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GMLTA | preliminary final wrap

Numurkah earned the opportunity to defend its Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association GM1 title after an epic weekend on the courts.

The Warriors won through to the decider with a 6-72 to 4-49 result against the Shepparton Hornets, who the Shepparton Lakers then beat in Sunday's preliminary final to book their spot in the grand final.

The Warriors were clinical in their semi-final win against the Hornets, winning six of the match's 10 sets with Mark Mills and Helene Steward each turning in 3-0 days to lead the side.

For the Hornets, James Curtis-McDonald and Kyle Andrew each produced two set wins, but it was not enough to avoid cashing in the team's double-chance for a preliminary final berth.

They met the Lakers once there, after they won a thrilling contest against the Shepparton Bulls by just eight games.

In winning 68-60 with six of the 10 sets, the Lakers would have been thankful for big wins from Kate Durling, who won her singles 8-2 and her doubles (with Katie Ferguson) 8-2 to give her side the games advantage.

Sunday's preliminary final brought another tight contest; the Lakers and Hornets split the 10 sets, but the former took the grand final position with 59-52.

Durling was again an MVP candidate, winning her three sets with a 15-game advantage to the Lakers, while Luke Dixon also pinched two of his three sets.

Giselle Andrews battled hard for the Hornets, winning her singles match 8-1 against Katie Ferguson.

● GM2 is destined for a Shepparton derby grand final, with the Lions to battle the Saints for the premiership.

The teams met in Saturday's semi-final, but it was one-way traffic, the Lions winning 10 of 11 sets in a 77-36 demolition.

The Saints will need to come up with a big improvement to match it with them this weekend, although they did show some signs of lifting in their preliminary final win against Numurkah.

They earned a 14-game advantage with six of the match's five sets to earn their rematch next weekend.

● GM3 East's decider will be between Tatura and Nathalia, GM3 West's will be between Tatura and LBU, while GM3 Open's will have Kyabram and Tongala square off.