Tennis: Eastern juniors rule their quadrangular tournaments

The Eastern under-14 team which created history in Papamoa at the weekend. Photo/Supplied

Tennis Eastern officials were in celebration mode at the weekend and they had every right to be.

Eastern's under-14 and under-10 teams won their respective quadrangular tournaments in Papamoa for the first time. The under-14 tournament has been going for 37 years and Eastern or Hawke's Bay had never won the tournament before the weekend.

"Very proud of our two teams. There have been some very positive developments with our junior structure recently and we are very fortunate to have some fantastic coaches to call upon. I have no doubt that we will continue to improve and gain more national recognition in the future," Tennis Eastern's development officer Sean Davies said after the news was relayed to him by coaches Simon Winter and Luke Donovan.

Eastern's under-14s beat Bay of Plenty 7-2, Waikato-Thames Valley 5-4 and Western Bay of Plenty 6-2. All three of the under-14 girls, Sophie Ward, Tamzin Buck and Alex Cave, were unbeaten.

Cave was a member of the Hawke's Bay senior side which last month won the Christie Cup, the symbol of Central Districts tennis supremacy, with a 13-11 victory against Taranaki in New Plymouth.

Winter pointed out the under-14 boys did well as they played without regular No 1 Hunter Every who will play for the Eastern under-16s in their quadrangular tournament this weekend.

"Charlie Nash came in to the team for Hunter and gutsed out a crucial three-set singles win against Western Bay of Plenty which was the final tie we had to win for the title. Charlie appreciated the importance of it and his win showed the depth we have in that age group," Winter explained.

Eastern's under-10s beat Bay of Plenty 5-1, Waikato-Thames Valley 7-6 and Western Bay of Plenty 4-2. Mansi Giri was the only unbeaten player in the side.

"We were on the verge of calling the tournament off at one stage because of the rough weather but it was amazing we got through all the matches," Winter added.

The Tennis Eastern teams were:
Under-14s: Boys, River Apatu, Charlie Nash, Luke Winter, Daniel Mitlash. Girls, Sophie Ward, Tamzin Buck, Alex Cave.
Under-10s: Boys, Saul Ramonteu-Chiros, Otis Hoggard, Mayank Giri. Girls, Zoe Driscoll, Mansi Giri, Emma Baker.