Liam Phillips
WITH South Lyndoch looking to win its first game of the season, it travelled to Kapunda to take on a side locked in a battle for second-place.
The visitors showed some much-needed fight on the men’s side, taking both reverse doubles sets in convincing fashion as the pairings of Edward Liebelt/Robert Jansen and Simon Shillabeer/Alan Carmody won 6-2 and 6-0 respectively.
Robert Jansen then grabbed another unlikely singles set for South Lyndoch with a dominant 6-1 showing, while Jessica Szuic romped home 6-0 in singles action to give the side its fourth set.
That is where the challenge would end, though, as Kapunda took the remaining 12 sets.
Mick Matters and Grant Daniel won the tightest set of the day against the pairing of Liebelt and Carmody, taking it 9-8, while Kapunda ladies Tabatha Mackenzie and Sarah Johnson both cruised to 6-0 singles wins.
Xavier Saints travelled to Nuriootpa in a clash between the league’s top-two sides, with the hosts escaping with a tight nine sets to seven win.
As usual, the Xavier Saints ladies brought their A-game, taking six of a possible eight sets, including all four doubles up for grabs.
Breanna Fay (6-1) and Kate Schmidt (6-0) grabbed the two crucial ladies singles sets for Nuriootpa, which proved to be the difference in the end.
The Nuri men, however, were the ones that stole the show.
Winning seven of a possible eight sets, Alexander Reincke and Timothy Grace both went an undefeated 3-0 on the day to guide the league-leaders into a two-win lead on top of the ladder.
Ladders:
Division one P W L D Pts
Nuriootpa 12 9 2 1 19
Xavier Saints 12 7 4 1 15
Kapunda 12 6 5 1 13
South Lyndoch 12 0 11 1 1
Division two P W L D Pts
Xavier Saints 12 11 0 1 22
Willaston 12 5 5 2 11
Tod St 12 3 7 2 7
Lyndoch 12 2 9 1 4
Division three P W L D Pts
Lyndoch 12 9 3 0 18
Two Wells Red 12 8 3 1 17
Trinity 11 8 2 1 17
Xavier Saints 12 6 5 1 13
Virginia 11 4 7 0 8
Two Wells W 11 4 7 0 8
Willaston 12 3 8 1 7
Willaston U 11 2 9 0 4