THE Sarnia Sloggers have bumped Red Cliffs Rebels off the top of the Sunraysia District Tennis Association Division 1 ladder after their seesawing round 5 contest at Old Aerodrome Ovals went down to the wire.
The Sarnia men of Ryan Samaras, Joel Hamilton and Vaughan Marshall proved too strong for their Rebels counterparts, winning the singles and the doubles matches emphatically.
But the Red Cliffs women, led by Bree Smith, evened up the sets score. Courtesy of closer contests, Sarnia led by 10 games with the mixed to play.
Hamilton and Brenda Hornsby had a convincing 8-1 victory over Brad Fisher and Lisa Hill to put the Sloggers one set up.
The strong pairing of Paul Kealey and Leticia Ellis for Red Cliffs finished the day with an 8-1 win over Marshall and Susan Green, which evened up the sets score again.
But the Sloggers saluted by 10 games to claim top spot.
Sarnia Saints took on Red Cliffs Ratbagz in one of two Division 3 matches, and the former were almost unrecognisable in a team heavily laden with fill-ins.
It was great to see more juniors like Mason Pinnington stepping up to have a go in the senior competition, as well as the return of more seasoned players such as Liz Patterson.
Brent Byrne and Maggie Finch were the standout performers for Red Cliffs, who took the match 6-3.
In the second match, Sacred Heart Braves had a real tussle with co-tenants St Andrews Spartans.
Antony Parakkal had a standout day for the Spartans, while Jen Fox and the ever-reliable Lyn Knowles all won their sets for the Braves, enough to give them the match.
A strong showing in the men’s matches saw the Spartans ahead 59-50 at the finish, giving them a valuable point to keep them in touch with the top four.
The final match of the day was a Division 4 derby.
These newly minted St Andrews teams are still finding their feet, but it certainly seemed like they were having a whole lot of fun as Almost Skilled took on the Saints.
Dale Irvin, Mike Barenskie and Julie Edwards all proved unbeatable on the day, giving Almost Skilled a 7-2 victory.
Expect to see some different results in this division as the teams improve through the season.
There will be no teams tennis in Sunraysia over the long weekend, but the Junior Aged Singles tournament will be held at the tennis courts at Old Aerodrome Ovals on Saturday.
For more information contact Carole at sacredheartjuniors@gmail.com
