SPRING Gully Bigpond put some space between third and fourth on the Bendigo Tennis Association’s SportsPower Premier League ladder as it fought on to beat Epsom Butterflies in Saturday’s clash.
The match was close all day, with Bigpond’s Eliza Long and Heather Robbins playing key roles in the 11th round win.
Epsom started well as Matt Hartland and Shane Burke outplayed Jack Baker and Kevin Derix, and Michael Nihill and Brad Booth were too strong for Ruebin Ellis and Travis Johnston.
Long and Robbins scored an impressive 9-7 victory against Danielle Bowles and Jayne St Clair.
Bigpond won four of the six matches in the singles.
Baker, Derix, Long and Robbins all won.
Baker’s watershed 8-6 victory against Matt Hartland was the pick of the matches.
The reliable Nihill and Booth kept Epsom in the match.
Bigpond won its sixth set as Derix and Long beat Hartland and Bowles, 8-2.
The Butterflies won the the last two sets through Booth and St Clair, and Burke and Nihill.
Reigning premiers, Bendigo Lawn moved within two points of top-ranked Spring Gully Brougham Arms.
Lawn scored an 8-4 win against the dangerous South Bendigo.
The Lawn line-up was without Mandy Connors-Butson and Stefan Butson against a full-strength opponent.
Curt and Ward Garwood started the match well for Lawn as they beat South’s Alistair Baker and Nathan Bowie, 8-2.
The lead was extended as Nick Bath and Tom Metherell beat the experienced Grant Leader and Frank Ryan, 8-3.
With Connors-Butson on the sidelines, South won the women’s doubles, 8-2.
In the singles, Curt and Ward Garwood were again ruthless in conceding only three games against Baker and Bowie respectively. Bath beat Leader, and Tamara Wright won against an unlucky Paige Ipsen.
Frank Ryan and Maxine Everitt gave South a glimmer of hope, both taking singles wins to trail 3-6 at the mixed.
Lawn captain Curt Garwood teamed with Wright to win the opening mixed against Baker and Ipsen.
The last two sets of the day were split, as South won the mixed, and Ward Garwood and Tom Metherell captured the final men’s doubles.
Spring Gully Brougham Arms held on to top spot as it scored a five-game victory against Strathdale Park Storm. Although it didn’t get the points, the match marked a turning point for the Storm, which will be looking towards a strong second half of the season.
Terry Smith and Michael Smyth got the Storm off to a flying start, with a confident doubles victory against Jamie Brown and Steve Cox. The veterans showed they still have plenty of tricks left, with their combination of strong serves and precision volleys proving the difference.
The Broughie fought back through the lower order men’s combination of Shane Cox and Paul Condcliffe’s narrow win against Zoltan Smyth and Danny Watson. Jessica Hartland and Lynda Gallagher combined successfully to overcome Storm’s Tova Smith and Michelle Rodwell.
The singles were split.
Broughie captain Jamie Brown scored a confidence-building win against Terry Smith, 8-4.
Victories to Shane Cox against Danny Watson and Jessica Hartland against Tova Smith kept the Broughie in front. Michael Smyth and Zoltan Smyth led the fightback for the Storm with victories against Steve Cox and Paul Condcliff respectively. Rodwell outpointed Lynda Gallager.
With the match poised at the mixed, Brown and Hartland again combined successfully for the Broughie against father-daughter combination of Smith and Smith. The Cox brothers, Steve and Shane, iced the victory with an 8-6 win against the father-son combo of Smyth and Smyth.
Storm’s Rodwell and Watson won the final set of the contest.
Castlemaine had the bye.
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