Beth and Poppy Robinson enjoying the parent/child doubles competition on Saturday.
The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club continues to be acknowledged by Tennis Victoria as one of the premier tennis organisations in the state, this time being named the Affiliate of the Month for December.
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The citation for the award was as follows:
The Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club, along with the Moira Shire and Yarrawonga Mulwala Tourism, stepped in at short notice to host Tennis Victoria’s Country Week in 2023 when floods affected the Shepparton courts.
Hosting large grasscourt events comes naturally to the Yarrawonga team who also host Victoria’s largest Easter Tournament with 1200 plus players.
The club also host Senior ITF and Junior UTR Events annually and has received a Tournament Recognition Award from the World Tennis Masters Tour for the Victorian Seniors Grass Court Championships. The tournament was recognised as achieving exemplary player satisfaction and tournament delivery.
On the week-to-week basis, it is pleasing for the club that membership numbers have been on the increase, recently reaching 500.
The junior tennis program is the main source, with approximately 250 juniors registered for Saturday morning tennis, inclusive of the Hot Shots program.
Strong relationships with schools, other organisations and business around town ensure that tennis is a part of life in Yarrawonga and a benefit to the club and community.
Parent/child day a hit
The final Saturday morning junior program for 2023 was held on Saturday morning. On an extremely hot morning, the players did a terrific job to stay focused and there was a World record set for the number of icy poles consumed. The first half of the season has been a wonderful success with incredible numbers of juniors.
The Hot Shots and coaching groups continue to develop under the guidance of club coach Greg Duns and his coaching team. The players in the coaching groups have improved so much. Some of these players will transition into matches in the new year while others will commence some modified match play.
The Hot Shots are really enjoying the modified activities that are designed as an introduction to tennis.
This program is inclusive of all abilities and the skills learnt can be transferred to other sports. These kids really enjoyed the obstacle course at the end of their sessions which concluded with being drenched with water.
Players in matches participated in the extremely popular Parent/ Child event. There were 61 pairings battling out on the court.
These pairings consisted of players with parents, grandparents, other relatives, or friends. There was plenty of laughter, and the youngsters really enjoyed seeing their partners being part of the morning.
The best part of the morning is that there were no injuries. This is always a worry as sometimes older players forget they are not a fit and as agile as they once were.
The junior program now has a break for the school holiday period. It will resume on Saturday February 3. In the interim the courts are always available to be used and the juniors are encouraged to keep hitting to continually improve.
Tuesday mens’ comp
After a couple of washouts, the Tuesday Mens’ Competition was back last week with Round 4. An enjoyable night was had by all and there was some quality tennis played.
Labuschagne and Zampa had some close matches with Labuschagne winning the night 4 sets to 2. This win was on the back of recently married Matt McLachlan who won all of his sets.
Hazelwood and Head had the same scoreline with Hazelwood triumphant. Local sporting legend Sean Robinson was on fire to not drop a match despite a couple of tiebreakers.
The match of the night was Starc against Cummins in a battle of the new ball bowlers. The sets were split 3 apiece although Starc won by 10 games after a few one-sided sets. John Brunner in scintillating form was undefeated.
Despite only narrowly losing on games Inglis lost on sets to Marsh 5 to 1. Peter Hollands and Nick Mullavey were the stars of the court, winning all of their sets.
The final match of the night saw Maxwell defeat Warner 5 sets to 1. Damian Cook and Luke Buerckner played some excellent tennis to be the best for Maxwell.
After Round 4 the ladder is starting to take shape. Maxwell 22, Starc 20, Labuschagne 20, Marsh 19, Head 16, Stoinis 16, Hazelwood 15, Warner 13, Cummins 13, Zampa 12, Inglis 10.
This week will be the final round before a short break for Christmas.
Thursday ladies’ tennis
The ladies were greeted by a beautiful Yarrawonga evening for their weekly hit.
There was some outstanding tennis played and the rallies are getting longer each week.
Foord got off to a great start to the night to win the first two sets. After this Raso fought back strongly to win the next four sets to win the night. No lady won all three sets.
Kerr continued their excellent recent form with a 5 sets to 1 win over Catley. Ellen Bruce and Joanne Taylor were the best on courts winning all of their matches.
Fowler was on fire early on, winning the first 4 sets of the night. Kennedy fought back strongly to win the last 2 sets. Fowler was the victor on the night.
The final match of the night saw ladder leaders Arnold and Carpenter have a wonderful battle. Sets were even at the conclusion of play before Carpenter were declared the winner by 10 games despite the best efforts of Bev Munro who didn’t drop a set for the night.
The ladder after Round 5 is Carpenter 31, Arnold 29, Kerr 29, Kennedy 20, Foord 19, Raso 16, Vine 13, Fowler 12, Catley 11.
This week will be the final week of Thursday Night Ladies with a rankings shoot out. This involves players being matched against other players of similar ability for the night.
Following this will be a celebration of the season with some platters being served and refreshments will be available.
Wilby Tennis farewell a legend
The final round of the Wilby and District Tennis Association before the extended Christmas break was played over the weekend.
It was the farewell round for one of the Wilby Tennis competition’s most revered players, Mandy Williams.
This was the farewell round for one of the competition’s most revered players Mandy Williams.
Mandy has been playing for Tungamah for 22 years. Mandy is an outstanding player renowned for her consistency of stroke play, ruthless volleys and over generous line calls.
She has been passionate about playing juniors at every opportunity and this has ensured the Tungamah has some of the district’s best players.
Mandy’s team Tungamah Gold team took on Mulwala Maroon at Lonsdale Reserve. Mulwala’s men combined extremely well to win 5 of the 6 sets with Hudson Gillies and Dennis Phibbs winning all of their sets.
The scoreline was reversed in the ladies with Tungamah winning 5 sets. Josie Nunn and Danielle Lawrence played well to be undefeated. The mixed was dominated by Tungamah as they won all 4 sets to take the night on games as well. Tungamah Gold 6 points to Mulwala Maroon’s 2 points.
On Saturday afternoon Wilby hosted Savernake in very warm conditions. The men’s division was very close with Savernake winning 4 sets to 2. Jeremy Kelly won all of his matches continuing his good form.
The ladies section had the same 4 to 2 result with Georgie Bruce being best on court. The mixed was extremely close with 2 sets each with Wilby up by 4 games. Overall Savernake won the night and took 6 points to 2.
The match between Telford and Burramine was washed out after some late afternoon rain making the grass courts unplayable. With harvest and a school concert taking Tungamah Green’s players they had to forfeit to Mulwala Gold.
After Round 8 the ladder is Telford 46, Savernake 45, Wilby 41, Tungamah Gold 42, Burramine 39, Tungamah Green 28, Mulwala Gold 28, Mulwala Maroon 19.
There is now an extended break with the competition resuming on February 2.
Goulburn Murray Tennis
Numurkah’s Division 1 visited Shepparton for their Round 8 clash. Numurkah introduced another Yarrawonga player Tom McKimmie to their squad. He showed his class with a first up doubles win against very handy opposition. Yarrawonga’s Lucy Bassett and John Brunner had tough days on the court with no wins despite some close sets.
Overall Shepparton won 10 sets to 2 in a dominant display.
In Division 2, Numurkah took on second place Kialla. Tess Bassett was the star of the day easily winning her three matches and Ellen Bruce won 2 of her 3 sets. Numurkah winners 6 sets to 5 in a very close encounter.
This win keeps their finals hopes alive. Ladder leader Cobram travelled to Kyabram for their match.
Hayley Bennett won 2 matches for the day including the mixed with her Dad, Daryl. Cobram continued their domination of the competition with a 8 sets to 3 win.
