Martinborough ready for Opaki

Defending champions Martinborough will be close to full strength for their Wairarapa regional one tennis match with Opaki at Opaki tomorrow.
The southerners were able to field only two men in their 6-3 loss to Gladstone last weekend which meant they were forced to default two of their singles matches in that section.
But with Steve Chapman, Marco de Groot, Andy Darling and James Blundell all expected to be on deck on this occasion they should give a strong account of themselves in not only the men's singles and doubles but also in the women's singles and doubles, where they will again be represented by Libby Paterson and Carla Didsbury.
Opaki had the bye last Saturday but kicked their season off in good style with a 6-3 win over Carterton the weekend before.
The expected absence of Katie Wyeth will weaken their women's section but in Vicki Temple and Jan Wyeth they will still have good strength there while their men's line-up is likely to be Brett Dymond, Stu Wyeth, Matt Stewart and Andy Colvin.
These two sides met in the grand final last season with Martinborough taking the honours and a similar result is predicted here.
Gladstone and Carterton should have an interesting duel in their regional one fixture to be played at Gladstone.
It's been a mixed start to the season for both sides with Gladstone losing to Masterton and then beating a depleted Martinborough while Carterton have been beaten by both Opaki and Masterton.
Carterton welcomed back Matt Spooner to their line-up last weekend and if he is on deck again the top men's singles promises to be the highlight of tomorrow's match with Gladstone having the talented Baden Stevenson in that spot.
Spooner is an astute tactician and would probably rely on his shot making abilities to make up for any edge Stevenson, who has not long completed a busy rugby campaign, might have in fitness.
Another Carterton player who will be relying on her astuteness to perhaps give her the edge over a younger opponent is Cathy Rolls.
She has started the season strongly with two singles victories from as many matches and will be keen to chalk up the hat-trick on this occasion.
Overall, however, the odds would slightly favour a Gladstone victory as they do appear to have the greater depth in their men's section and that could be enough to get them by the narrowest of margins.
The draw for other inter-club matches in Wairarapa tomorrow is:-
Regional two women: St Matthew's No.2 v Wairarapa College No.2 at Wairarapa College, Wairarapa College No.1 v St Matthew's No.3 at Wairarapa College, St Matthew's No.1 a bye.
Regional two men: Rathkeale No.1 v Gladstone at Rathkeale, Masterton v Wairarapa College at Masterton, Rathkeale No.2 v Martinborough at Martinborough.
Doubles grade: All teams to report to Carterton club.
Junior championship grade Masterton Red v Masterton Green at Masterton, Masterton Intermediate v Hadlow Smashers at Masterton Intermediate, Gladstone Gold v St Matthew's at St Matthew's, Hadlow Aces v Opaki at Hadlow, Masterton Black a bye.
Junior advanced grade: Hadlow No.1 v Hadlow No.3 at Masterton, Hadlow No.2 v Opaki at Opaki, Hadlow No.4 v St Matthew's at St Matthew's, Gladstone Black v Masterton Blue at Gladstone.