Otumoetai snatch win over Lawn

Otumoetai snatched a dramatic win over rivals Tauranga Lawn Blue on Saturday, with the two Western Bay premier tennis heavyweights only separated on countback.
Campbell Higgins grabbed the decisive win in the last match, with Tauranga Lawn's Jason Helms retiring injured in the final set of  the clash of the No1s.
Otumoetai veteran Jason Young took on up-and-coming 16-year-old Jamie Yates and retained his long-standing dominance, winning 7-5 6-1.
"I don't think I played my best tennis today but credit to him performing well and creating pressure," Yates said.
Young was impressed with what he saw from Yates, though he also admitted his own fitness was on the improve as he pushed towards 40.
"Jamie plays very well and I had to be on my game to beat him today," Young said.
His fitness showed through after a sensational doubles match as the chilly wind howled over the Otumoetai Tennis Club.
Young and Higgins paired up against Yates and Helms and in a two-hour thriller, the Tauranga Lawn pair triumphed in three sets 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 7-6 (10-8).
Tauranga Lawn also took out the other doubles match when Shane Marshall and Aaron Milne overcame the youthful duo of Josh White and Sam Daly 6-2 6-4.
White responded well in his singles match, however, and helped Otumoetai's fightback by beating Milne 6-3 6-2, but Tauranga Lawn's Richie Kidd came in with fresh legs, and the former Welcome Bay player overcame Daly.
Helms played some nice shots around the court in the decider but Higgins showed what a great athlete he was, coming  from behind on more than one occasion and wearing his rival down in the final set.
 The 3-all draw led to a countback with both teams winning seven sets each but Otumoetai winning 76 games to Tauranga Lawn's 66.
Otumoetai remain the only unbeaten team in the competition while it proved Tauranga Lawn's first loss.
Other games in the men's competition saw Rotorua/Lynmore beat Tauranga Lawn Yellow 5-1, with Guy Henderson and Jim Kingi grabbing the home side's only win in the doubles, while Papamoa beat Gate Pa 5-1.
Whakatane had a great tussle with Katikati, eventually winning 4-2.
In the women's division, Heidi Stewart helped  Tauranga Lawn  beat Gate Pa 4-2, coming back from a set down to beat Cassandra Kidd 3-6 6-2 6-1 in the No1 singles match.
Rotorua Panthers also won 4-2 against  Mount Maunganui.
Results
Mens premier: Tauranga Lawn Blue lost to Otumoetai 3-3 on countback (Jamie Yates lost to Jason Young 7-5 6-1, Jason Helms lost to Campbell Higgins 6-7 6-4 retired, Aaron Miln lost to Josh White 6-3 6-2, Richard Kidd bt Sam Daly 7-6 6-2, Yates/Helms bt Young/Higgins 7-6 5-7 7-6, Miln/Shane Marshall bt White/Daly 6-2 6-4); Tauranga Lawn Yellow lost to Rotorua/Lynmore 5-1 (Rob Walpole lost to Sean Martin 6-3 6-1,
Guy Henderson lost to Maui Hudson 6-2 6-2, Jim Kingi lost to Jordan Katipa 6-0 6-0, Jeff Burgess lost to Hamish Kerr 6-4 6-2, Walpole/Burgess lost to Martin/Hudson 6-1 6-0, Henderson/Kingi bt Katipa/Dean Katipa 7-5 3-6 retired injured); Papamoa bt Gate Pa 5-1 (Nick Brown bt Mike Owen 6-2 6-4, Philip Meyer bt Mike Callard by default, Jacob Carey bt Josh Newman 6-1 6-2, Mark Cameron lost to Sam Currie 6-3 6-3, Brown/Meyer
bt Owen/Newman 6-1 6-2, Carey/Cameron bt Callard/Currie 6-3 7-6); Whakatane bt Homewood Katikati 4-2 (Mark Ratana bt Anton Mitchell 6-1 6-2, Joel Barr lost to Peter O'Dea 6-3 6-4, Stew Wylds bt Kevin Wall 6-1 2-6 6-0, Paul Haslam lost to Phillip Salmon 6-4 6-3, Ratana/Haslam bt Mitchell/Gary Allwood 6-0 6-0, Barr/Wylds bt O'Dea/Salmon 2-6 7-5 6-4). Mount Maunganui bye. Points: Otumoetai 41, Tauranga Lawn Blue 32,
Rotorua/Lynmore 27, Mount Maunganui 25, Whakatane 18, Homewood Katikati 15, Papamoa 14, Gate Pa 12, Tauranga Lawn Yellow 8.
Premier women: Rotorua Panthers bt Mount Maunganui 4-2 (WeiWei Verran lost to Debbie Garea 6-3 6-2, Zanna Douglas bt Ellie Verran 6-3 6-0, Leona Kaye-Davis bt Alex Phillips 6-0 6-0, Toni Katipa lost to Jill Gordon 6-3 7-5, Verran/Z Douglas bt Garea/Phillips 3-6 6-3 6-1, Kaye-Davis/Jo Ann Douglas bt Verran/Gordon 6-4 3-6 6-2); Tauranga Lawn bt Gate Pa/Welcome Bay 4-2 (Heidi Stewart bt Cassandra Kidd 3-6 6-2 6-1,
Anita Walpole lost to Kerry Hampton 6-4 6-1, Beth Hughes bt Kelly-Marie Turei 6-1 6-2, Maureen South bt Nikki Heerschap 6-3 6-1, Hughes/South lost to Kidd/Hampton 6-1 7-5, Walpole/Suzanne Lugton bt Anna Mahon/Karen Hampton 6-1 6-2). Otumoetai bye. Points: Rotorua Panthers 34, Tauranga Lawn 21, Otumoetai 18, Mount Maunganui 16, Gate Pa/Welcome Bay 7.