STRATHFIELDSAYE has earned another crack at South Bendigo to be the Bendigo Tennis Association’s premier league champions for the 2017-18 season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The return of number one player Aidan Fitzgerald was a huge plus as Strathfieldsaye faced Spring Gully Strath Eppalock Butterflies in Saturday’s preliminary final at the William Loud complex.
Fitzgerald defeated Matt Hartland in the number one singles rubber, 6-1 6-3, but Gully struck back as Jamie Brown scored a 6-2 6-3 win against Michael Smyth.
Nick Bath added to Strathfieldsaye’s tally in a 6-3 6-4 result against Simon Kelly.
After a 6-3 loss in the opening set, Strathfieldsaye’s Lachlan Perdon struck back to win 6-4 10-5 against Danielle Bowles.
Fitzgerald and Smyth teamed up for a 7-5 3-6 10-8 victory against Hartland and Bowles.
The other doubles rubber was decided in a tie-break as Bath and Penno won 4-6 6-3 10-3 against Brown and Kelly.
After the final rally of a hard-fought final was played, Strathfieldsaye led 5-10-58 to 1-5-53.
It was a tough afternoon for the Spring Gully teams in the Quest Bendigo-backed division one preliminary finals.
Axedale triumphed 7-70 to 3-45 against Spring Gully Panthers, and BTC Infants marked a 5-63 to 5-53 victory against Spring Gully Phoenix.