchard and Ben Hartwich 8-5, only for Lawn Thompson women’s pair Cherie Wood and Tahlia Thompson to down Drungsters Kate-lyn Perkin and Janelle Knight 8-4.
It was a similar story in the opening singles rubbers, with Lawn’s Jordan Toll winning an 8-3 contest against Ben Brooksby while Drung South’s Sandra Casey beat Gemma Walker 8-4.
Thereafter it was doubles play where Drung South gained the upper hand, as the team rolled off four straight including an impressive 8-1 victory by Perkin and Casey against Lawn Thompson’s Wood and Walker.
Thompson kept her team alive with an 8-7 tiebreak victory against Knight, but Emmerson sealed an upset win with an 8-2 singles triumph against Punchard.
The Drungsters climbed back into the top four after the 7-80 to 5-63 win and will have a chance to solidify their position when they take on Central Park in round six.
The Parkers slipped to seventh on the ladder after an 8-81 to 4-68 loss to Horsham Lawn Gillespie at the weekend.
The contest was an arm wrestle early on as Parker Chad Rowe’s 8-7 singles win against Jason Farlow kept the team on level pegging through the first four sets.
Although Central Park pair Amie Ampt and Sharon Clough levelled scores at three sets apiece with an impressive 8-1 win against Luisa Boddi and Courtney Ramsay, it was all mostly one-way traffic for Lawn Gillespie after that.
Boddi, Hailey Yorke, Hayden Farlow and Ross Janetzki all posted singles wins to spur the home side to victory.
Lawn Gillespie, like Drung South, had been winless in the past three rounds and now sits fifth, two points behind the Drungsters.
It faces a daunting challenge in Kalkee on Saturday.
The Kees were in control throughout their 9-91 to 3-65 win against Brimpaen, winning each of the final five rubbers to cruise to the finish line.
Ebony Dunn was the best of Brimpaen’s players, winning a tough 8-6 singles match against Kee Kirby Knight and teaming up with Courtney Dunn to defeat Knight and Melissa Beddison 8-7.
Brimpaen’s task will not get any easier on Saturday as it prepares to host the competition’s only remaining undefeated team: St Michaels.
The Saints were imperious against winless Natimuk, dropping only one set on their way to an 11-91 to 1-21 win.
Ange Nitschke was especially dominant for St Michaels, dropping only one game across three sets for the afternoon.
An 8-3 singles win by Cheryl Sudholz against St Michaels young gun Jess Mcdonald was the sole victory for Natimuk.
The team will travel to the Horsham Lawn courts on Saturday for a showdown with Lawn Thompson.