8 November 2009

Soffe Cup served up a slightly more diverse bag of results this weekend in contrast to the first round’s extremely close results.

   Hareb Deken Oakura defeated Tariki Icon Sports Pukekura 14-2 at the Pukekura courts on Saturday to soar up the top of the table.  Unfortunately for Pukekura the loss of their key men at the top stifled any opportunity to seriously challenge the competition favourite.  Oakura dominated proceedings taking the four men’s singles. Pukekura’s sole victories came from Linda Reid, a 7-5 2-6 7-6 victor over Sue Oldfield, while Kirsten Adam beat Becky Bruckner 6-4 6-1.  While Oakura performed soundly all over the park, Teihorangi Walden, Miaana Walden, and Louise Brankin all played particularly well to notch up three-wins each.

 Central Finance Rotokare prevailed 9-7 in a tight confrontation with AWE Huatoki despite the loss of their team captain Ben Pollard to injury earlier in the week.  The single’s honours were claimed by Huatoki for the top 3 men and Rotokare for the top 3 women respectively.  Jonathan Ussher made a successful return to Soffe Cup with a straight-sets win over Mike Roberts, while Shane Devlin performed well in his three-set victory over David Innes.  Karen Cranston and Alice Caskey scored the most impressive victories in the women’s singles, Cranston a 6-2 6-1 winner over Chris Wilson, and Caskey a 6-2 6-0 winner over Helena Goodin.  In the doubles, Greg Hareb and Blair Crowley recorded a vital win against David Innes and David Geange in three-sets to square the ledger at 6-6 going into the combines.  Rotokare then stepped up a gear to claim 3 of the 4 combines and the tie.

 Sanfords Manaia completed a 10-6 triumph over Stumble Inn Waiwaka in New Plymouth to settle themselves into second spot after the second round’s completion.  Cameron Koch made an immediate impact upon his return to the South-Taranaki side by defeating Mike Lace in straight sets to set the tone for the day.  While the ladies were difficult to separate, Manaia’s ascendancy ultimately came through their men taking 3 of the four singles and both men’s doubles matches.  Stand out performers for Waiwaka were David Lace who gave his best effort to perturb the momentum of the visitors in overcoming Jason Mills 3-6 6-4 7-6, while Melissa Wong earned two commendable wins.  Although each team member pitched in with at least one point for Manaia, Helen Johnston and Michael Gates each won their three matches.