The Andy Bay Originals took down the second-placed Taieri Cheetahs to all but seal the Dunedin premier club championship on Saturday.
Taieri needed a win to stay in contention and Bilal Ahmad gave them the perfect start.
Playing against the in-form Rafferty McIntosh, Ahmad was able to use the former’s pace against him, winning 6-4, 6-4.
Phil Mirfin (Originals) then continued his winning streak as he beat Kobus Faber in the battle of the veterans, winning 7-6, 6-4.
With the tie at 1-1, Daniel Lund (Originals) was all business as he beat Eli Newall 6-1, 6-0.
The pivotal match was between Jenny Mockford (Originals) and Erin O’Neill.
In a tight first set, Mockford played well in the big moments to claim it 7-6. Rolling with the momentum, Mockford freed up to win the second set and the match 7-6, 6-2.
Up 3-1, the Originals still had to get through some tough doubles to seal the tie.
McIntosh/Lund had their work cut out against Ahmad/Faber, eventually getting through 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.
The mixed doubles combo of Mockford/Mirfin then used their court craft to get past Newall/O’Neill 6-2, 6-4 to seal a 5-1 win for Andy Bay Originals.
In the other tie, Balmacewen won on countback against Andy Bay Uni.
The two women’s singles matches were split 1-1.
Billie Fraser (Balmacewen) beat Meredith Molloy 6-1, 6-4, and Jenna Bowie (Uni) beat Miranda Mirosa 4-6, 6-4, 10-4.
The match of the tie was between Hugo Barsby (Balmacewen) and Marwan Samy.
Samy was unbeaten in interclub singles matches and looked likely to continue that streak as he won the first set 7-5.
However, Barsby’s improved movement and consistency helped him draw errors from Samy and win the second set 6-4.
The final set super tiebreak featured Barsby holding his nerve to win it 10-8.
Uni were able to even up the singles matches as Tom Cairns beat Nick Cutfield 2-6, 7-6, 10-3.
The last two doubles were then split between the teams. Fraser/Mirosa (Balmacewen) beat Bowie/Molloy 6-1, 7-5 and Samy/Cairns beat Barsby/Cutfield 6-3, 1-6, 10-7.
The final result was a countback win on sets for Balmacewen.
— Paddy Ou
