Mildura Lawn Tennis Club coach BILL MADAFFERI is a former ATP player and he joins the Sunraysia Daily sports team to help preview the start of the Sunraysia District Tennis Association season.
IT seems a little strange to be in the middle of July and talking about the start of the Sunraysia District Tennis Association (SDTA) winter season.
But we should feel lucky to be playing at all given so many other sports around the region have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
To be able to hit off today is a credit to the fantastic work each of our member clubs have done and the committee of the SDTA.
Every club has put in place strict protocols to ensure Tennis Victoria’s COVID-19 guidelines are met.
We are all very excited about our 10-week season and I know, personally, I’m looking forward to just being back out on court in a competitive environment.
I’ll again be lining up for Red Cliffs in the Premier League and with a number of new players coming into our top division, I expect the standard to lift.
St Andrews have entered a team for the first time and with Lachlan Flynn and Troy Kelly they will be a formidable force.
Flynn is the reigning Mildura Lawn Tennis Club singles champion and Kelly, a three-time winner of the Red Cliffs singles title.
Both are excellent players and either one of them would be the No.1 player in most sides.
My team, Red Cliffs, will be fielding a similar line-up to last year when we were fortunate enough to win the premiership in the inaugural year of the Premier League.
Youngster Brodie Della Santa has joined us from Nichols Point and his tennis will benefit from playing against the best players in the region.
Alcheringa are always a really competitive outfit and John Creamer will again be leading from the front.
It is great to see Sarnia Supersonics enter a team in the top division and they look to have plenty of depth with Matt Bates, Warren Searle and Ruey Gamo, who is on a working visa from Japan where his parents run a tennis coaching business.
Nichols Point were the best side without a doubt last season, but injuries just before the finals probably robbed them of the title.
But it will be a new look Pointers’ line-up in 2020. Junior Xavier Kendall will again be the player to beat, but he will have plenty of support from the Hards’ brothers, Colby and Brad, and their Imperials Football Netball Club teammate Ben Galbraith, who has also decided to have a game of tennis because of the cancellation of the SFNL season.
I’ve seen the boys hitting and, although they don’t play regularly because of their footy commitments, they can certainly hit a tennis ball.
It’s also great to see so many teams entered in the other grades given the challenges everyone has faced in trying to pull players together at the last minute.
We will have a total of five divisions this season and although we are not playing a finals series, we will still be crowning a premiership team, which will be the side at the top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.
We will be giving a full run down of all matches in Wednesday’s edition of the Sunraysia Daily and if you have any news or interesting things to share, please email them through to sport@sunraysiadaily.com.au.
SDTA ROUND 1
Premier League
St Andrews Stingers v Sarnia Supersonics
Alcheringa Aces v Red Cliffs Reds
Division 1
Sarnia Sloggers v Alcheringa Avengers
Red Cliffs Rebels v Nichols Point Legends
Division 2
Red Cliffs Rockets v Sacred Heart Breakers
Sacred Heart Starters v Red Cliffs Ratbags
Division 3
Nichols Point Diamonds v Sarnia Sinners
St Andrews Spartans v Sacred Heart Strings
Nichols Point Stayers v Alcheringa Assassins
Div 4/5
Sacred Heart Braves v Sarnia Saints
Alcheringa Alfrescoes v Red Cliffs Roosters
Sacred Heart Attacks – bye
St Andrews Sprites v Alcheringa Almighties
