October 4, 1pm, $5 entry fee
Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Club will be hosting an exciting tennis event on Sunday October 4, 1 - 4pm. The Victoria UTR Series is a Tennis Victoria initiative and is open to juniors and adults. The Fast4 round robin format is lots of fun and all players will get to play three matches.
For any queries, please contact Graham Forbes, Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Club, 0406356466
Register online at gianttennis.com.au
On a warm, windless evening, a good sized crowd watched Helen Kaptein play Demi Kowal for the women's singles title. It was aggressive tennis from the first serve and it looked like a 3-set thriller was inevitable. But many matches, particularly finals, are decided by a few key points. Helen won the first set 6-0 but the flow of play felt more like 3-3.
In the second set Demi adopted the "hit the ball really hard" strategy and winners started to flow, it looked like she might level the match. But Helen has stacks of trophies and flags for a reason. Receiving at 4-4 she hit two winners down the line, got the break and served out the match.
Too good... this time round. Let's hope they meet again next year. We might make them play best of 5, just so we can enjoy the show.
Our top seeds, Brodie Murray and Leigh Campbell, made it to the final without dropping a set. It was a match of contrasting styles - Brodie's athleticism, consistency and counter-punching vs Leigh's shot-making and aggressive net play.
Leigh was best early and won the first set 6-3, but Brodie settled and won the second and third sets 6-1, 6-2. In the end Brodie's patience and fitness out-lasted Leigh's know-how and shot-making. The match went for just under 2 hours.
That's two club champs in a row for Brodie and he's improving each year, so he'll be ready for a third in 2020. Some players have suggested Brodie play in gumboots or carry a few bricks to even things up - worth a thought ☺.
Congratulations to Linda Holden and Maree Sartori for winning the doubles grand final 6-4, 6-2 against Brett Fitzpatrick and Paul Puttifoot.
It was an entertaining match (the crowd was disappointed it didn't go to 3 sets) with plenty of aggressive action on the net, and played in good spirits.
That's yet another trophy for Linda and Marie, they've won almost everything that's on offer.
Special thanks to President Sam Beckett who organised and ran the club champs and umpired the men's final. He's also been busy raising funds for the club in the carpark during the Castlemaine Festival, working on the club's master plan and a 1000 other things. Please say thanks to Sam for all his hard work when you next see him.
Altogether – it could not have gone better
Congratulations and thanks to all involved
Brodie Murray has taken out the Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Club singles championship in a hard fought and very entertaining encounter with Mark Nascimento on Sunday 25th March.
In a very tight first set the seventh game produced 6 deuces before Mark held serve. The set featured several long rallies from the back of the court with each player testing the other’s depth of shot. At times Mark showed an attacking style as he forced Brodie into the backhand corner of the court where he often forced an error. With 4 breaks of serve, Brodie finally held serve in the 12th game to win the first set 7-5.
Early in the second set Mark held a 2-0 advantage, but Brodie broke back immediately in the third game and then won 5 consecutive games with a dazzling choice of shot whilst showing a maturity beyond his age. Mark saved a championship point in the 8th game, before going down 6-3. At 16 years of age, Brodie Murray obviously has a long tennis future ahead of him and it is hoped he will around for many years as the club approaches it’s 125th anniversary of the club championships in 2022. A thanks to Lincoln Fitzgerald for umpiring the final and Sally Kaptein for the refreshments.
The Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Club has just held its annual club championships.
Winners and Runners-Up of all events are
Big thanks to all competitors and volunteers for making the club champs a success.
ANZ invited our junior members to the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Day at the 2018 Australian Open on Thursday 18 January. We are part of Tennis Australia’s Community Play program which is delivered at clubs with sessions run by local volunteers making tennis more accessible for children living in regional areas.
Each year, ANZ invites Community Play clubs to attend ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Day at the Australian Open which includes ground passes and travel costs. This year we were one of the lucky clubs chosen to attend.
The club members had the chance to meet three-time Paralympic gold medallist Dylan Alcott.
Bring the family to the club for a relaxed game of tennis on Sunday from 2pm. Balls supplied and of course the 'kettle' is always on for a cuppa.
We want to return to the days when Sunday afternoon tennis was just part of the social calendar and we hope to have a mix of people and ages- for new friendships and new tennis partnerships on court. We will help arrange games and can provide hot shot nets for the children.
Cost: $3.00 for members (to cover cost of new balls) and $6.00 for non-members
There are smiles on the faces of the players who participated in last weekend's club championships.
This was the first year that our club championships were held over the one weekend and we're delighted with the numbers and the standard of tennis. The fun the competitors had was obvious - but the competition was still keen.
We also organised a trivia night on Saturday with over 80 attending and raised just over $900.
We're very grateful to the following local businesses for supporting the event: Robinsons, Black Jack Winery, Togs Café, Taylors Home Centre, Shoestring Market, Mount Alexander Winery and the Cumberland Hotel.
The championships will be back in 2017 and we plan to build on the momentum of 2016. Watch this space.