By Jonty Ralphsmith
The West Gippsland Tennis Association ladies midweek competition is reaching the pointy end, with the semi finals set to take place on Wednesday.
The competition has run weekly since February, with the following teams all taking part, in order of final ladder positions: Pakenham, Beaconsfield, Officer Blue, Tynong, Maryknoll, Bunyip, Bayles, Officer White.
The first semi final at Pakenham Tennis Centre from 9.30am will take place between Pakenham and Beaconsfield, with the winner set to progress directly to the grand final.
Pakenham’s table-topping side is made up of Melinda Motta, Jan Seabrook, Sarah Marshall, Judy Mapleson and Helen Hare, while Beaconsfield contains Annie Ormiston, Louise Mettes, Bronwyn Rodgers, Brenda Wood, Lorraine McCready.
The second semi will pit Officer Blue against Tynong, with the victor to take on the loser of the first semi in the preliminary final, and the loser eliminated.
Genelle Bevan, Liza Hickey, Emma Arnett, Barb Klaskala and Julie Mason make up Officer Blue, with Bec Brown, Nic Willis, Kylie Henderson and Penny Van Roy from Tynong.
Meanwhile, the Ace Classic has been confirmed to return in 2025 after a successful inaugural edition on the Australia Day weekend earlier this year.
The 2024 Ace Classic attracted a strong contingent of singles players mixed in with several local wildcard who were afforded the opportunity to test themselves against high quality talent.
Next year’s event, set to again be held at the Bunyip Tennis Club will also introduce a doubles component.
The West Gippsland Tennis Association Saturday competition also continued on Saturday, with the ladder starting to take shape.
Drouin is the ladder leaders five rounds into the season, with every team having recorded at least one win and at least one loss, highlighting the evenness of the competition.
See the full weekend results below.
Drouin (Nick Pratt and Lachlan Pitman) three rubbers, six sets, 36 games defeated Pakenham (Francis Fanchette, Noah Powe) zero rubbers, zero sets, six games
Officer (Quentin Fitzsimons, Tom Orr) three rubbers, six sets, 38 games defeated Pakenham (Ronald Leo, David Desiatov) zero rubbers, zero sets, 19 games
Drouin (Josh Bloye, Brodie Wyatt, Tim Bloye) two rubbers, five sets, 37 games defeated Bunyip (Chris Millidonis, Chris Spencer) one rubber, two sets, 32 games
Beaconsfield (Craig Sankey, Damien Donohue) two rubbers, four sets, 42 games defeat Officer (Troy Haysham-Weidner, Mark Gelderbloem) one rubber, four sets, 40 games
