The Wanganui representative tennis squad are halfway through their season goal to break the record for the longest tenure with the Christie Cup after a committed performance to defeat Taranaki 16-8 at the Basset St courts yesterday.
Despite facing just about the strongest squad possible from New Plymouth in theirNo1 seed Jordan Fleming through to nationally ranked young players like Caleb Fleming, Louise Waite and Jayden Harrison, Wanganui held the edge 7-5 at the completion of the 12 singles matches to put themselves in the drivers seat by mid afternoon.
Key man Kyle Butters comfortably beat Jordan Fleming, while there were clutch wins up and down the card from the likes of Simon O'Leary and Patrice Mahey, who injured his ankle and was replaced by Michael O'Callaghan for the doubles matches.
Last year, without Butters and O'Leary, Wanganui lost all their men's games against Taranaki.
Top player Leela Beattie, Paris Butters and Cayla McIlroy, despite injury, won their singles games on the women's side.
The two game buffer was looking solid given Paige Hourigan had just flown in from Auckland that morning to take her place in the doubles games, while NZ veteran player Karen Cranston was also acting as a doubles specialist.
"It was good to see Paige made it, and she flew in at 11am," said manager Sean Edmonds, who had carefully worked through the draw to place his top players in positions to secure the most success in the hunt to reach the 12 victories to keep the cup.
"They've pretty much got their wins and losses [targeted].
While Wanganui does rely on a handful of stars, those can only get so many wins, and given key men's player Kurt McNamara was a late withdrawal, someone from the next tier had to step up.
Enter Taylor Quirk, back home on holiday break from Otago University.
Quirk defeated Graeme Mitchell in a tough three-setter 1-6 6-3 6-1, then teamed with Butters to get a crucial doubles win over the Fleming boys.
"I haven't played in a long time, it's good to get out there and represent the province," Quirk said.
"It's a good team culture here."
There was some discussion about whether it was a good idea for Wanganui's top players to team with their lower seeds and risk narrow losses, instead of making stronger combinations to guarantee some success while outright sacrificing other games.
In the end, the blending worked well as Wanganui won the doubles 4-2 to be almost home with an 11-7 advantage entering the mixed doubles.
"It's just tactics. We thought about it the last couple of days, the manager thought about it," Quirk explained.
Wanganui then put it away with a dominant display in the mixed doubles, winning 5-1, despite Kyle Butters losing his perfect record as he and mother Tara lost on a second set tiebreak.
Treise Graham during her doubles victory with Paige Hourigan over Taranaki's Bailey Bruckner and Sue Oldfield.
Edmonds, as first year manager, was very pleased his allocations had worked well.
"It ironed out good. It doesn't take much.
"The girls dominated again, which was a plus, a bonus."
The play of the men was also vital, especially without Hourigan available for the singles section to guarantee another win.
Christie Cup has been played for continuously since 1926 except for the period of World War II, and no province has defended it for five years.
Wanganui can break that record if they can defeat Manawatu in their next defence on January 29.
However, they will be light on stars with Kyle Butters and Hourigan returning to school in America, but Edmonds said the core of the squad will remain.
