PREMIUM
Sport

Shepparton District Tennis Association has top two sides into grand final

Winning hand: Shepparton North's Louise Dwyer went perfect in a tightly-contested semi-final win. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

The Shepparton District Tennis Association pennant grand final launches this Saturday after the semi-finals at the weekend.

The top two sides all season, McEwen Reserve and Shepparton North, will duke it out at Central Park Tennis Club for the premiership after both advanced as favourites.

Minor premier McEwen Reserve got the job done in style, taking the first three sets virtually uncontested at home to Central Park as Tim Comer and Tanner Hunter continued their season-long dominance.

Central Park top seed Jess Pottenger took care of her business through the middle portion of the day, restoring some semblance of a chance on the scoreboard.

With the ledger squared after a string of defeats and three sets to play, McEwen Reserve flexed its muscle one more time to sweep the remaining contests and advance 6-42 to 3-26.

On the neighbouring courts at McEwen Reserve, an upset appeared on the cards early when Karramomus' Thomas Jeffery and Shane Harrington snatched the opening set against Shepparton North.

Still trailing a set after three, Shepparton North rode the strength of Louise Dwyer to a powerful streak of four wins, sewing the contest up with time to spare despite dropping the final two with the result already beyond doubt.

The 5-45 to 4-34 win sets up the expected grand final, given that McEwen and Shepparton North were far and away the form sides in this year's pennant.

The two teams only completed three of their five scheduled meetings in season 2023-24, with McEwen victorious on each occasion.

The A1/A2 division gears up for a pair of deciders this weekend as McEwen Reserve prepares to host even more finals.

The upper half's grand final has top seed McEwen Reserve Green meet Murchison Gold after contrasting scorelines had Green breeze by McEwen Red, while Murchison Gold rallied back late to conquer Shepparton North.

Kialla Park Old Students will meet Lemnos in the lower half's grand final after both sides strolled through their semi-finals Saturday night.

There were no easy routes to the A3 decider with two near-identical scorelines in its semis — though the two higher-ranked sides scraped through.

Both ties were alive deep into these matches, but St Andrew’s and Central Park eventually progressed to the division's final day in hard-fought fashion.