First metropolitan premiership!
Eastern Districts Tennis Association: Mens Division 1
Grand Final: 4th April 2009
Stirling 5 sets 51 games d. Holmesdale 2 sets 38 games
Doubles
John Hall & Paul Juzulenas v. Mark Swanbury & David Dew 6-2 3-6.
Anthony Spinelli & Matt Major v. Pauli Pignatis & Daryl Bald 6-3 6-5.
Singles
John Hall v. Mark Swanbury 9-6.
Anthony Spinelli v. David Dew 5-6 (unf).
Paul Juzulenas v. Pauli Pignatis 7-9.
Neil Sandercock v. Daryl Bald 9-1.
 Stirling
Tennis Club achieved a significant milestone with its inaugural premiership in
the Eastern Districts Tennis Association competition last Saturday. In just its
third season venturing into the cutthroat metropolitan league, Stirling overcame
reigning premiers Holmesdale in a torrid shootout for the Mens Division 1
premiership.
Just two weeks earlier, Stirling were defeated by their rivals 5 sets to 3,
pushing Stirling back to fight out a preliminary final against the tough ETKG
team. That hurdle was overcome with some spirited play to give Stirling another
crack at the daunting and undefeated Holmesdale team.
The grand final was played at Trinity Gardens with both teams commanding a
large and vocal crowd of supporters.
The all-important doubles sets began evenly with all players determined to
concentrate on tight, pressure tennis. Stirling's first doubles combination of
Paul Juzulenas and John Hall had been well beaten in the semi-final by
Holmesdale's pairing of Mark Swanbury and David Dew. An inspirational change of
tactics however saw the Stirling pair dominate the opening stanza breaking both
opponents with great returning and net play for a 6-2 turn-around. The
experienced Holmesdale pair regrouped to take a tight second set 6-3.
At second doubles, Anthony Spinelli and Matt Major took on the talented Pauli
Pignatis and veteran Daryl Bald. Their previous contests has seen sets shared.
The Stirling duo dominated the first set, turning a single service break into a
6-3 win to get the Stirling underdogs off to a great start. The second set
turned Holmesdale's way with a service break at 4-games all, but Stirling broke
back immediately with some fearless shotmaking to force a tiebreak decider. With
Major dominating the net and Spinelli hitting scorching groundshots, Stirling
stormed to a 7-0 tiebreak win to give their team a handy 3 sets to 1 lead after
the doubles sets and the halfway mark.
Stirling called in singles specialist Neil Sandercock to combat the evergreen
Bald at number 4 singles, as Juzulenas faced Pignatis. After two drawn-out
opening games saw the score at 1-1, Sandercock turned up the pressure to race to
a dominant 9-1 win over his former compatriot, giving Stirling another set and a
very handy 13-game advantage. Meanwhile, Juzulenas was fighting out another high
quality match against his younger opponent. Pignatis prevailed in a 9-7
cliff-hanger. Juzulenas was gallant in defeat, but his 7 games preserved much of
the advantage for his team.
The final 2 singles began with Stirling leading 4 sets to 2 and by 11 games.
The crowd could sense an unlikely upset, with the Hills-based team needing to
find just 8 more games to steal the prize from their more highly fancied
opponent.
Talented 14 year old Hall began nervously against the class of Holmesdale's
Swanbury to be a service break down against an increasingly confident adversary.
On the neighbouring court, Stirling number 2 Spinelli was also struggling
against the consistent and accurate game of Dew. Both of Stirling's players
trailed 2-4 and an upset win was now looking less likely.
Hall turned his match around with some brilliant winners to break serve and
storm to the lead. Spinelli also broke back to level his set, and the frantic
game-counting and score checking commenced in the spectator gallery. But the job
was done, Stirling had sufficient games to ensure victory. Hall closed out his
set 9-6, and the final set concluded at 5-6 with the result already decided.
The premiership caps off a solid beginning for Stirling's advance into
metropolitan competitions. "It is just reward for the team. They worked
hard all year for this. A great win over a very tough opponent." said Club
President Steve Stranks.
Junior Awards for 2008-2009
Here's the award winners. Prizes were
presented at the Club's junior presentation event held on 28th March.
BOYS
DIV 1
: Harry Martin
DIV 1
Gold: Nick Jeavons
DIV 2: Jack Sandercock
DIV 4: Mathew Milne
DIV 7: Lochlan Bochem
GIRLS
DIV 1
: Rose Counsell
DIV 1 Gold: Emily Jeavons
DIV 2: Georga Elix Haddy
DIV 3
: Grace Rudd
DIV 3 Gold: Lucy Hazell
DIV 6: Erica Tilson
CLUB MOST CONSISTENT DOUBLES: Michael Bettison and Alex Savory
CLUB MOST CONSISTENT: Tom Bettison
CLUB MOST VERSATILE: Isabel Hall
COACH'S AWARD: Alex Tilson and Max Telford
Hills premierships 2008-2009
Division 1 women took another commanding 6-0 victory in the HTA
grand final. That's 2 in a row. A jubilant Division 2 Doubles team burgled a
2-game triumph over Echunga.
Premier League grand final report
20 March 2009: Stirling falls just short in
first grand final appearance
Trinity
Gardens
3 rubbers 8 sets 77 games defeated Stirling KeyInvest 2 rubbers 6 sets 72 games
Singles
Todd Ley defeated David To 4-6 6-2 6-4
Tim Mittiga defeated Stefan Szacinski 7-6 6-4
Yuri Bezeruk lost to Adam Alessandrini 3-6 3-6
Stefan Pretorius lost to Andrew Tavella 2-6 7-6 6-7
Doubles
Ley & Pretorius versus To / Alessandrini 6-2 4-6 2-3 unfinished
Bezeruk / Mittiga lost to Mullins & Szacinski 4-6 6-7
On Friday evening commencing at 6pm
Trinity
Gardens
won their fifth Grand Final in succession by defeating a gallant Stirling
KeyInvest combination in a match spanning seven hours with the last shots being
played at just before 1.30 am on Saturday morning.
An incredible contest was witnessed on a balmy evening under lights at
Memorial Drive
with the beautifully lit up Adelaide CBD backdrop and Fringe atmosphere
reverberating over the courts. As the contest unraveled Club supporters and
family members from both teams remained glued to the Final as fortunes see-sawed
from one team to the other as the night wore on.
Each team was able to play up to six players on the evening to enable use of
doubles or singles specialists. Trinity Gardens used ex Hills junior Mark
Mullins well in his preferred doubles specialty role with Stirling KeyInvest
still having to decide whether and how they may play either of their younger
players in Matt Campbell and Alex Bolt who each played in the majority of
matches throughout the season and had become worthy contributors to their team.
The evening commenced on two courts with the respective number one and two
singles players. Todd Ley again reveled in the pressure and revealed the courage
he displayed all season when playing with injury - to fight back in his match
with Trinity’s David To after losing the first set 6-4. Ley won the second set
6-2 and carried his momentum through in to the deciding third to take it 6-4 and
give his Hills teammates great confidence in winning the opening rubber.
The always consistent Tim Mittiga who missed so much of the season with
interstate and country tournaments playing his seventh singles for the season
for his newly adopted Club and recorded his seventh victory. Mittiga keeps
winning the close matches and his 7-6, 6-4 win against Trinity’s Stefan
Pretorius was notable for his great work when the heat was on. The Stirling
KeyInvest supporters were now nervously excited with a two rubber lead.
All singles matches were expected to be tight and the results of the third and
fourth singles which followed were expected to determine who would be the victor
on the evening. Trinity Gardens Adam Alessandrini has banked more Premier League
Grand Final victories than anyone around nowadays and used all of his pace and
experience to be too solid for the normally equally consistent Yuri Bezeruk and
recorded an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory to get a much needed rubber back for his
Trinity teammates.
On the next court an epic struggle was taking place between the respective
number four players - Stefan Pretorius for the Hills team against Trinity’s
Andrew Tavella. Both players have regularly contributed successfully to their
team’s endeavours in the number two position confirming the quality and depth
of the evenings match ups.
Tavella was too solid in the first set to win it convincingly 6-2. Pretorius
however was hungry to share team Grand Final success with his Stirling KeyInvest
teammates and fought back valiantly in the second set to win a tight tie breaker
7-6 to level the match at a set all. At this stage the other courts had cleared
and everyone settled in to enjoy an enthralling third set with a Stirling
KeyInvest victory likely to set up a Grand Final victory and a Trinity victory
keeping the tie alive for the doubles.
The Hills player carried his second set momentum early in to the third set and
found himself leading 3-0. Pretorius was rushing the net successfully with
Tavella the master of angle and heavily top spun passing shots looking rattled.
Tavella courageously steadied however to break back and then held serve to
create a momentum shift that carried on to another break of the Pretorius serve
to level the set at 3 games all. Both players then settled down to fantastic
tennis for the next six games as each player held serves solidly to see the
third set through to a fitting tie breaker. Trinity’s Tavella started the
better and worked his way to a 5-2 lead however
Stirling
’s Pretorius fought back with three points in a row to even the tie breaker up
at 5 points all. Tavella won the next two points to take the set and rubber for
his teammates and level the match.
It was now 11.30pm and the score stood at 2 rubbers all, 5 sets all, and 53
games to 50 games in Trinity’s favour.
The Stirling KeyInvest doubles combinations were discussed between their six
players with the youth of
Campbell
and Bolt bowing to the experience of their older teammates. Trinity decided to
split their normal winning combination of Mullins and Alessandrini in an effort
to strengthen both doubles pairings.
In the first double, Pretorius and Ley started magnificently to combine
magically at net and draw errors from their more experienced opponents in To and
Alessandrini to win the first set 6.2 for Stirling KeyInvest. At the
same time in the second double, Trinity won a tight and tense first set
encounter 6.4 with Mullins proving to be the backbone against Stirling
KeyInvest’s Bezeruk and Mittiga.
With neither doubles rubber yet decided the teams now shared the rubbers and
sets equally with Trinity holding a one game lead - and it was well past
midnight. Pretorius & Ley started the second set well to open up a 4.2 lead
however Alessandrini’s coolness under pressure and sure hands at net was
pressuring the Hills pairing who dropped serve to allow Trinity back in to the
set. The Trinity pair then broke again and when they held serves against the
trend of play to win the second set 6-4, they forced the first doubles rubber in
to a third and deciding set.
On the next court Stirling KeyInvest’s Mittiga and Bezeruk were down a break
early in their second set but managed to break back against Mullins and
Szacinski to reach 4 games all. This pattern continued with another break to
Trinity and a break back by
Stirling
– this time saving a match point for 5 games all. Again a break of serve by
the Trinity pairing and the
Stirling
pair breaking back to force the set and match result in to a tie breaker.
The tie breaker was comfortably won by Trinity Gardens with their straight set
victory assuring them another Grand Final victory with the valiant Stirling
KeyInvest team unable to win on sets regardless of the unfinished first double
third set outcome.
A great contest played in the best of spirit drew to a close at 1.30am and the
young Stirling KeyInvest team can look to the future with confidence that their
turn will surely come.
Premier League semi-final win
13 March 2009: Stirling storms into first Grand Final
Stirling KeyInvest 3 rubbers 8 sets 61 games
defeated
West
Lakes
1 rubber 4 sets 46 games
Singles
Todd Ley defeated Ben DeGilio 6-3 6-2
Tim Mittiga defeated Greg Stephenson 6-2 2-6 6-2
Yuri Bezeruk defeated Matt Fitzgerald 6-2 6-4
Stefan Pretorius lost to Jed Stanford 5-7 4-6
Doubles
Ley & Pretorius vs DeGilio & Stanford 7-5 1-0
Bezeruk & Bolt vs Stephenson & Fitzgerald 1-6 6-1
Stirling KeyInvest hit the big time in just their second
season in Premier League with a gutsy Semi Final win against a strong and
experienced
West
Lakes
unit on Friday night under lights at
Memorial Drive
. The Hills based team followed up their top of the table minor round effort
last season by setting up a Grand Final appearance for this Friday evening under
lights at the
Memorial Drive
complex against the perennial Premier League winning team
Trinity
Gardens
.
Fielding their strongest Stirling KeyInvest team for the season, the Hills
representatives won impressively 3 rubbers to one - with sets in hand with the
match closing once the win was secured. Todd Ley as always was extremely
impressive in his number one position. Nursing a blistered hand from a weekend
of tournament tennis, Ley set the scene with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over
West
Lakes
number one Ben DeGilio who defeated Ley in three sets in their most recent
encounter just three weeks ago.
Tim Mittiga who was missed for so much of the season whilst interstate with
tournaments committed himself to playing finals for his Stirling KeyInvest
teammates and rallied well and net rushed against the consistency and experience
of
West
Lakes
’ Greg Stephenson to finally win an epic contest 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
With all four singles matches being played concurrently under lights on the four
magnificent
Memorial Drive
courts, the on lookers were treated to a superb array of tennis. Yuri
Bezeruk’s at three continued his fine form and revealed his fighting spirit
for his adopted Hills team with his two set 6-2, 6-4 victory taking as long as
his Mittiga team mates three set victory. Bezeruk back from
Europe
- is still yet to drop a set in his singles and has been a valued addition to
the team in the absence of Josh Tuckfield who missed his team mates success as
he prepared for his wedding on the Saturday following his team’s Semi Final
victory.
Stefan Pretorius in the pick of the four contested singles matches lost narrowly
to
West
Lakes
’ undefeated Jed Stanford in an incredible hard hitting and skilful contest of
Stanford’s back play versus Pretorius net skill 5-7, 4-6.
With three rubbers to one in the bank, the Stirling KeyInvest team needed to win
two doubles sets to secure victory and book a spot in the Grand Final. Tim
Mittiga was nursing a sore wrist and gave the opportunity to one of his young
team stalwarts Alex Bolt and Matt Campbell to experience the elite tennis
competition at finals level. Both players had played in every Premier League
match of the season for which they were available. With
Campbell
having played the previous match, the A-Bolt was given the opportunity and
accompanied the experience of Bezeruk in the second double.
In the first double, Ley and Pretorius lost a serve to be a break down early
whilst in the second double contest Bezeruk and Bolt also were struggling
against the much older and experienced pairing of Stephenson and Fitzgerald in
their first set to be two breaks down. The Stirling KeyInvest first double
pairing saved a set point and then broke serve against the West Lakes pairing of
DeGilio and Stanford for 5 games all while Bezeruk and Bolt continued their
struggle and lost their first set 1-6.
The Hills spectators were very anxious but breathed more easily when Ley played
a brilliant forehand to set up a break point for the first doubles pairing. The
Hills pair continued their aggressive come from behind play to again confirm the
young Stirling KeyInvest team’s doubles capability by converting their break
point and going on to serve out the set and win 7-5. On the neighbouring court
Bezeruk and Bolt had their
West
Lakes
opponents rattled as they fought back in the second set to break serve early.
They continued to pile on the pressure and in a complete turnaround took the
second set 6-1with the 16 year old Bolt hitting winners from everywhere to
secure a winning position and a Grand Final appearance for the young Hills team.
With the win secured the match ended without the need to complete the two
doubles rubbers.
Stirling KeyInvest who were unlucky to lose their number one player, and Burr
Medallist Callum Beale to Australian Open practice duty with Ana Ivanovic during
the finals last season, have fought their way through a difficult season where
the young skills of Bolt and Campbell were required and much appreciated weekly
as the team continued to find a way to win with just two losses for the
Premiership season.
Playing
Trinity
Gardens
on Friday night for the elite competition’s Premiership the young Hills team
has taken another finals step and is hoping for considerable support from Hills
tennis lovers in the
Memorial Drive
stands where entry and parking is free for what will be a magnificent contest.
The match commences at 6pm and will be an incredible contest between two very
evenly matched teams.
Tennis SA Awards 2008
Stirling scooped the pool of top awards at the recent Tennis
SA Annual Awards dinner held at the Hyatt Hotel.
 Winner, Tennis Club of the
Year (Country Category), Stirling Tennis Club
Winner, Premier League
Player of the Year, Callum Beale
Winner, Premier League
Rookie of the Year, Ben McLachlan
Winner, Burr Medal, Callum
Beale
HTA premierships 2008
Division 1 women took a commanding 6-0 victory in the HTA
grand final. The Division 1 mens team were runners-up.
Eastern Districts Tennis competition
Two teams, Division 1 and Division 1 Mens playing under the banner of "Stirling
Districts", competed in the Eastern Districts Tennis Association
competition. The Mens Only team made it through to the finals again. Refer to the EDTA website at http://www.howstat.com.au/edta/
for match program and premiership tables.
Stirling juniors succeed in 2007 Tournaments
In the recent Hills Junior Tournaments, Stirling players
took out several of the top prizes.
Stirling
juniors take titles at 2007 Rebound Ace April Age
Matthew
Campbell won the 16 & Under Boys singles, and John Hall won the 12 & Under.
See the Tournament
website for match results.
Petanque
anyone?
|
We now share our Club facilities with Adelaide Hills
Petanque Inc. They have constructed 18 pistes on our former courts 7 and 8 at the
southwestern corner of Stonehenge Reserve. Anyone interested in finding out more about petanque, please call
their President, Mr Brenton Key, ph 0411 860 737, email admin@ahpc.org.au.
Check out their website at www.ahpc.org.au. |
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