LBU 1 came up against an in-form Rich River 1 at the weekend, falling 5-65 to 8-86 away from home.
Noah Condliffe got the visitors off to a solid start, winning his singles rubber 7-6 over Josh Boyd, while Darryl Squires reinforced the strong LBU start with a 6-3 win in his match against Hudson Jasper.
Squires and Simon Portwine clinched an 8-7 win for LBU in their doubles rubber. However, Boyd and Darren Short soon got Rich River on the board with an 8-5 win, before Short paired with Steve Rawlings to claim an 8-2 win in the remaining men’s doubles rubber to even up the contest.
The women’s doubles rubbers were split two apiece, with Rich River’s Trina Godfrey combining with Charlotta Groenewald for an 8-1 win, before claiming her next set 8-5 alongside Marg Peat.
Lois Toohey would win both of her women’s doubles rubbers for LBU, teaming up with Milly Haines to claim an 8-3 win, before winning by the same margin alongside Katie Condliffe.
The close contest blew out slightly as the teams completed their mixed doubles rubbers, with Rich River claiming all four sets en route to the overall win.
Rochester vs Echuca 3
Rochester claimed an emphatic win over Echuca 3 at the weekend, trouncing the home side to record an 11-93 to 2-63 victory.
Matthew Rosendale earned a 6-1 win to get Echuca off to a hot start in the men’s singles, immediately answered by Jacob Grieves who claimed his rubber 7-5 for Rochester.
The men’s doubles would all go the way of Rochester, with Lachlan Smith and Jaycob Dingwall claiming a tight 8-7 win, as did Grieves and Woodfine in their rubber, while the Dingwall-Woodfine combination teamed up for an 8-4 victory.
It was more of the same as Rochy dominated all four women’s doubles rubbers, with Rachael Major and Karen Taylor’s big 8-1 win in their set a highlight, while Kate Lee and Lil Ward also earned a tidy 8-4 win in their rubber.
Rochester would win three of the four mixed double’s rubbers to close out the strong performance, with the pairing of Tim and Eli Kingma salvaging an 8-5 win for Echuca in the final rubber.
Division two
Rochester 2 vs LBU 2
Rochester 2 and LBU 2 played out an absolute thriller at the weekend, with Rochester prevailing 7-59 to 6-57 at Rochester Lawn Tennis Club.
Justin Coghill claimed his singles match-up 6-4 for Rochy in a solid start, although Stuart Newton returned serve for LBU with a string 6-2 win in his singles rubber.
Coghill and Howard Armstrong earned a 6-3 win in the first doubles rubber, before LBU’s Will Mulholland paired first with Newton and then Nicholas Mitchell to claim 6-2 wins in both of his sets.
Mandy Dingwall and Jenny Crockett continued the back-and-forth nature of the contest, stealing a 6-2 win for Rochy, which set the home side on a run of five straight doubles rubber wins to establish a handy lead with three matches remaining.
A 6-2 win for the Brentnall-Fiona Newton pairing pulled LBU closer, before Mitchell and Chelsea Newton claimed a 7-5 win to ensure the visitors were still in with a sniff heading into the last matchup.
While Mulholland and Cindy Portwine managed the 6-4 win, it wasn’t enough for LBU, who fell two games shy of the overall win.
Elmore 1 vs Echuca 4
Elmore 1 claimed a tight win over Echuca 4 at home at the weekend, winning 8-62 to 5-58.
Ryan and Mitchell Byrne each claimed 6-3 wins for Elmore in their singles rubbers to get the home side off to a flyer, which continued into the first of the double’s matchups.
Ryan Byrne partnered with Craig Skeers for a 6-3 win, while Mitchell Byrne and Cody McKenzie earned a hard-fought 7-6 win as Elmore built an early advantage.
Oliver Bray and Riley Godfrey put Echuca on the board with a 6-4 win in their rubber, only for Taylah Pratt and Meg Howlett to reply with a 6-3 win for Elmore.
Echuca went on a mini run claiming the next three sets, of which Mia Aston and Amy Parker were a key part, uniting for a 6-2 win together, before Aston teamed up with Maisy Byrne for a 6-3 triumph, and Parker earned a 6-1 win alongside Abbey Stobaus.
The momentum shifted as Skeers and Pratt pinched a 6-3 win for Elmore, which Ryan Byrne and Howlett reinforced with a 6-3 win of their own, before Mitchell Byrne and Audree Kleehammer put Elmore’s final win on the board with a 6-4 victory.
Parker and Jackson Gronow claimed the final set 6-3 for Echuca, however it wasn’t enough to overturn the overall deficit.
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