..:: Round 12 Preview ::..

Round 12 Preview – 17/1/09


Premier League Round 12

South Bendigo vs Spring Gully Mozzies @ CCC Crts 8, 9 & 10

Spring Gully Mozzies will have the best chance to move into the top two for the season when it takes on a weakened South Bendigo in round 12 of the BTA premier league.

South Bendigo will return to the second half of the season without key players Ashlea Baker and Aiden Fiztgerald.  Baker has taken up a collage scholarship with US college Temple, whilst Fitzgerald has taken up a coaching position at Bairnsdale tennis Club.  Both players will be sourly missed by the bloods, who will now heavily rely on Corbin Fleming to keep them in top spot.

For the Mozzies Jamie Brown and Travis Toner have been improving with each match.  Combined with the return of Shane Cox at no 3 for their round 11 encounter against Castlemaine, all of a sudden the Mozzies are begining to look the force which has lead them to 2 of the past 3 premierships.

For the ladies Paige Ipsem will step into the no 2 spot for South, moving Maxine Everitt to the no 1 spot in Bakers absence.  The South girls will have their work cut out for them though against the no 1 female pairing of Jessica Hartland and Bronwyn Osborne. Hartland and Osborne have combined extremely well this year, having yet to taste defeat in doubles together and impressing with strong singles performances each week.

Verdict: The mozzies will edge towards the top 2 in the face of some key omissions for South.  Mozzies to win 8 sets to 4.

Strath Park vs Castlemaine @ Castlemaine

Castlemaine will play its last home game of the season for 08/09 when it host Strathdale Park.  The home side will be hoping to have their second home victory of the season as they try to stay in touch with the top 4.

Matt Hartland and Shane Burke will look to be the prominent performers for the Maine, and with Strath going into the match without regular no 1 man Jack Baker, may find it difficult to compete against the steady pair.  Bakers ommision will see Fraser McCarthy make his premier league debut.  McCarthy has impressed with solid results in Section 2, along with excellent tournament results in later half of 2008.

Strathdale will also welcome back the "pocket rocket" Eliza Long for her first match in over a month.  Long broke her arm in early December, missing several weeks of pennant and key tournaments as a result.  She did  however undertake an intense rehabilitation process which enabled here to compete for Victoria Country in a 13 and Under national representative team in Sydney last week. Longs return and at full fitness, combined with the steady play of Heather Robbins, should be enough to get counter Alyssa Cole and Jessie Culpitt.

Verdict: With both teams desperate for the win the match could come down to the mixed.  The Maine may just have the edge in the mixed which should lead them to an 8 set to 4 win.

Bendigo Lawn vs Strath Park Storm @ CCC Crts 2, 6 & 7

Bendigo Lawn will have the opportunity to displace South Bendigo in top spot, when they take on Strath Storm.  Following a convincing win over South in the last match of 08, the lawn still look the form team of 08/09.

The opening mens doubles is always keenly contested between these teams, with the experience Michael Smyth and Terry Smith likely to battle Curt and Ward Garwood.  Whilst Curt Garwood has looked irresistible in his singles matches, either of the Storm men would like their chances against the older brother Ward.

In the lower order matches Michael Nihill, Stefan Butson and Nick Bath have combined extremely well this season and consistently win a majority of their singles and doubles matches.  James McArthur and Danny Watson will need to be at the top of their games to match their wily opponents.

In the ladies, Tamara Wright and Mandy Connors-Butson are again set to combine and will likely have too much class for Tova Smith and Michelle Rodwell.  Wright will bring strong form into the match following recent tournament success at the BMW classic in Doncaster earlier this week.

Overall this should be an entertaining match with both teams keen to take the points.  the Lawn will be keen to creep closer to the top of the table, whilst the Storm will be wanting to keep their 20 point gap over 5th and 6th placed teams in tact.

Verdict: With major weapons Curt Garwood, Tamara Wright and Mandy Connors-Butson all back and firing the Lawn should have too much class.  Lawn to win 8 sets to 4.

Sports Power Senior Pennant 2008/09

Section 2 Round 12
Spring Gully New China vs BLTC Green @ CCC 12 & 13
Spring Gully Blue vs Epsom @ CCC 16 & 17
Spring Gully Sensation vs BLTC Bronze @ CCC 14 & 15

Section 3 Round 12

BLTC Red vs BLTC Blue @ CCC 21 & 22
BLTC Federer vs BLTC Gold @ CCC 23 & 24
BLTC Rafa vs Strath Park Symmetry @ CCC 18 & 19