Rotorua-Lynmore tennis players Sean Martin (left) and Shaun Tamai won their doubles match 6-3, 6-3. Photo / Ben Fraser
Rotorua-Lynmore tennis players Sean Martin (left) and Shaun Tamai won their doubles match 6-3, 6-3. Photo / Ben Fraser
The Rotorua-Lynmore men's tennis team have further cemented their credentials as a dominant force with their fourth successive premier title.
The Rotorua women's team, who have also been dominant this season, fell at the final hurdle, going down 5-1 to a strong Tauranga Lawn side in their final yesterday.The men's team had previously won a hattrick of Waikato/Bay of Plenty premier titles. This season there were no Waikato teams entered, making it a Western Bay of Plenty competition.
Having cruised through the regular season, Rotorua-Lynmore took on Mount Maunganui in the final on Saturday and produced a convincing 5-1 victory.
Captain Shaun Tamai said the team dedicated their win to Murray Thompson, a patron of the club, who died last Thursday.
"He was an all around good bloke and one of our number one supporters. He meant a lot, not just to us players but the whole club," Tamai said.
He said every player on the team "took it to another level" on Saturday.
"Mount brought their best but our boys stepped up to the plate and beat them at their own game really. It's definitely the best we've played all season."
Tamai and Sean Martin won their doubles match against Jamie Yates and Jacob Darling 6-3, 6-3. In the other doubles match Rotorua-Lynmore's Jessie Galvin-Dawson and Mark Ratana beat Andre Stewart and James Wilce 6-4, 6-1.
In the singles, top seed Tamai lost to Yates 10-7 in a super tie-breaker after losing the first set 7-5 and winning the second set 6-4.
After that it was all Rotorua-Lynmore. Galvin-Dawson beat Wilce 6-4, 6-2, Martin beat Darling 6-1, 6-0 and Logan Nathan beat Stewart 6-3, 6-1.
"I was very proud of our young man Logan Nathan," Tamai said.
"He's only 15 but he plays a hell of a lot of tennis and being amongst some of us older fellas, he's picking up different styles of playing as well. He keeps us on our toes as well, it helps having a young, enthusiastic player to teach us a few tricks too.
"We had a good crowd as well, we're very appreciative of all the support we get from near and far. With a home final it's that support that helps get you across the line and that's what we've had these last few years.
"Our sponsors are awesome too, Corys Electrical and Max Simpkins Lawyers Association, we couldn't do it without them," he said.
The Rotorua women were without their top seed Mia Middleton for the final and played in extremely windy conditions, but captain Leona Davis-Kaye said there were no excuses.
Rotorua's Leona Davis-Kaye plays a shot during the Western Bay of Plenty premier women's tennis final. Photo / Ben Fraser
"Tauranga Lawn deserved to win. The wind was horrendous but at the end of the day that's tennis and I'm still proud of our girls and even better that our men won on the weekend," she said.
Davis-Kaye and her doubles partner Aliya Edwards picked up the only win for the Rotorua women in the final, beating Anita Walpole and Toscana Bernie 6-4, 6-1.
In the other doubles match Rotorua's Mia Wardlaw and Zana Douglas lost 6-3, 6-4 to Julia Newman and Eden Sela.
In the singles Newman beat Wardlaw 6-2, 6-1, Sela beat Douglas 6-0, 6-0, Hannah Walpole beat Edwards 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and Anita Walpole beat Davis-Kaye 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 in an entertaining match-up.
