3 Nov 2017

Soffe Cup Preview for Saturday 4^th November 2017.

After an exciting opening weekend of Soffe Cup tennis, it is time for round two.

Huatoki will be starting their 2017-18 odyssey this week away at Rotokare. The men for Huatoki will be Alistair Nairn, Murray Keast, Kristian Revfeim and Jeremy Wichman. Wichman, often a slow starter, will need to be on his toes from the outset. The women will be Tracey Old, Ellen O'Byrne, Chris Wilson and Jae Wilson. Rotokare's men will be Malcolm Elder, as a wild card singles specialist, Blair Crowley, Baxter Rogers and Shane Devlin. Scott Campbell will replace Malcolm Elder, playing in the doubles and mixed. The women are Karen Cranston, Chantelle Peters, Tania Atkinson and Julie Foley.

Okaiawa/Manaia are rolling out the green tennis carpet for Pihama.  The Okaiawa/Manaia men are Jono Spring, Mark Laurence, Vince Baylis and Josh Murdoch. The women are Laruen Mekalick, Sheri Hughes, Helen Johnston, and Carly Chang. The Pihama Men are Rob Haveswood, Kyle Crowley, Sean Edmonds, James Padilla and Patrick Stevenson. The team list requires 4 and there are 5 names here. This suggests some poor counting or perhaps a substitution—à la Rotokare. The Pihama Women are once again spearheaded by Ngakuira Osbourne; ably supported by Grace Kelly, Brianna Matthews and Courtney Joyce.

Stratford are at home to Oakura. Stratford's men are Bruce Cleland, Grant Kite, Hasely Lobb and Paul Waite. The women are Lynn Stanners, Kristin Lourie, Mylie Thwaites, Courtney Tippet and Anna Hutterd.  The Oakura men will be Graeme Mitchell, Jamie Simpson, Len Adamson and Sammy Lewis. The women are Paula Evans, Ana Spurdle, Beckie Bruckner and Anne Bridges.  After a narrow win last week, Stratford will be looking to put up a good fight against last year's finalists. Oakura will have other ideas; and with the increased fire power of Graeme Mitchell and Jamie Simpson, it is hard to see past Oakura as the eventual victors.  However, everyone knows the magic just one roar from the home crowd can bring.  To bolster this effect this Saturday—word has it—that team captains are serving up a prize to the most enthusiastic supporter! Get out there and earn yours.