Doubles 1 Wins at Toolamba

Playing under lights at Toolamba on Friday night, our D1 team had a comfortable 37 game victory. The ladies were well in control winning all four sets, with Vicki P again in outstanding touch, combining with Jan & Donna for consecutive 6/1 results. Donna & Vikki T worked hard for their 6/4 win, as did Vikki & Jan to get home 6/3. Without Andy, Ayden, Tom & Phanto, we welcomed Stevie Boy, Bretty & Mike Fordyce into the team and they performed brilliantly. Mike's heavy ground strokes were responsible for many clean winners and were tempered by some sensible 3/4 pace top-spin duals from the back of the court. Paired with Steve in the 1st set, Mike prevailed 6/2 against good opposition and then repeated the dose with Bretty later in the evening. Steve was in rare form and his placement and consistency in his 6/2 set with Trevor was a highlight. The only set to be conceded was the opener, when Trevor placed a tad too much load on Bretty's shoulders who, despite stoic resistance, couldn't do it all himself and a 3/6 result transpired. The mixed results were all our way, with David & Vikki T holding all the aces with a 6/0 win. Next week sees us take on KP Red in what will be a tight tussle.

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Doubles 2 Continues to Improve

D2 made it three on the trot when it overcame old rivals St Mary's at our home courts. The scoreline was almost identical to D1 with only one set dropped and a 34 game winning margin. Jarrod played great tennis all day, starting out 6/0 with Grandpa Ralph and following up 6/1 with Neville. Younger brother Matt worked somewhat harder when he and Nev got home 6/4 in the opening set and again 6/4 with Ralph. The ladies played spirited tennis against some good opposition and the perspiration and flushed faces highlighted the tough nature of the match. Ann & Sandy took a 1/6 defeat in the 1st set but we fought back well to claim the other three sets 6/4 to Julie & Kaye, 6/3 to Sandy & Kaye and 6/3 to Julie & Ann. Well done girls! The mixed sets all went our way and the 11/67 to 1/33 result was a very pleasing turn-around from the Round 1 encounter when we went down by 17 games. This win takes us to the edge of the four, however next week's clash with top of the ladder St Brendan's will be a tester.

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A1 Had a Bye

A2 Upsets Undera

A2 continues to defy the top teams and underlined its improvement with a tidy 9 game win over Undera. With Broph out on the hustings (we believe his major task was to keep Willo's mind on the job handing out how-to-vote cards rather than spruiking "Carn' the Blues") and Poguey taking a week off, it was left to Kerry and Annette to guide the youngsters along. We got away to an even start in the doubles sets when Jill & Mikaela prevailed in a tie-break, Annette & Kerry just missed out 4/6, Jack & Jayden got home 6/4 and Nathan & Quade did likewise. The real break then came in the singles. Mikaela (6/5) and Kerry (5/6) held their own in two great sets, whilst Jack grabbed the initiative (6/2) and then Nathan did serious damage to the margin in racing away with his set 6/0. The lead was slightly whittled away in the second round of doubles when Jayden & Quade went down 3/6, but then Annette & Jill played a marathon and their tie-break win set up an 11 game lead going into the mixed. Jack & Mikaela (6/2) played really well to stretch that to 15 games and despite dropping the next two mixed, Quade & Kerry steadied the ship in closing out the day 6/5. Five tie-break sets for the day (four of them going our way) shows the evenness of the contest.

Doubles 1 Cruises Home

In what turned out to be a one-sided contest, our Doubles 1 team scored a good win over St Andrew's on our home courts. The only set to be conceded for the day was the very first one, when Andy and Tom surrendered a 3/1 lead to go down 4/6. After that, it was all one-way traffic. Nonetheless, it was a good-spirited afternoon and we enjoyed some well contested tennis. The ladies were in very good form and started proceedings with two 6/0 wins - the first to Jan and Vikki T and the next to Vicki P and Wendy. Great to see Wendy back for her first match of the season. Nothing has changed - as she combined with Vikki for a 6/2 win in her 2nd doubles set and then closed out the day with a 6/2 mixed with Trevor. Well done Wendy! In the 4th ladies set, Jan and Vicki played the closest match of the day, scraping in 7 points to 3 in a tie-break. After conceding the 1st mens doubles, we hit our straps with Ayden and Trevor (6/4), Andy and Ayden (6/2) and Tom and Trevor (6/2) all pressing home the advantage. The mixed results were equally as solid as Andy and Vicki (6/2), Tom and Mum (6/1) and Ayden and Jan (6/3) swept us to a 41 game victory.

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A1 Receives Forfeit

Unfortunately, A1 received a forfeit from the struggling Murchison. Whilst the four points were welcomed (we are now in 2nd place on the ladder), it doesn't bode well for the A1 Grade, with this forfeit being Murchison's fourth for the season. Next week will be a real challenge for us, however, when we travel to McEwen Reserve.

Doubles 2 Breaks The Ice!

In a magnificent outcome at Bunbartha, our luckless Doubles 2 earned its first 4 points for the season with a resounding 31 game win. Despite being short three regular players, we had great help from A2 players Lewis Tenace and Jayden and Mikaela Wilkie. Teaming up with Jarrod Brett, Lewis got us off to a flyer with a 6/1 first set win. Jayden and Skipper Ralph then went one better, with a 6/0 whitewash! Lewis and Jayden (6/2) and Ralph and Jarrod (6/3) completed a four set rout of their hapless opponents. The ladies performed the same fete, with evergreens Pauline and Sandy starting out 6/3. Ann overcame shoulder problems (carrying Murph for too many seasons?) to partner Michaela (6/4) and then Sandy (6/2). Pauline and Mikaela closed out the doubles with a nice 6/2 win. The mixed sets were a little more even. Whilst Lewis and Pauline (6/1) and Jayden and Mikaela (6/2) extended the lead, the home team regained some ground when Jarrod and Sandy went down 3/6. Ralph and Ann then took the benevolent approach a bit too far, handing their opponents the final set 6/0!! Well done team. Lets cheer hard for some more good results now that the first win is on the board.

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A2 Had the Bye

Four points, courtesy of the bye, takes us into the four. Next week we face McEwen Reserve at home and a win will be needed to keep our place in the top group. Good luck team.

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Doubles 1

The ladder leaders had a bye on Saturday and will line up next week against St Andrew's.

Doubles 2 Pipped Again

We're getting closer! Up against a seasoned 2nd placed St Andrew's, our D2 had a real chance of notching its first win but came up agonisingly short. Missing Ann with a shoulder injury and Paige to a bowling tournament, we called in substitutes Donna and Julie and went within a whisker. Donna teamed with Sandy and Pauline for two 6/3 wins. The men had a tough battle with their cagey opponents and, in some very entertaining sets, produced great results to hold sway by three games and take us into the mixed all tied up. Opening proceedings on the mixed courts was Ralph and Donna, combining blissfully as all father-daughter combinations should, for a thrilling tie-break win! The 2nd and 3rd mixed didn't go our way and it was then left to Neville and Sandy. Needing a 6/0 result, Willo's cheering from the grandstand and some damn good tennis saw them almost pull it off, outpointing their opponents in a really good display to win 6/2. Alas, it wasn't quite enough.

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SDTA Championships

Don't forget the SDTA Championships coming up later this month. The format this year sees Doubles titles contested on Thursday evening, 22nd November, with Singles and Mixed the following Thursday (29th November). All matches are under lights at McEwen Reserve. All OSTC members are strongly encouraged to take part, so get your partners organised and complete entry forms in the SDTA Handbook and submit them to Gwenda Stevens or Chris Wright.

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A1 Does it Again

Our A1 team has consolidated 3rd position on the ladder after Saturday's excellent win over St Mary's. Without youngsters Lewis and Michael, Captain Steve led from the front, turning back the clock to play singles. And what a rewind it was - a stunning 6/1 victory over his young, fit and agile opponent!! Well done Steve. Rick Myers signalled his maturing game with a similarly impressive 6/2 win at #1. In the doubles, David and Bill let a 3/1 lead slip to go down in a tie-break, Steve and Bill went down 3/6, whilst Rick and David played excellent tennis to overcome a very good pair and win 6/4. Meanwhile, Tania and Melinda went down in their respective singles but atoned in the doubles with solid wins. Tania and Rose (6/3), Melinda and Kaye (6/5) and cunning old stagers Rose and Kaye (6/1) made sure we went into the mixed with a handy 7 game lead. We stretched that to 12 games at the end, with Steve and Rose capping off a great day in eclipsing their opponents 6/1. Ahh Steve, it must have been that Junior washout and the peaceful sleep-in that gave you extra stamina!

A2 Bounces Back

After the disappointment of last week's loss, we welcomed Kerry, Broph and Poguey back into the fold and their experience helped the team to a very nice win against St Brendan's. The singles courts belonged to the Studs and proved to be the major difference between the two teams. Mikaela played excellent tennis to score a resounding 6/1 win in her singles, as did Louise (6/2). The boys were no slouches either. Nathan slogged it out for a hard fought win, coming from 0/2 to close it out 6/3 in what was a very entertaining set for spectators. Speaking of which, it was great to see Muzza Reid there to cheer on the team and, at the same time, bolster his back balance with some well placed wagers with deluded Carlton supporters. Meanwhile, back at the tennis, Jack continued his solid singles form with a 6/0 victory over a well credentialled opponent in Brendan McMullen. Broph and Andy entertained the crowd also and, despite going down 2/6, this set was great to watch. Poguey showed great judgement at times with some excellent "leave-it" calls and had the crowd on its toes. The mixed were, well, mixed and once again the large crowd assembled was treated to some good tennis with Annette and Poguey braving the steady rain to close out the final set in a tie-break. The win should move us into 4th spot and the season looks bright for this well-balanced team.

Doubles 1 Salutes Again

The Studs lined up against the Aqua's from Kialla Park this week and the result was similar to the previous Saturday. A solid 30 game victory was achieved, with both ladies and mens being in control. Vicki Prewitt was in outstanding form, conceding just 2 games for the day and won both doubles 6/1 - with Janelle and Vikki. Welcome back, Janelle, and thank you for stepping up at the last minute. Jan lost a thrilling tie-break with Janelle and then atoned with a 6/4 win with Vikki. The men won all four sets and it was great to see Andy Ingham have his first hitout with the Club. Andy was in fine touch, getting home 6/3 with Tom and 6/2 with Ayden, whilst Phanto Abraham showed he is starting to hit his straps with a nice 6/3 result with Tom and 6/4 with Ayden. The mixed went our way 3 sets to one. Tom and his mum combined better than they do at home (6/1), Vicki capped off her day with a little help from Ayden (6/0), Jerry and Jan encountered some persitent opposition and went down 3/6 (Phanto, don't hold back next time!!), whilst Janelle and Andy lost their touch towards the end of the day and went down 4/6.

Doubles 2

Unfortunately, our Doubles 2 team went down to Kialla Park. Commentary to come.

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A1 Scores 1st Victory

After encountering the strong Shepp North team last week, our A oners came up with the goods in no mean fashion with a resounding 49 game victory against the hapless Central Park. Even though the Parkers had to forfeit three sets due to being one lady short (a couple of our ladies are really short but they still persevere), we were in control all day on all other courts and the result was justified. Michael Fordyce played solid tennis to score 6/3 in his singles and teamed up with Tania to repeat that scoreline in the mixed. Lewis again showed his continuing improvement to bring home the bacon 6/1 in his singles. Bluey Tennant stepped up to the plate this week and did it nicely with Steve (6/2) in the doubles and then 6/2 with Kaye in the mixed. Bev and Rose ate afternoon tea all day, leaving the Clubhouse very occasionally to play one or two sets (its great that the toilets are now in the Clubhouse, otherwise they would have stepped out 7 or 8 times) and then had the cheek to accept SportZone votes. Congratulaions also to Tania on being appointed to her first teaching position locally.

A2 Gets Up In a Thriller

Following last week's draw, our young A2 team (well it is when you take out Broph, Poguey and Kerry!) scored its first victory on Saturday with a one game win over Kialla Park. Nathan & Jack both lost their singles, but were compenstated by some good doubles results. Quade scored two good wins with Jayden (6/4) and Jack (6/4). Jayden and Mikaela did it nicely in their mixed, winning 6/3, whilst Jack and Jill rolled down the hill with the goodies after scoring 6/2. It was then left up to Annette and Quade to bring it all home. Two games up going into the last mixed, mum and son played magnificently to battle out a tie-break. Even though it went the other way, 5 games was sufficient to give us a one game win, despite winning two less sets. Well done, team. Readers may be saddened to know that poor old Jonesy was on the vanquished KP team!!