On an ideal day for tennis, 2 out of 6 teams managed a win. One more week before the Kings Birthday long weekend.

Tennis Victoria Winter Pennant

Grade 5 Section 3 Maccabi 4-7-56 defeated Beaumaris 2-3-37

Max Needleman/ Jordan Jaffe 8-2
Rob Minc/ Steve Gostin 5-8
Max Needleman 7-5 6-4
Jordan Jaffe 6-2 6-0
Rob Minc 2-6 4-6
Steve Gostin 6-4 6-0

Playing at Beamaris, we started with the doubles. Max and Jordan started slow but gained momentum throughout the match to win 8-2. While Rob and Steve struggled to get going, not playing their best tennis and going down 8-5. In the singles, in his first game for the season, Max had a tough 2 hour battle consisting of lots of long rallies, but continued to win the big points - leading to a straight sets win. Jordan played smart and tactical tennis to play to his opponent's weaknesses, leading to a very good win. Unfortately for Rob, it just wasn't his day, although he came close in the 2nd set, he was just never able to get going. While, after waiting 2 hours to play and only getting on at 4:15pm, Steve didn't disappoint- playing some exceptional tennis and making sure we could all leave before 6pm.

Another good win for our team, ahead of the top of the table clash next weekend.

- Jordan Jaffe

Grade 7 Section Maccabi 3-4-46 defeated by Hurlingham Park 3-6-53

Jess Flicker/ Jamie Muscatel 8-6
Geoff Rosenberger/ Jan Tenenberg 6-8
Jess Flicker 3-6 6-3 (9-11)
Geoff Rosenberger 3-6 1-6
Jamie Muscatel 6-1 5-7 (10-7)
Jan Tenenberg 2-6 6-4 10-4

Perfect tennis conditions but unfortunately not the result we were after. 7th vs 8th but there was quality tennis all round belying the ladder positions.

Jess and Jamie in a lop sided doubles led 4-0 before being down 6-4 (and 30 0). A great fightback to win a close one.

Jan and Geoff both missed golden opportunities in a competitive match up and will rue the loss.

In the singles Jess is his own worst enemy. His opponent was no slouch, but Jess controlled the play for most of the match. Agonisingly close (conceding 1 match point at 9-8) a superb perfomance nonetheless.

Jamie was on the other court and is really lifting his match play. He dominated his opponent early and if not for some regulation volleying would have won in straight sets. He bolted in the super only to have the gap closed. A steady finish and one to be proud of.

Geoff played a teenager who was relentless on both wings. The 1st set was very intense and lasted well over an hour. Unfortunately Geoff couldn't maintain the same standard in the 2nd whilst his opponent was ruthless hardly making any errors.

Jan has been facing his own demons of late and after a horrible first set it seemed like he was on the path for a long hiatus. To his credit he dug deep and found a way to take the 2nd before crusing in the super to claim a moral victory amd one which he can turn to as proof that he can actually play!

- Geoff Rosenberger

Grade 8 Section 3 Maccabi 1-3-40 defeated  by Drouin 5-7-50

Ryan Behr/ Steven Kleytman 6-8
Ilay Givoni/ Gilad Nagar 5-8
Ilay Givoni  2-6 6-2 6-10
Gilad Nagar 3-6 1-6
Ryan Behr 0-6 5-7
Steven Kleytman  6-1 6-0

Despite the long, long drive to country-town Drouin, setting for tennis was sensational under bright blue skies, nestled in the rolling green hills and not a breath of wind.

Standard of play was high throughout, with the lead see-sawing in doubles. A few missed chances saw the opposition 2-zip into singles. Hard fought matches by all couldn't get us a team win today - Ilay in scintillating form going down in super tie-breaker, Gilay outgunned by an impressive lefty, Ryan happy to avoid donuts, and Steve continues his winning form, dropping barely a game all season. While we're in contention, we'll need to continue to lift our game to remain competitive this season.

- Ryan Behr

Grade 9 Section 3 Maccabi 1-2-29 defeated by BLTC 5-8-54

Daniel Goodrich/ Ian Altman 4-8
Jesse Stowe-Lindner/ Jonah Stowe- Lindner 6-8
Daniel Goodrich 1-6 0-6
Ian Altman 6-0 6-0 (Forfeit)
Jesse Stowe-Lindner 3-6 1-6
Jonah Stowe-Lindner 1-6 1-6

Daniel and Ian played their number 1 pair. Poor start early 0-2. Then won the next two (2all). It went away   from them as they dropped next 2 service games for 2-5 and were playing catch-up They were able to get another two games back 4-7. In the last game of the match the opposition #2 injured his calf muscle. He wanted to continue and hopped to the service line and won the point and the match (before forfeiting just singles).

Jesse and Jonah in their early days of pennant were in a close match, however went down 6-8. 

Daniel played their more well-rounded number 1. He was solid hitter on both backhand and forehand. He wasn't giving Daniel a sniff, as everything went back in and Daniel just hit too many unforced errors.

Thanks for the Stowe Lidner brothers for filling in. There were some long rallies that were good to watch and they never gave up and fought for every point. They enjoyed it and were eager to fill in again.

The good news was our football teams won. Hopefully we can serve up something better next week. 

- Daniel Goodrich

Grade 10 Section 3 Maccabi 3-5-58 defeated Coatesville 3-5-50

Ben Pollak/ Warren Samuel 8-6
Charlie Landau/ Akash Lagad 8-4
Ben Pollak 7-6 4-6 2-10
Charlie Landau 6-1 6-0
Akash Lagad 6-7 1-6
Warren Samuel 6-7 6-7

Started with doubles, the pairings were Ben and fill in Warren and the familiar pairing of Charlie and Akash. Charlie and Akash played great tennis throughout, playing really consistent and winning 8-4 overall. Ben and Warren’s match was close throughout, only a game or 2 the difference for most of it. However Ben and Warren were able to play the percentages well especially late where they won 8-6.

In singles, Charlie won very convincingly in a very impressive performance. Warren gutsed it out in a very tight contest, however couldn’t get over the line, losing in 2 tiebreak sets. Akash, against a consistent and young player, was in a very close contest early, unfortunately losing the first set in a tiebreak. In the second set however his opponent got the ascendancy and was able to win the second set 6-1. Ben, in another very close singles game, similar to his match 2 weeks ago, was able to win the first set in a tiebreak after being down 4-2 40-15 and confirm the team win. However as the game went on, his opponent lifted and couldn’t quite get any significant momentum, losing the second set 6-4 and the match tiebreak quite easily.

Overall, very thankful for Warren Samuels filing in (first game of pennant in a few years) and awesome to get another win even if it wasn’t as convincing as we had hoped. Onwards and upwards to next week where we can hopefully have another win.

 - Ben Pollak

Grade 10 Section 4 Maccabi 1-4-41 defeated by Beaumaris 5-6-51

Daniel Vertes/Stephen Kleid 0-8 forfeit
Riley Brick/Jaxson Brick 8-4
Daniel Vertes 4-6 0-3 forfeit
Riley Brick 3-6 7-5 2-10
Jaxson Brick 4-6 4-6
Stephen Kleid 6-1 0-6 7-10

Injuries plagued the team with two of our player Vertes and Kleid needing to retire hurt.  While Kleid played valiantly through his injury to only just miss the singles win, Vertes was still unwell and had to retire hurt.  Stephen re-injured his hip early in the first set, & came close with big serves and powerful shots but he could barely move, and lost a tight tie-breaker.

Riley played a competitive battle with a rough first set missing the basic shots. With some adjustments he came back in the 2nd to go up 4-0, but lost that lead to go 4-5, then stepping up and winning the 2nd set 7-5. It was a match of momentum and by the 3rd set his  oppenent  had it all finishing him  off

Jax and Riley  fought well in the doubles controlling most of the match with a strong serve game on attack and capitalising using their strong communication and court positioning.

- Stephen Gorenstein