Tennis: Women win as rain halts men

Rotorua number one Shaun Tamai in action during a doubles match on Saturday against Gate Pa. The match was later rained out. Photo / Ben Fraser

Awful conditions end chance of finishing match

The Rotorua women's tennis team have picked up their second win of the season, while the men's team had to postpone their match following terrible weather in Rotorua.

The Rotorua men's team began their doubles matches against Gate Pa (Tauranga) on Saturday, at the Rotorua Tennis Club, before rain and hail forced them from the court.

The Rotorua men's team - Shaun Tamai, Lionel Rogers, James Wilce and Ryan Beamish - were ahead in one match and tied in the other doubles match when they decided to postpone the fixture.

The two teams will meet again this Saturday in Rotorua to conclude the match-up.

Meanwhile, the Rotorua women's team also faced wet and windy conditions in Tauranga on Saturday, but managed to finish their match against Gate Pa. The 4-2 victory means the Rotorua women's team stay undefeated this season.

The two teams shared the doubles matches with Rotorua's Leona Davis-Kaye and Pang Suwanaposee losing their match against Gate Pa's Lindy Underwood and Janis Smith 6-2, 6-3.

Rotorua's other pairing of Aliya Edwards and Zanna Douglas convincingly beat their opponents Marietta Duffy-Burgess and Phoebe Adler 6-0, 6-2.

In the singles matches, Suwanaposee lost her match against Underwood in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.

Meanwhile, Douglas' solid hitting proved too strong for Smith, winning 6-3, 6-0.

Davis-Kaye's experience and ability saw her overcome teenager Adler 6-4 in the first set, before a tight second set went to a tie-breaker which Davis-Kaye won 7-6.

Rotorua's Edwards' powerful play saw her beat Duffy-Burgess 6-2, 6-4 to win the match-up for Rotorua.

Rotorua's team captain Davis-Kaye said weather conditions were pretty tough for tennis but she was glad her team were able to complete the tie and come away with another win.

Here are the results from the Waikato Bay of Plenty interclub premier competition on Saturday:

Men's: Rotorua v Gate Pa - match postponed; Women's: Rotorua 4 Gate Pa 2.