On a perfect autumn day, two out of seven Maccabi teams won.

Last week, a number of players enjoyed their first competitive match for Maccabi as Pennant base players -  Lior Rauchberger, Jay Landau, Aden Minaker, Daniel Brami, David Cropman and Jonathan Krywicki.

This week, there were also Maccabi Pennant debuts for promising lefthander Henry Orner and father-son duo Russell Golden and Blake Golden, while Jonathan Lubetzky played his first singles match for Maccabi.

Tennis Victoria Winter Pennant

Grade 5 Section 3 Maccabi 4-4-48 defeated East Malvern 2-4-41

Jonny Henquin/ Marty Schwarz 6-2 6-7 10-8
Daniel Sneider/ Gilad Nagar 3-6 4-6
Jonny Henquin 8-4
Marty Schwarz 8-2
Daniel Sneider 5-8
Gilad Nagar 8-6

On a beautiful sunny day, the team battled through six competitive rubbers. Jonny and Marty opened with a thrilling win in the doubles (Jonny once again playing the role of the local hero). After a brief lapse cost them the second set tie breaker, Jonny and Marty edged a tight match tie break 10-8 after being down 3-8. Daniel and Gilad fought hard in their doubles match but went down in straight sets. In singles, Jonny delivered a confident 8-4 win, while Marty played well for an 8-2 victory. Daniel put up a strong fight but narrowly lost 5-8. With the day on the line, Gilad showed great composure to clinch a tight 8-6 win, sealing a hard-fought team victory. A fantastic all-round effort.

- Marty Schwarz

Grade 7 Section 4 Maccabi 3-3-42 defeated by Wellington  3-5-45

Ryan Sharp / Damon Flicker 6-2 3-6 10-4
Rob Minc / Geoff Rosenberger 7-6 5-7 10-4
Rob Minc 5-8
Geoff Rosenberger 6-8
Ryan Sharp 2-8
Damon Flicker 8-0

Away in Mulgrave on a perfect autumn afternoon we came up just short against a young side brimming with talent. 

We were given a rude shock when both doubles headed to a super tie break considering this is where we have a distinct advantage. Prevailing in both gave us a golden start.

In the cousins match, an errant ball floated over the fence and got caught in a tree, unable to be retrieved. Comic episodes occurred as the home side stubbornly wanted to continue with only one ball (not opening a new can or finding an equivalent).

Being down on form, they let the 2nd set slip. However, it takes a monumental effort to beat these two and that was never going to happen.

In the other doubles, Rob showcased his elite talent from all parts of the court. It is no exaggeration to say that his volleying is exceptional. Levels above most players.

But even that was almost not enough to get the win! Geoff (happy to play a support act) hardly conceded a baseline rally ,and the two combined for a hard fought win.

To the singles, where we required a minimum of 2 to secure the win.

Our young opponents relishing the chance to showcase their skills, prevailed with 3 of the 4 rubbers.

Ryan was in it early but was outgunned by a big hitter who played high risk tennis which paid off.

Damon was in cruise control not conceding a game to give us hope.

Rob was just off the pace but very competitive. Whereas Geoff, tried hard, but couldn't sustain the level required and fell agonisingly short.

Good news is, we are very competitive and the standard of tennis is proving to be very high.

Looking forward to next week!

- Geoff Rosenberger

Grade 8 Section 3 Maccabi  2-2-34 defeated by Burden Park 4-6-48

Lior Rauchberger/ Daniel Henquin 1-6 2-6
Ryan Behr/ Adam Needleman 6-7 3-6
Jonathon Lubetzky 3-8
Lior Rauchberger 2-2 (his opponent withdrew with a calf injury . His second  forfeit in two weeks. A club record. Other clubs will be wary playing him)
Ryan Behr 3-8
Daniel Henquin 8-5

Played an even team. They all looked alike and all played similarly. Nobody had a big game but they were all tenacious with no obvious weaknesses. Solid on both sides . They were too good for us on the day as the club balls seemed to fluff up and play very slowly which played into the hands of an opposition who all were brick walls that rarely missed . A special mention to Daniel Henquin. A very tough match with many long rallies as both players tested each other mentally and physically. A good match to watch and a great match to win. Look forward to a rematch against Burden Park who are a  nice bunch of guys.

- Adam Needleman

Grade 8 Section 3 Maccabi 3-5-45 defeated East Malvern 3-3-38

Ilay Givoni/ Zvi Schweitzer 6-4 3-6 3-10
Jay Landau/ Charlie Landau 6-4 6-1
Jay Landau 4-8
Ilay Givoni 8-3
Charlie Landau 8-4
Zvi Schweitzer 4-8

At East Malvern's en tout cas, 2 sets of doubles for each pair (with the opposition having a leftie for both doubles pairs).

Ilay and Zvi a first time pairing played well to get out to a 5-2 lead. However their opponents started to step up after this point. Ilay and Zvi doing enough to win the set 6-4, before losing the 2nd set 3-6 and match tiebreak 3-10.

Jay and Charlie got off to a slow start, before they clicked into gear for a dominant 6-4 6-1 win.

Then had 4 courts for the singles.

Jay played a leftie. Many long rallies ensued, more often than not the opponent on the winning side of the point for a 8-4 win.

Ilay got the opening break, before giving it back. Down 1-2, he lifted for a 8-3 win.

Charlie was battling an injury since last week: and took great inspiration from his namesake at Carlton who was also carrying an injury (along with wanting to impress a few people at East Malvern) playing against a leftie. Charlie passed the test with flying colours for a 8-4 win.

Zvi played a young kid in year 8 who had all the shots to match Zvi. Relatively comfortable holds for 2all, but then this kid got the break for 3-2 and once he was ahead, it was hard to stop for Zvi, going down 4-8.

Overall: Great way to start the season with 2 wins out of 2! First away win of the season. We are winning, but with areas to improve, so a good place to be. Neither Ian and Joel have played yet: though Ian set to play next week.

 - Joel Rabinov

Grade 10 Section 4 Maccabi 1-1-28 defeated by Monash University 5-7-57

Daniel Goodrich / Jack Stock 2-6 1-6
Harry Orner / Ashley Raboy 6-7 1-6
Harry Orner 0-8
Daniel Goodrich 4-8
Jack Stock 9-8
Ashley Raboy 5-8

"Jack Daniels"went down 2-6 1-6. We were rusty losing crucial points hitting the net and too long despite having some good long rallies and chase downs. We just needed to execute our shots better.

Daniel couldn't get into the match. Bad start down 0-5 early though picked it up a little bit and won the next 4 games. Unfortunately, wasn't able to continue the comeback, with unforced errors costing, going down 4-8.

Ash and Henry, both left-handers in our Doubles Pair No. 2, we lost 1st set in Tie-Break (5-7) 6-7, and 2nd set we had tot many unforced errors and they played better to win 2nd Set 1-6.

In Henry's Singles as No. 1, up against James Robbs, another left hander, they were pretty well matched up with similar match styles. Unfortunately, James was more consistent which ultimately meant he was able to win 0-8 to Monash University.

Jack Stock played as No. 3 and was down 1-6, before winning a few games, managing to get to 8-8, before he had a match point against him in tiebreak, where his opposition did a Nick Kyrgios underarm serve, but to Jack's credit managed to win that point and stayed mentally focussed and take out the match 9-8 (8-6 tiebreaker).

Ashley playing No. 4, Succumbed to his opponent going down 5-8.

Overall, more consistent playing, would have helped us overcome and win, next time.

- Ash Raboy

Grade 11 Section 2 Maccabi 2-3-46 defeated by Burwood 4-5-52 

Russell Golden / Blake Golden 5-7 5-7
Aden Minaker / Jacob Nathan 1-6 6-4 4-10
Russell Golden 7-9
Aden Minaker 5-8
Blake Golden 8-4
Jacob Nathan 9-7

A very competitive performance from this group of new players. Russell enjoyed the challenge of playing the opposition number 1 in his first competitive match in about 20 years! Earlier, he teamed up with son Blake for a very close doubles match. Blake won on his Pennant debut for Maccabi - a great effort! Aden, having not played competition for a few years, is gaining match experience and put in a strong performance. It was terrific for Jacob to record a singles win too after teaming up well with Aden. 

Grade 12 Section 3 Maccabi 1-2-35 defeated by Burwood 5-6-53

Stephen Gorenstein/ Paul Kovacs 1-6 6-7
Daniel Brami / David Cropman 7-6 3-6 7-10
Stephen Gorenstein 5-8
Daniel Brami 8-4
David Cropman 2-8
Paul Kovacs 3-8

The Maccabi team came in ready for a challenge and got exactly that against a Burwood lineup packed with talent—some of whom probably should’ve been playing in higher divisions. Despite the scoreboard, it was a competitive outing and ideal preparation for next week's clash against the table leaders.

Stephen Gorenstein and Paul Kovacs kicked things off in doubles against Burwood’s strongest pair. After a rough start, dropping the first set 1-6, they regrouped and pushed the second to a tight tiebreak, just falling short.

Next door, Daniel Brami and David Cropman were locked in a battle. They edged out the first set 7-6 but couldn’t keep the momentum, eventually going down 7-10 in the deciding tiebreak. A tough loss, but full of fight against very strong opponents.

In singles, Stephen took on Burwood’s number one—a 22-year-old former top junior from India with no official local ranking. Stephen pushed him all the way, and although the 5-8 scoreline didn’t go his way, it was a match played at a high level throughout.

Daniel Brami had a breakout performance, grabbing his first singles win of the season with an impressive 8-4 result. He played smart, stayed solid, and didn’t give his opponent an inch.

David Cropman, likely feeling the effects of his earlier doubles effort, battled hard but couldn’t find his rhythm, eventually going down 2-8. Still, he showed grit right to the end.

Maccabi club legend Paul Kovacs came up against a section 2 fill-in and qualified coach with a big serve. Not intimidated at all, Paul countered with clever shot-making and classic court craft. It was pure joy watching Paul move his younger opponent around. Both players had fun in what was a good spirited contest.

 -  Daniel Brami