The Eastern under-12 team which won the Mastercarvers Trophy for the first time. Photo / Supplied
The Eastern under-12 team which won the Mastercarvers Trophy for the first time. Photo / Supplied
Promising Hawke's Bay tennis player Emma Bartram labels Danish professional and world No 2 Caroline Wozniacki as her idol.
"She's a great player and she plays fair," Bartram said.
It's fair to say Bartram, a 12-year-old Waipukurau club player, was the idol of the Hawke's Bay tennis fraternity at theweekend after winning all six of her matches for the Tennis Eastern 12s team which collected the Mastercarvers Trophy for the first time in 25 years after winning their inter-regional quadrangular tournament at the Greendale club.
One of the Iona College's Year 8 student's singles matches in particular is likely to be recalled for many seasons to come. Bartram recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to beat her Western Bay of Plenty opponent Erin Walpole 6-1, 7-6.
A fifth-year player at her club who is coached by Greendale professional Luke Donovan, Bartram beat Bay of Plenty's Isla Morrison in three sets and Waikato-Thames Valley's Sawanna McPhee 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in an entertaining tussle. She combined with Havelock North's Tamzin Buck to win all three of their doubles matches.
"This weekend was the highlight of my tennis career," Bartram said afterwards.
A second-season Eastern 12s rep, Bartram boasts a powerful forehand. She has one lesson with her coach each week and has at least two or three training sessions on her own.
With her tennis commitments finished for the season Bartram will switch to hockey mode. She will play as a midfielder for one of her school teams.
Co-coach of both Eastern teams Simon Winter was thrilled wth the results and pointed out the girls carried the boys in both age groups in terms of matches won. He was impressed with the fighting qualities displayed by Bartram.
Another highlight for Winter was the under-16 boys doubles combination of Daniel Rowe and Jonathan Fall winning a set off off their Waikato-Thames Valley counterparts, Liam Barry and Anton Shepp.
"They didn't win the match but that set was pivotal in the overall victory," Winter recalled.
"Anton is one of the country's top juniors and he and Liam were in the Hamilton Boys' High School team which won the recent Super 8 tournament," he added.
Both of Eastern's teams won their opening ties against their Bay of Plenty opponents on Saturday morning without dropping a match and this was also crucial in the overall results. On Saturday afternoon the Eastern teams took on their more fancied Western Bay of Plenty counterparts.
The Eastern under-16 tennis team which retained the Wilson Cup. Photo / Supplied
Both ties were tied in matches won but the 16s won by a countback of two sets and the 12s by a countback of 12 games. On Sunday both teams took on their Waikato-Thames Valley counterparts knowing wins would give them title honours outright.
Once again both ties were tied on matches. The 16s won by a set on countback while the 12s lost on a countback by two sets.
This meant the 12s were tied overall with Waikato-Thames Valley and Western Bay of Plenty in terms of ties won with two. The overall winner was decided by the total number of matches won and this is where the clean sweep against Bay of Plenty on Saturday played a huge part as Eastern won by two more matches than Western Bay of Plenty.
The two winning teams were:
Under-12s: River Apatu, Charlie Nash, Roark Zachary, Sebastian Bayliss, Tamzin Buck, Alex Cave, Emma Bartram, Sophie Ward. Co-coaches: Simon Winter and Luke Donovan. Under-16s: Daniel Rowe, Jonathan Fall, Sophia Nash, Lily Verhoeven. Co-coaches: Simon Winter and Luke Donovan. Results: Under-12s: Eastern 12 Bay of Plenty 0, Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty drew 6-all (Eastern won on a games countback), Eastern and Waikato-Thames Valley drew 3-all (Eastern lost on a sets countback). Under-16s: Eastern 6 Bay of Plenty 0, Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty drew 3-all (Eastern won on a sets countback), Eastern and Waikato Thames Valley drew 3-all (Eastern won on a sets countback).
