Club tennis season underway tonight

It is tennis time again, with two major competitions swinging into action this week.

Tonight, the well-supported WK+ Advisors and Accountants Presidents Grade kicks off, while the Wine Brokers NZ Premier Grade begins the following evening.

There has been a change in the premier grade structure for 2020. This year there will be two divisions, with four teams in each section. There will be three rounds and then a finals night just before Christmas.

In division one the teams consist of three men and one woman who will play six matches each night – three men’s singles, one women’s single, a men’s double and a mixed double.

Division one consists of two Rapaura teams, one Marlborough Tennis Club team and one Renwick team.

In division two there are two Marlborough Club teams (including a talented junior team, named “Next Gen”), one Rapaura team and one Renwick team.

Ella Sowman is a member of the Rapaura Wairau River Noir side.

Division one teams:

Rapaura Wairau River Noir:

Hamish McRae, Blair Harvey, Brendon Sutherland, Ella Sowman.

Rapau

ra Wairau River Blanc:

Anthony Walkenhorst, Hugh Robinson, Glen Cameron, Donna Clark.

Forrest Wines Marlborough: Hamish Morrow, Jay Geris, Stephen Dempster, Amber Lyons.

Renwick CPR: Oscar Sandford-Jury, Dave Sandford, Joseph Sandford-Jury, Mieko Kimura.

Division two teams

Rapaura Wairau River Rose:

Hiro Kishida, Hamish Shield, Eveline van der Linden, Lynn Murray, Georges Decken, Tony Fenemor.

Marlborough Next Gen:

Theodore Sandford-Jury, Dan Clarke, Jo Yank, Sid Yank, William Poff.

Marlborough Smashers: Jaco van Hensbergen, Joshua Joseph, Ivan Fedoryshchev, George Geris.

Renwick Rallycats: Daniel Riordan, Jason Anderson, Geoff Duckett, Luan Muir, Anna Simpson.

Presidents Grade

The ever-popular Presidents Grade competition, will include 28 teams – six teams in divisions one and four, and eight teams in divisions two and three. The competition will run right through the summer, concluding in early March.

Both Rapaura and Renwick clubs have nine teams apiece, while the Marlborough Tennis club has seven teams and Grovetown three.

Division one teams

Marlborough Chilli: Daniel Riordan, Peter Stubbs, Adam Dawe, Sandy Stubbs, Mieko Kimura.

Renwick Net Setters: Anthony Bowron, Stephen Bryant, Adam Balasoglou, Luan Muir, Caroline Cornelius, Amber Lyons.

Rapaura Masters: Hiro Kishida, Owen Dodson, Stephen Dempson (R), Tony Fenemor (R), Donna Clark, Pauline Fudge.

Rapaura Just Move: Kyle Heagney, Mike Russell, Loren Hickin, Emily Stenhouse, Jane Bay, Amber Boyce.

Rapaura Wairau River: Hugh Robinson, Warner Nichol, Lynn Murray, Eveline van der Linden, Karen Nichol.

Grovetown Grove Tavern Top Shelf: Brendon Sutherland, Darin Herd, Owen Dodson, Venice Langrope, Raewyn Heta, Susie Glover.

Inspire Tennis Primary Schools Competition

This year sees 39 teams taking part in the competition across five divisions. Division one is made up of four very strong teams. All the players receive coaching, many of them training twice a week. Division two contains nine teams while divisions three and four are made up of less experienced players playing with low compression balls.

Seven teams will play in the Kiwi division – catering for the much younger players at the beginning of their tennis-playing years. They play on half-sized courts using mini nets.

A drop-in tennis coaching programme is also run by the Marlborough Tennis Club between 9am and 10am on Saturday mornings over the summer and this looks after the younger players not involved in the competition aged from 3 to 7 years. There is no need to register for this, just show up on the day. The cost is $2 per player and it starts on October 31.

The primary school competition starts with a grading day on Saturday, October 17, and then resumes with round one on October 31. It will break for Christmas on December 12 and resume after the school holidays. Thirteen schools have entered teams into the competition.

College Competition

A doubles competition for College students (of all abilities) is being run on Friday evenings, with an initial grading day on Friday, October 16. Players must register for this competition, for more information contact Hilary on

admin@marlboroughtennis.co.nz

.  Entry to this completion has not yet closed.

Monday College Social Tennis

The popular Monday College Social tennis will continue again this summer from 4.30pm-6pm each Monday afternoon starting on October 12. Beginners are welcome. Coaching is included to help players improve their skills. No pre-registration is needed, players just need to show up on Monday afternoons to sign-up.