Ben defeated Julian Fyfe in the final and although Julian fought hard it was Ben’s for the taking. Ben has had a fine year on court and with the limited amount of match play due to other commitments, he has made the best of his time on the practise court. Ben showed domination throughout with his big serve and forehand but it has been the backhand wing which has made the biggest improvement this year and thus his opponents find little weakness at the opposite end of the court. Congratulations to both players for an entertaining match.

Meanwhile Helen Magill once again proved difficult to overcome for her younger opponents. This year Central West champ Abbey Kennedy made it through to the final and tried her hand but found she was constantly put into difficult situations by Magill and made too many unforced errors to damage the scoreboard. Try as she may, her rhythm was upset by Magill’s nous and experience.

Molly Kennedy won the B grade ladies singles and James Fisher defended his B Grade mens title over up and coming Gabe Goodrick.

The A grade Men’s doubles saw singles finalists Julian Fyfe and Ben Evans versus Gary Morgan and Andrew Hayne. The first set was competitive and Morgan and Hayne were hitting some nice returns and putting pressure on the new combo but sadly for the more experienced Morgan and Hayne, their DOB hampered their performance and their ability to maintain their consistency in the second set. Fyfe and Evans ran away with a comfortable win.

B grade Championship saw Harry Dawson and Lachy Tassell put all their cards on the table early and out play their younger opponents Gabe Goodrick and Koby Wirth to take out their first doubles title.

It was a scorching 35.5degrees when the Ladies A Grade finalists took to the court and during the warm-up there was a slight breeze but it subsided and the conditions were more challenging for all four ladies. Defending champions Hannah and Phoebe Potts haven’t played as many tournaments this year due to work and school commitments and this showed when they were put under pressure by new combination Helen Magill and her young charge Abbey Kennedy. Helen has played with her good friend Helen Standen for the past 12 years but Standen was unable to play this year so the search was on for Magill to find a young partner with plenty of running. This was the first time Helen and Abbey have partnered up and it proved fruitful with Helen’s groundstrokes complimenting Abbey’s prowess around the net. They went on to take the title in straight sets.

The B grade Mixed doubles final was a good match with Maddy McCormick and Koby Wirth taking on Molly Kennedy and Gabe Goodrick. All four players are part of the junior development squad and regularly play each other but not in such a competitive environment. It was Maddy who controlled the court as expected and encouraged partner Koby to make some great groundstroke returns to put pressure on their younger opponents and take their first title.

Night Competition: Tonight is the final night of competition for 2018 and after the completion of matches, players are encouraged to bring along a couple of drinks and Helen will whip up some nibbles and snacks to enjoy for the end of another great year of socially serious competition.

ANZHotshots: All HotShots have concluded for the year and thank you to everyone for being involved in the red, orange and green ball programs. The only coaching left for this week are Helen’s private lessons and those travelling to the Bathurst JT event next week.

Court Hire: The courts are available to hire through our good friends at D’Aquinos in Dalton Street. D’Aquinos enjoyed their staff Christmas party at the tennis courts on the weekend and utilised the great new outdoor undercover area as well as having a hit and giggle.