30 November 2020 | Tennis Tasmania

The sun was out for the Tennis North vs North West Tennis League Challenge in Launceston on Saturday 21 October, with almost 100 competitors from a wide range of clubs in the two regions taking to the courts at Tennis World Launceston and the Newstead Tennis and Squash Centre.

Consisting
of five divisions, the event was taken out by Tennis North, who claimed the
A-Grade, Ladies and Junior divisions respectively to record a 3-2 win in front
of strong crowds.

North West Tennis League committee member Shaun Summers hailed the Challenge as a success, highlighting the strong support the day received from players, volunteers and families.

“The
weather was magnificent and everyone had a good day,” he said.

“Players have been ringing up and saying how much they enjoyed playing competitive tennis against players they’d never faced before.”

Tennis North President Craig Boyce echoed Summers’ sentiment, and is optimistic of a similar event including players from the Hobart region together in the near future.

“The
feedback I’ve received from players in all divisions has been very positive,
and there was a great buzz around both venues, culminating in the social
barbeque,” he said.

“The match
between Ben Barnett and Sam Whitehead was as good as any match I’ve seen in
Tasmania for a long time.”

“We’re hoping for a similar day involving players from the South of the state this summer.”

Standout
players from each division on the day were voted on by opposing team captains,
and were as follows:

TENNIS NORTH
A-GRADE: Jake Elmer
A-RESERVE: Dave Beattie
LADIES: Ali Lapham
FIFTY-PLUS Mark Munnings
JUNIORS: Arwen Koesmapahlawan

NORTH WEST TENNIS LEAGUE
A-GRADE: Sam Whitehead
A-RESERVE: Riley Barnard
LADIES: Anna Peake
FIFTY-PLUS: Chris Chandler
JUNIORS: Alex Martin