Rotorua women's Debra Dowland impressed for her side on the weekend. STEPHEN PARKER.
Rotorua women's Debra Dowland impressed for her side on the weekend. STEPHEN PARKER.
Rotorua have continued their impressive run of form in the Waikato Bay regional premier senior interclub tennis competitions.
The Rotorua women cemented their place at the top of the standings - kicking off the second round of this season with a narrow 8-6 sets win over a tough Gate Pa away on Saturday.
The highlight games for the local side included Rotorua's Debra Dowland 6/2 6/0 demolition of Gate Pa's Analise Wong and captain Leona Kaye-Ivitu 6/0 6/1 thrashing of the home side's Kelly Hubert.
Kaye-Ivitu said she was "delighted" with the result in difficult playing conditions and thatthe key to her winning result was attacking Hubert's backhand.
"I'm really happy we pulled it out the bag - this is certainly the closest result so far this season," she said.
"It was tough going for the squad in wet and windy weather. I just told players to focus and use the wind to their advantage when they could.
"I made sure to use my experienced head in my singles. I just went for her backhand and kept targeting it. The move paid off at crucial moments."
Rotorua are on track to reclaim their 2014 crown - unbeaten after four games, topping the table on 23 points, with Kaye-Ivitu saying complacency was the side's only potential hurdle.
"The closeness of this match shows that we have to be focused throughout and each set counts," she said.
"The only thing that will stop us winning the title is ourselves."
The Rotorua-Lynmore men's first team enjoyed a more relaxed win - thumping Cambridge 5-1 away on Saturday.
Rotorua's Jesse Galvin-Dawson particularly impressed with a hard fought 7/5 7/5 win in his singles and a 6/2 6/3 doubles win with partner and Rotorua-Lynmore captain Shaun Tamai.
Rotorua-Lynmore men's Jesse Galvin-Dawson won both his games on Saturday. Photo/File.
"We were strong throughout the team and we all had trust in each other's abilities," Tamai said.
"Jesse was made to dig deep in both sets but he stuck in there and at the vital moments produced the goods."
The result leaves Rotorua-Lynmore top in the men's standings, with one more game to go in round one of the competition - the side aiming for their third consecutive season title.
"We want to put ourselves in the best possible situation going into the Christmas break and we are certainly on track to do that," said Tamai.
Meanwhile, the Rotorua Lynmore men's second team moved up to second in the table after beating Hamilton 5-1 away on the weekend.
