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29 October 2005

In Soffe Cup interclub tennis, Midhirst's new top player, 15yr old Jonathan Ussher made a strong claim to be included in the senior rep side when he defeated Waiwaka and Taranaki No 1, Aaron Hine 7-6 6-4 at Midhirst on Saturday.

In a clash that was close thoughout the day , Midhirst was 5-3 ahead after the singles. In two very close matches, Midhirst s' No 2 Micheal O'Sullivan defeated Jordan Stayt 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 while Val Cleaver beat Rhys Sutton 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. Waiwaka's David Chamberlain defeated Neil Kingston 6-3, 6-1.

The women's singles were shared with Waiwaka's top two players, Nicki Martin and Clare Fairey beating Lyn Stanners and Shelly Childs while Midhirst's Marlene Foreman and Debbie Wheeler evened the score, defeating Glenda Frost and Alison Chamberlain. The Waiwaka men took out both the doubles in three set tie breakers while midhirsts women won both their matches.

With the scores locked at 6-6 going into the combines it was any teams match but Midihist won three out of four to take the tie 10-6. They won two 9-8 and one 9-7 so it really did come down to the wire.

Manaia had little trouble in its 13-3 defeat of Okaiawa at Manaia. They had a great start winning 7 out of 8 singles. They were all fairly easy wins, Thomas Luxton defeated Crichton Parker 6-3, 6-4 while Cameron Koch only dropped one game in his match with Andrew Powell. No 3 Alaister Murdoch found it tougher with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Andrew Baylis. Okaiawa No 4, Jeremy Moore defeated Michael Gates 6-4, 6-0.

Womens' No 1 Nicole Koch emulated her brother's performance in her match with Joanne Gyde, while No 2 Alesha Ford, in her Soffe Cup debut beat Megan Gyde 6-0, 6-3.

Moore teamed up with Baylis to give Gates and Murdoch a close game before the Manaia pair won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.

Okaiawa's other wins were the No 2 doubles pairing of Clare Goldsworthy and Michelle Powell who defeated Aleisha Ford and Abby Death in three sets and Goldsworthy and Moore defeating Gates and Ford 9-2.

Pukekura had an emphatic 15-1 win over Kaponga at Pukekura. Pukekura's men all won easily, dropping only a total of 7 games.

No 1 Zac Wills has been in top form this season, defeating Aaron Hine a fortnight ago, and is another one pressing for a place in the senior rep side. He only dropped one game against Len Adamson.

Pukekura's No1 Linda Reid had little trouble in her match against Krystal Oakes wining 6-2, 6-0 while Kaponga's Maree Jones scored her side's only victory with a hard fought 6-4, 7-6 win over Donna Thorne.

Pukekura 32, Midhirst 26, Manaia 15, Stratford 14, Waiwaka 9, Okaiawa 7, Kaponga 5