Underdogs tipped to shine on court

Wairarapa tennis selector Steve Hurley has no quibbles about his side being seeded sixth for the Tennis Central Slazenger Trust House hexangular tournament to be played at the Masterton Tennis Centre over the weekend.
Seedings have been based very much on the national rankings allocated individual players and Wairarapa were always going to be at the bottom of the list under that scenario.
"Most of our women are young and inexperienced at the top level and consequently their rankings are pretty low," Hurley explained. " Quite frankly, our seeding is exactly where we thought it would be ".
Hurley is optimnistic, however, that when it comes to the action on the courts Wairarapa will punch above their
weight.
They have been drawn in the same pool as Kapi Mana and the combined Wanganui-Taranaki side who have been seeded second and third respectively overall.Only team ahead of them is Wellington who are in the other pool with Hutt Valley and Manawatu.
Hurley actually sees Kapi Mana as a major threat to Wellington for the title, spearheaded as they are by
noted singles players in Sam Vinton-Boot and Karina Bradham , and he says a Wairarapa victory over them would rate as an upset of massive proportions.
Wanganui-Taranaki, however, are an entirely different kettle of fish with Hurley hopeful Wairarapa can give them a good run for their money, and perhaps even secure the win which would have them playing off for third and fourth place on Sunday afternoon.
There is no question the strength of the Wairarapa squad lies in its men although the unavailability of well-performed professional Marcus Daniell has obviously done nothing to help their cause.His absence means Jono Hurley will head the singles order with Baden Stevenson and Matt Spooner directly under him and Chrs Schofield and Kelby Courtney battling it out for the fourth spot.A couple of old hands in Luke Atkinson and Jeff Janse are likely to be called on in doubles play.
In the women's singles it will again by Katie Wyeth who takes the number one position for Wairarapa and the hugely promising Sade Atkinson could be at two providing she gets a medical clearance for the broken finger which has sidelined her in recent weeks. Other youngsters in Zoe Schofield , Anlo Van Deveter and Dushka Warren are also in the Wairarapa line-up along with the more experienced Natasha Robinson and Rhona Lovell.
Hurley accepts any wins secured by Wairarapa in the women's singles will be seen as a bonus , not because of lack of individual. potential but because of the depth of the opposition in that department.
"Some of our players could be top liners themselves in another two or three years but right now they are up against it when it comes to singles play ," he said.
That being the case it is the doubles where Hurley sees Wairarapa perhaps making up lost ground, especially the combines where the strength of their men could be a telling factor. "We will be putting a lot of emphasis on the doubles, that's going to be a key area for us," he said.
The teams for the weekend are:-
HUTT VALLEY: Thomas McCabe, Angus White, Jacob Emery, Andrew Taylor, Denzil Boyles; Nichola Boyles, Tania Martin, Michelle Barr, Katie Farrell, Rachel Baxter.
KAPI MANA: Sam Vinton-Boot, Francis Glover, Matt Grant, Lance Wilkins, Jason Pierre; Karina Bradnam, Rheanna Wiggin, Kerry Noble, Mareta Randall, Rachel Murray.
MANAWATU: Scott Sutherland, Evan Smith, Tim Preston, Grant Elmes, Jono Spring, Michael Harris; Natalie Dean, Shaani TeMata-Frost, Pam Dransfield, Jane Brooker, Sadia Meyer, Bridget Dickins.
WAIRARAPA: Jono Hurley, Baden Stevenson, Matt Spooner, Chris Schofield, Kelby Courney,Luke Atkinson, Jeff Janse, Katie Wyeth, Sade Atkinson, Zoe Schofield, Natasha Robinson, Anlo Van Deventer, Dushka Warren, Rhona Lovell
WANGANUI-TARANAKI: Simon O'Leary, Jono Ussher, Cameron Koch, Nick Caton, Amrit Rai; Nicole Koch, Charlotte Gollen, Krystal Oakes, Karen Cranston, Linda Reid, Lisa Haden, Michelle Lowe.
WELLINGTON: Alan Ambrose, Sam Barr, James Capovilla, Rob Kirkness, Luke Piercey, Sam Piercey, Andrew Baird; Nicola Kaiwai, Kimberley Kain, Reilly Smith, Carmel Meachen, Hannah Seemann, Saravinder Pannu.