25 November 2014 | Tennis Victoria

It was another impressive evening at the Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards last night at Crown Palladium, and a successful night for Victorian Tennis.

Young tennis star Destanee Aiava (Narre Warren) was named Female Junior Athlete of the Year.

After several appearances as a finalist, highlighting his consistency, it was Tom Sweeney’s (Benalla) night, claiming is first Excellence in Officiating.

With two tournaments nominated for awards, Bendigo Tennis were please to take home the Most Outstanding Australian Ranking Tournament for the McDonald’s Bendigo Classic.

ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Coach Tim Connelly (Newport) was rewarded for the great work he does promoting Hot Shots and encouraging kids to play tennis receiving the Coaching Excellence – ANZ Tennis Hot Shots award.

At the elite end of the sport, Shannon Nettle (Mordialloc), was recognised for the work he has done with Newcombe Medallist finalist Casey Dellacqua, adding his name to the Coaching Excellence – High Performance honour roll.

One of the highlights of the evening for Victoria was Tennis Knox (Wantirna South) being awarded the Most Outstanding Tennis Community, presented by Medibank. Tennis Knox is a new initiative that saw all tennis clubs in the Knox City Council working together with Council to promote tennis to the community and provide welcoming environments for participants.

Simply honored to be finalists, they were blown away by the win. When congratulated on the award, Eric Beeston stated “I’m speechless, it hasn’t sunk in, and it’s been such a big year.”

As winners of this award, Tennis Knox received $25,000 from Medibank to invest back into their community.

Janet Young (Melbourne), was honoured during the evening along with her 1974 Australian Fed Cup team mates, when they commemorated the 40^th anniversary of their title win.

Congratulations to all who were recognised on the evening.

The full list of award winners is as follows:

Newcombe Medal Nick Kyrgios – Canberra, ACT

President’s Spirit of Tennis Award Carol Langsford – Collaroy Beach, NSW

Female Junior Athlete of the Year Destanee Aiava – Narre Warren, Vic

Male Junior Athlete of the Year Thanasi Kokkinakis – North Adelaide, SA

Coaching Excellence – Club Craig Louis – Gunnedah, NSW

Coaching Excellence – ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Tim Connelly – Newport, Vic

Coaching Excellence – Talent Development Graeme Brimblecombe – Graceville East, Qld

Coaching Excellence – High Performance Shannon Nettle – Mordialloc, Victoria

Most Outstanding Club Morningside Tennis Centre (Queensland Catholic Lawn Tennis Association) – Morningside, Qld

Most Outstanding School Parkes Public School – Parkes, NSW

Most Outstanding Tennis Community Tennis Knox – Wantirna South, Vic

Most Outstanding Professional Tournament Hutchinson Builders Toowoomba International – Toowoomba, Qld

Most Outstanding Australian Ranking Tournament McDonald’s Bendigo Classic – Bendigo, Vic

Excellence in Officiating Tom Sweeney – Benalla, Vic

Most Outstanding 35+ Tennis Senior Ros Balodis – Flynn, ACT

Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability Adam Kellerman – St Ives, NSW

Volunteer Achievement Award Wendy Hudson – Laurieton, NSW