Exciting weekend of tennis reveals semi-finalists in Soffe Cup Competition

COMMUNITY SPORT: The Soffe Cup competition has reached its pivotal stage after a thrilling weekend of tennis, with Rotokare set to take on Huatoki and Okaiawa playing host to Pukekura.

These upcoming matches will determine the finalists of the competition, with all four teams showcasing their skill and determination throughout the tournament.

Rotokare hosted Huatoki and emerged as the clear victors, winning 15 out of 16 matches. The Rotokare team demonstrated exceptional talent, clearly establishing themselves as strong contenders in the competition.

In the singles matches, all Rotokare players secured victories against their opponents. Will Roberts and Blair Crowley obtained comfortable wins, while De Villiers put up a good fight against Shane Douglas, coming back from a 4-6 loss in the first set to win 6-3, 6-2.

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Oliver Kerr also had an impressive match against young Quinn Hall, winning 6-1, 6-0.

On the women’s side, Karen Cranston at the top spot beat Maria Spurdle with a score of 6-2, 6-1, and Becca Smith’s match against Hannah Siffleet was particularly exciting as she managed to win 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in a battle of fitness and skills.

The only win for Huatoki came from an interesting acquisition to the team, Canadian tennis player Christine Lilley, who played as a wildcard.

Christine being the daughter of Murray Lilley a New Zealand Squash player who was ranked within the top 10 in the world. Christine and her partner Maria Spurdle won their doubles match in a super tie-break against the accomplished Karen Cranston and Tania Atkinson.

Stratford visited Okaiawa with the mission of winning as many matches as possible to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Despite their high level of tennis demonstrated during the day, Okaiawa won 12-4, taking out Stratford’s hopes of moving forward in the tournament.

In the singles matches, Okaiawa’s Hamish Mead faced Callum Old from Stratford. Despite Mead’s higher ranking, Old managed to secure a comfortable victory, winning 6-1, 6-2.

Grant Morris of Okaiawa also suffered a loss to David White of Stratford, who won 6-4, 6-3.

On the women’s side, Jorja Symes got an impressive victory over Courtney Tippett, 6-1, 6-3, while Okaiawa’s Ruby McIntyre secured a hard-fought win against Nicole Kowalewski, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

From the doubles matches, Hamish Mead and Mark Laurence faced Callum Old and David White. Despite their best efforts, Mead and Laurence lost 6-1, 6-4. Jorja Symes and Abby Ross also won against Courtney Tippett and Nicole Kowalewski from Stratford 7-5, 6-2.

Pukekura received Waiwaka and eventually emerged victorious with a score of 11-5.

In the singles matches, Pukekura Park dominated early on, with Tomi Avery defeating Nick Creery 6-0, 6-0, and Mark Belcher defeating Nadav Golan 6-3, 6-4. However, Waiwaka fought back with Matt Verry beating Andrew Moffat 7-5, 6-0, and Karen Uhlenberg defeating Kim Pennington 6-3, 6-3.

The doubles matches were evenly matched, with both teams winning two matches.