The Section 6 Maccabi men's team were defeated 6-0 by Caulfield Rec in the Grand Final on Saturday. Up against a very strong team featuring coaches, the Maccabi team put in a fighting performance. It was a great season overall for Jan Tenenberg, Ryan Behr, Steven Bendel, Adam Needleman, Daniel Henquin and Zvi Schweitzer. Henquin was overseas for the decider and captain Needleman sustained en elbow injury. A legion of Maccabi fans was in attendance to support the team.

The Section 6 Maccabi Grand Finalists L to R: Zvi Schweitzer, Adam Needleman (captain), Steven Bendel, Ryan Behr and Jan Tenenberg. Not pictured: Daniel Henquin

The Maccabi Section 6 Grand Finalists were presented with pens as runners-up. L to R: Steven Bendel, Adam Needleman and Ryan Behr

Section 6 Grand Final Caulfield Rec 6-8-56 def Maccabi 0-0-26

Jan Tenenberg/Steven Bendel 2-6 2-6
Ryan Behr/Adam Needleman 4-6 1-6
Jan Tenenberg 4-8
Ryan Behr 4-8
Steven Bendel 6-8
Zvi Schweitzer 3-8

In what would have been a pennant flag most seasons, it was not to be. After a great season with success built on the very even nature of every player, we lost in the final match of the season. Even this was a solid effort as our opponents were unbeaten all season with their number 1 and number 2 players also being unbeaten all year. The top two had UTRs above 8.4 and their number four had a UTR of 7.1 for singles and 7.88 for doubles. They nominated for section 3 and were horrified to get section 6.

All said and done I was very proud of how our team applied themselves all season in what was a very even competition apart from Caulfield Rec. Our wins sometimes resulted from fantastic efforts from Jan Tenenberg and Ryan Behr at the top of the order and sometimes from Daniel Henquin and Zvi Schweitzer lower down the order but who could forget the acrobatics of Steven Bendel in his doubles swatting high volleys away for winners like a ninja. Everybody contributed and we all got on famously making this a successful season in every respect.

- Adam Needleman