Grand final winners were Deni Newsagency (back, from left) Mick Farley, Nick Gatacre, James Hermiston, Jamie Chadderton, Ric Bond, Tom Hooke, Danyon Williams, Michael Williams, Paul Links and Lachlan Campbell; (front) Natasha Whytecross, Georgia Moody, Steph Calder, Maddison Gunter, Isabella Galbraith, Shelby Taggert, Miranda Rose, Andrew Smith, Henry Pisasale, Mon Gordon and Jamie Counsell.
Deniliquin Newsagency overcame the top placed side to win a close fought Deniliquin Lawn Tennis Club Twlight Tennis grand final on Wednesday.
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The match was played against Peppin Planners over 33 sets and 307 games.
It was hot going. Earlier in the day the temperature had peaked at 41°C, and it was 38°C when play got under way at 6pm.
However, the heat was dissipating and was almost pleasant by the time the mixed sets got under way.
With 44 players in the two teams, there was plenty of action across the 33 sets played.
After the first round of 11 sets, Peppin led six sets to five.
When the second round was complete, Newsagency had drawn back to an even 11 sets each.
And then in the final round, Newsagency continued on their winning way, winning the round 6 to 5 and the match 17 sets to 16.
Ten of the sets were decided by tie-break, with Newsagency winning six and Peppin winning four.
You could say that the difference in the tie-breaks was the defining margin.
If tie-breaks had been shared five each, Peppin would have been sharing the virtual medals.
For Deni Newsagency, their strength looked to be in the middle men with Jamie Chadderton, Mick Farley and Nick Gatacre winning their three sets. Shelby Taggert also won her three sets.
For Peppin, Praveen Kotholla and Graeme Murphy pushed through to win their three sets.
At the top of the table, Rob Wettenhall played against James Hermiston, with the former winning two of three sets.
At the top of the ladies, Kate Paton won two sets against Steph Calder.
Captains Donna McCluskey and Miranda Rose faced off, with the latter winning two of three sets.
The teams’ junior players Henry Pisasale and Hugo McGrillen were up against one another, with Henry winning two sets and 16 games to Hugo’s one set and 13 games.
With the grand final now over, club president Harley Moore announced there would be a short break before the autumn competition gets started on Wednesday, February 4.
Player registrations are expected to open in the final two weeks of January.
The best average among the ladies in the spring/summer season was from Steph Calder, who won 17 games every week out of a possible 18.
Donna McCluskey was second with 16.2 games per week.
In the men’s competition, Steve Todd’s average was 17 games per week, while Jamie Loy was runner-up with 16.2 games.
Among the juniors, the best average was from Jack McGrillen with 17 games per week. Henry Pisasale’s average was 14.8 games per week.
Peppin Planners were runners-up (back, from left) Praveen Kotholla, Jamie Loy, Ben Chartres, Lachie Cooke, Monte Barnes, Darcy Pogue, Andrew Ritchie, Clive Gow, Nick Bliss and Graeme Murphy; (front) Adam Connolly, Kate Paton, Donna McCluskey, Mary James, Ruby Williams, Shari Grigg, Isabella Gow, Laura Campbell, Maggie Camilleri, Michael Pisasale and Hugo McGrillen.
22°C