Senior Club Champs 2019

Congratulations to our Waimairi Singles Club Champions:

Women’s Open  –  Jade Feneon

Men’s Open  –  – Remi Feneon

Women’s 45+  –  Alison Coats

Men’s 45+  – Chris Bruin.

The Singles Club Champs were held in splendid weather on Saturday 21st of September. The women’s events went straight to finals, whilst the men’s events were more contested, in particular the Open which attracted a field of 8.

The Women’s Open final was a family affair between Jade and Joelene Feneon. Not surprisingly, Joelene started strong whilst Jade took a little time to settle into the match, her powerful ground strokes initially not finding their mark. But settle she did, leading to a tight and hard-fought tussle. Jade, who just recently gained an S2 ranking, finally prevailed over her mother 9-7.

In the Women’s 45+, newcomer Rebecca Lang jumped to a 3-0 lead before you could say “spring has sprung”. But the experienced Alison Coats fought back hard. Both players ran everything down like spring chickens, and finally Alison secured a tight 9-7 victory over her younger opponent.

Waimairi Tennis Club club champs

In the Men’s 45+, long time contestant Chris Hadlee prevailed over his semi-final opponent to go up against Chris Bruin in the Final. The match went up and down, both Chris’ having patches of domination followed by complacency. Perhaps they were drifting off with the spring fragrances, or was it the smell of the BBQ? Chris Bruin eventually emerged triumphant, the score line again 9-7.

Chris and Chris

Remi Feneon was the number 1 seed in the Men’s Open, and his entry drew much interest and no doubt increased participation. Indeed, the young ones lined up like possums in the headlights in a bid to take on the tall French Man.  Early rounds were hard fought, in particular the long match between training partners and coaches Josh Murrison and Rafa Goesmann. The long, gritty rallies from the baseline provided much entertainment for the onlookers, who were by now tucking into the sausages. Despite the completely still conditions, Remi sailed through his early matches. Richard Franks put up a good fight, the match illustrating the advantage of height for serving, and that even tall men can move around the court well. Frank Cochran was next, playing Remi in the Semi, but despite his elegant backhand and tenacity, Frank’s exit was assured. The final then was Rafa versus Remi in the superb evening conditions on the purple courts. Remi’ s serving and power proved too much for Rafa, who was perhaps a little worn from the marathon against Josh. Remi secured victory with a reasonably clinical 9-2 score line.

Frank and Remi

WTC Club Champs prizes

And so a successful day of competitive tennis came to an end. The club captains would like to thank all participants and spectators for their enthusiasm and contribution. We look forward to building on this year’s success with increased participation and more sausages next year!

Cassandra Hinton and Johnathan Tilley