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The Christie Cup will remain in residence at the Bassett St courts for another winter after the Wanganui senior representative team accounted for a strong Manawatu squad 16-8 in Palmerston North.
Despite losing a number of the leading female players who helped them demolish Taranaki 20-4 in December, Wanganui took the meeting away from the home side during the doubles section at the Manawatu Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday.
Down 8-4 after the singles, Manawatu could win only one of the six doubles matches in the windy conditions, with doubles play a Wanganui strength in the past two seasons.
The visitors took an untouchable 13-5 lead into the mixed doubles clashes at the end of the day, which they split with Manawatu 3-3.
Team spokesman Wilton Atkins, who is handing over the position of Wanganui development officer to Gene Ridgway, said the singles started well with all the top three seeded Wanganui men in Victor Romero, Kyle Butters and Simon O'Leary picking up wins.
The concern before the meeting was that the unavailability of five women, including nationally ranked Paige Hourigan and Emma Hayman, would prove problematic.
However, the top seeds did the business, including the recently arrived New Zealand No5, Leela Beattie.
"Beattie's 6-1 6-1 win was very impressive in her first of what will hopefully be many matches in Wanganui colours her huge serves and forehands were too hot for the previously undefeated Bridget Dickens in the No1 ladies singles," said Atkins.
The match of the day was Karen Cranston's triumph over Manawatu No2 Shanae Salisbury. Cranston, recent national champion in the 50-55 age group, needed all her big-match experience to overcome the 16-year-old Salisbury in a couple of hours, 6-7 7-6 6-0.
Salisbury won the first-set tiebreaker 11-9, then under pressure Cranston took the second-set tiebreaker 9-7, before the veteran ran away with the third set.
Atkins said it was a "warrior-like performance" by Cranston, who took a tumble and damaged a knee.
While the lower-seeded Wanganui women were not as successful, they managed to take their opposition into three sets before losing in two of the games.
Another key singles result for Wanganui was No5 Tim McKenzie also coming from behind for a three-set win over Nick Forrest, 6-7 6-1 6-3.
Atkins said McKenzie's superior fitness allowed him to take command of the final two sets.
"And when Wanganui's Paris Butters accounted for an in-form Anika Patel [6-4 6-2], the retention of the cup was almost a formality."
The men then delivered, winning all three of their doubles games, while the women won two from three to have Wanganui over the 12-game threshold from 24 clashes to retain the Cup.
Beattie, Cranston, Kyle Butters, O'Leary, and Atkins all got the trifecta by winning their singles, doubles, and mixed games, while Men's No1 Romero and partner Paris Butters narrowly missed the three-peat when they lost 9-8 in the mixed to Kurt McNamara and Samantha Rowe.
As well as keeping the Christie Cup, Wanganui got their hands on the Adidas Cup, based on the results of the top four players in games between Wanganui, Taranaki and Manawatu.
In mid-December the team also won the prestigious Jacobs Creek trophy for the hexangular tournament with Wellington, Kapi-Mana, Hutt Valley, Manawatu and Taranaki. It was the first time Wanganui had won all three trophies in a season.