5 March 2022
 

A blokes only battle in Soffe Cup helped set up an intriguing final round as several teams vie for a semi-finals berth.

With many top juniors representing Taranaki at a provincial quadrangular fixture at Palmerston North over the weekend many matches were truncated – with compensation points dished out to those teams missing players on representative duty.

The most affected tie was the clash between top-of-the-table Okaiawa and Pukekura, in a match that loomed large for both teams.  Okaiawa came looking to secure a top spot on the table, while Pukekura needed points to stay in semi-final contention.  With both women’s line-ups decimated by representative duty, the match was a men’s only fixture.  Hamish Mead once again topped the Okaiawa line-up in style, accounting for Jordan Whittleston 6-1, 6-2, but that was where the singles success stopped for Okaiawa.  Pukekura’s Tomi Avery had too much game for Grant Morris, racking up a 6-1, 6-2 win and extending his winning singles record against his more experienced opponent to 3-0.  Ray Teunissen recorded a comfortable win 6-1, 6-0 against Vince Baylis and Doug Neilson made it three singles wins for Pukekura with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Ethan Arbuckle.  But Okaiawa rallied strongly in the doubles, helped by the injection of Mark Laurence.  In the top doubles Mead and Morris saw off Whittleston and Avery 6-2,6-3 while Laurence and Baylis beat Teunissen and Neilson 6-4, 6-1.  With matches and sets both tied, it came to a count back on games to declare Pukekura the winner 103-95.  Okaiawa also picked up nine quad compensation points while Pukekura earned eight the same way.

Rotokare continued their winning ways with a  13-3 defeat of Oakura.  Rotokare’s Blair Crowley continued his strong run of form with a three-set victory over Graeme Mitchell.  Mitchell took the first set 7-5 before Crowley stormed home, taking the final two sets 6-1,6-1. Crowley is a rock in the Rotokare lineup, having only dropped one singles match, against highly ranked Hamish Mead, this season and he continues to build an impressive string of wins in Taranaki interclub over the past few years.  Luke De Villiers and Luis Silva both had three set matches, with De Villiers showing characteristic fight to bounce back to claim the second set against Joshua Walden after losing the first 6-0.  Walden was not to be denied, taking the third set, and the match 6-3. Silva loves a good three setter, and was put to the test by Gavin Stanley before finishing strongly and taking the third 6-0.  Oakura’s Len Adamson came out on top in the battle of the experienced heads against Shane Devlin, 6-2, 6-3.  It was a clean sweep of three singles matches for the Rotokare women, with Karen Cranston and Chantelle Peters chalking up comfortable two set wins over Sue Oldfield and Grace Kelly.  The third match was a close three set affair, with Tania Atkinson eventually outlasting Toni Peacock 6-4 in the third.  Rotokare put on another dominant display in doubles and combines with Stanley and Adamson’s victory over Devlin and Silva the only bright spot for Oakura.  Rotokare’s combines pairings are proving a strength for them this season, with shrewd selections by captain Devlin aiding their cause.  Rotokare also banked three quad compensation points.

In the final match Huatoki scrapped a valuable win against Stratford after a shaky start with all three men’s singles matches going Stratford’s way.  Callum Old saw off Alistair Nairn 6-1, 6-4 while Bruce Cleland extended a strong patch of form, beating Ross Lilley 6-3, 6-2. Grant Kite also continued his winning ways even though Murray Keast pushed him to a tiebreaker in the second set.  Huatoki’s women kept them in hunt with Jae Laurence and Huhana Whautere both picking up two set wins 6-3,6-3 against Emma Andrews and Hannah Burroughs.  Nairn was joined by Shane Douglas in the doubles, but they could not find a way through the solid pairing of Old and Cleland, who won 6-4, 6-2.  Two Stratford defaults in the remaining four matches gave Huatoki a boost while Nairn and Laurence combined well to beat Old and Andrews 9-2.  Douglas and Whautere secured the tie with a 9-4 win over Kite and Burroughs.  Huatoki banked three quad compensation points as well. Inglewood had the bye.