10 Nov 2017

Soffe Cup bounces on this Saturday, with some interesting match ups to wet the palate of tennis aficionados across the province. 

Stratford will be competitive but will certainly feel that some upsets will be needed to see the tie go their way against Rotokare. The Stratford men are Bruce Cleland, Grant Kite, Hasely Lobb and Paul Waite. They will be up against the Rotokare men of Blair Crowley, Scott Campbell, Shane Devlin and Baxter Rogers. Stratford’s women are Lynn Stanners, Katie Stanners, Mylie Thwaites, Courtney Tippet and Anna Hutterd. They will be paired against the Rotokare women of Karen Cranston, Chantelle Peters, Tania Atkinson and Helena Goodin.

Pihama must feel a little like David taking on Goliath this weekend. They will be fighting for every win they can get against last year's champions Pukekura. The Pihama men are Rob Haveswood, Kyle Crowley, Sean Edmonds, James Padilla and Patrick Stevenson. The women are Ngakuira Osbourne, Grace Kelly, Brianna Matthews and Georgia Smith. The Pukekura men are Brady Simpson, David Barnard, Michael Erb and Meto Snegirev. The women are Nikayla Barnard, Linda Reid, Caitlin Haylock and Alison Gadsby.

Huatoki will be hoping that tight results fall more in their favour this weekend. They are bolstered by the return of Jayden Harrison at the top of the order, which gives the whole men's line up a much more formidable feel than last week. Oakura's top man Jamie Simpson, having been coaching a plenty but training little, will need to be right on his game if he wants to topple Harrison. It seems sensible to surmise that Murray Keast, playing at a number which he will feel better fits than last week's two, will be putting his superb verbal sledging skills to full effect against a young Andrew Hood. Hood will have to play a strong tactical and mental game if he is to emerge victorious. The Huatoki men are Jayden Harrison, Alistair Nairn, Murray Keast and Luis Silva. The Huatoki women are Marcella Jones, Tracey Old, Chris Wilson and Jae Wilson. The Oakura men are Jamie Simpson Graeme Mitchell Andrew Hood and Matt Stringer. The women are Sue Oldfield, Ana Spurdle, Jackie Keenan, Poppy Mitchell and Becky Bruckner (doubles specialist).