Week 4 Results

Team National XXXX Gold have continued their dominance of the Canberra Pennants Tennis Competition recording a moral boosting win over Red Hill in freezing cold conditions at their home courts in Lyneham.

Upon arriving at the courts this reporter was shocked to find Jamie Glenn sitting upstairs at the bar watching the footy polishing off a schooner, XXXX Gold of course!!! Lets hope this doesnt put him out of favour with captain Rowdy, although it must be said it certainly helped his tennis, maybe the beer helped take away the nerves???

After this initial shock I ventured to the playing courts to find Pete and Rowdy being introduced to what i later found out were their opponents for the night - initially I must admit i thought they were some kids from the local preschool there to meet their tennis idols and offer support!!! Turned out the boys had been pitted against some young up and comers from the AIS Acadamy squad, ranging in age from 13 to 15.

After watching the 'Hot Shot' kids warm up for a while and taking notice of their consistent stroke play the boys took the courts for an interesting night of competition.

Results for Week 4
Singles
Stinky v Michael - This young 14 year old took it to Stink from the out set, serving well and hitting some quality ground strokes and volleys. After four games the scores were locked at 2 all, however Stinky began to pull apart the kids game and steam rolled through the remainder of the match to secure a crushing 6 games to 2 win. Another solid performance from the number 1 seed!!

Jamie v Annie - For the first time in the competition Jamie found himself playing with a female, and after a few nervous moments managed to grind his way to a satisfying result. Jamie seemed preoccupied at times, often seen scanning the ground looking for the teams number one supporter for encouragement, although they failed to show. At 4 all and down 0-40 on serve Jamie dug deep and came up with 5 big first serves to win the game. This appeared to break his opponents back as Jamie sealed out the match 6 games to 4. A pleasing result, although Jamie will be searching for that crowd support next week to help lift his game to the next level!!

Rowdy v Sabrina - Like Jamie, Rowdy saw himself matched against a female also. Rowdy was less kind than Jamie and although having some quality rallies with the young tennis star, he sailed easily through the match winning 6 games to 0. Another strong performance from the number 3 seed!!

Doubles
Jamie/Rowdy v Annie/Sabrina - Playing against two girls together was something the boys didnt expect to encounter until their post season party at sensations, however the boys took the most of the opportunity to post a stunning 6 games to 1 win. No highlights to speak of, although the boys did get a good laugh out of looking over to the court next to them and seeing old Cheating Chang, an opponent from round 1, up to his old tricks again and blatantly cheating against his opponent for the night. Good to see Chang is continuing to show quality sportsmanship!!!

Stinky/Rowdy v Michael/Sabrina - Going into this match the XXXX Gold boys had not dropped a game together and were full of confidence. The confidence took a quick backseat as the boys lost the first game when 13 year old Sabrina held serve. From here the boys lifted their intensity and screamed through the rest of the match winning 6 games to 1. Highlight of the match was Rowdy pulling off an almost impossible backyard winner after chasing down a lob and running into the back fence. Just goes to show the determination these XXXX Gold boys display every week!!!

Stinky/Jamie v Michael/Annie - After having their colours lowered in their previous 2 doubles matches together the boys were determined not to lose a third - with Jamie even being bold enough to state that he would walk home in the cold if him and Stinky lost tonight. True to their word the boys played some quality tennis to emerge victorious 6 games to 2. Captain Rowdy was ecstatic with the victory as it gave the boys full points for the night and ensured the National XXXX Gold Team stays firmly on top of the competition ladder.

So there you have it, another solid display of tennis from the XXXX Gold Team this week, cruising to a 6 sets to 0 win and only dropping 10 games for the night.
Next week sees the boys heading on their second road trip for the season as they take on the second Red Hill side, who currently sits in second place on the ladder and also undefeated. A great opportunity for the boys to test their skills against some good opposition, and open up a handy lead on the competition if they can come out victorious.