Tennis juniors turn result around

The Marlborough under-18 tennis team completed an astonishing turnaround in Nelson on Sunday, winning the annual Blair Cup fixture in comprehensive fashion.

Last season they suffered a heavy defeat to their Nelson counterparts, this year they reversed the result in emphatic style, prevailing 13 mates to three.

Standout performances in the girls’ singles came from Jemimah O’Donnell and Lilly Walkenhorst, who beat higher-ranked opponents.

Both Jade Otway and Ella Sowman won their games to help the girls to a 4-0 start.

In the boys’ section top seed Oscar Sandford-Jury featured in a tight battle, winning the 3

rd

set super tie 10-3 over Alex Brogan. Jay Geris, Joseph Sandford-Jury and Dan Clarke also had wins, giving Marlborough a clean sweep in the singles.

The boys and girls doubles also went Marlborough’s way, although Nelson grabbed a win in the girls’ doubles. By the time the mixed doubles started, Marlborough had the cup already won.

Marlborough were fortunate to have Jade Otway in their ranks again. She has had an outstanding season domestically, picking up a number of titles across the country, most notable the U18 NZ Singles Champion and just a few weeks ago the 2021 Tecnifibre Wellington ITF Singles win.

The Blair Cup team was coached by Reilly Quirk and John Gardiner.