CAS Tennis Round vs Cranbrook

The Combined Associated Schools, Summer tennis competition, commenced last weekend with our first-round fixture against Cranbrook. It was a very competitive but enjoyable fixture, and it was excellent to see both schools competing to the best of their ability in a friendly and sportsmanlike way. Congratulations to the 1st IV, 9B and Ds and the 8As who were able to register good wins on the day.

The 1st IV played away at Cranbrook, and as usual the fixture was a very hotly contested battle from the first ball struck. After completion of the doubles the scores were locked at two sets apiece. Our first doubles pairing comprising Max Knauer (12Ho) and newcomer Mitchell Reid-Queeney (12Ar) won both their sets including the crucial second set tiebreaker that kept our team in contention early. Their desire to win and overall temerity proved to be the telling factor, along with their good communication and match planning. Max’s aggressive ground strokes and difficult serve were complimented by his partner’s great net play which made it very difficult for the opposition to take a foothold in the contest. On the adjacent court, our second pairing of James Kim (12Ar) and Finn Taylor (11La) unfortunately lost both sets against a quality pairing. However, they showed numerous excellent passages of play throughout and I am sure they will improve dramatically over the course of the next few weeks. All players did extremely well in their singles play and should be commended for winning all sets contested. Overall, it was a solid team effort and a good start to the season. Well done, boys!

The second IV after their good win against Newington in the trial match last week, found themselves up against a solid Cranbrook opposition. Despite the score line reading a 1-7 deficit, the encounter was a lot closer in reality. For example, our younger pairing of Nathan Tsang (10Du) and Chris Lowe (10Ho) showed a huge amount of potential in their two very close doubles sets and I am quietly confident that this result will be reversed in the return fixture. Nathan was also extremely competitive in his singles losing narrowly 4-6. The first pairing of Angelo Shi (11Sc) and Domenic Furfaro (11Ar) must be commended for winning the team’s only set after digging deep in their second doubles set. Playing against a younger, brash combination they refused to concede and held strong at crucial times to register the win.

Jeremy Dykgraaff | MIC Tennis

 

3rd and 4th IV Report

The 3rds and 4ths fixture against Cranbrook was a vastly different affair from the trial round the previous Saturday. There was nothing terribly even about this affair. Cranbrook were just too good.

That said, in the 3rds, George Nicholas (11WJ) and Aleks Gavrilovic (11Yo) fought hard in the first doubles match and were seriously competitive. Unfortunately, neither was able to replicate the resistance in the singles match. Thankfully, the other two players in the 3rds, Mark Charas (11Ho) and James Chan (10La) were able to make their singles contests an arm wrestle and are to be commended on doing so. James struck many beautiful forehands, and Mark played the most Djokovic-esque down the line backhand passing shot I have seen in a long time. That the boys were unable to secure a set doesn’t quite reflect the relative abilities of the players, but it does indicate just how consistent and skilful the Cranbrook players were. The 4ths had a much tougher time of it, and the matches were more one-sided, but the boys are to be commended on never giving up and on representing Trinity as they should. The return round represents a significant challenge, and I trust our players will rise to it.

Ashley Lucas | Coach

 

5th and 6th IV Report

Despite the inclement weather, match play of the first CAS round got underway with a slight delay and it soon became apparent that the competition was going to be tough. Although many points were tightly contested and lots of games went to deuce, the Cranbrook players were generally more committed and were more able to win the big points and succeeded in winning the round without conceding a single set.

The 5th team was led out last week by the doubles combination of Tom North (10Hi) and Stefano Furlan (10Du) who played (and seemed to enjoy) a solid set. There were some good rallies, solid serving and impressive ground strokes. In the second doubles Charles Allison (10St) paired with Marcus Lorenzato (12Fo). These players both have good serves which they used to their advantage and they did also enjoy some great rallies and showed some good consistency and footwork. The singles matches were tougher but congratulations must go to Marcus who was initially ahead on games. As fatigue set in, more unforced errors appeared was unlucky to finally lose it in a tiebreaker 4 points to 7.

In the 6th team, Keegan Van (10St) paired with Jack O’Shea (10He), met a formidable Cranbrook doubles pair. They tried to find their groove and their consistency but struggled to overcome the more accurate match play of the opposition. Lucas Blum (10Ar) played with Oliver Dawson (12WJ) and both boys enjoyed a competitive match. There were some very nice shots played and some great tenacity and determination shown but like their teammates they found it hard to find the consistency of form required to win the important points. Congratulations to both Jack and Lucas who were very competitive in their singles matches. They both fought hard to “hang in” their matches and win three and four games of their respective sets.

Areas to work on this week: earlier shot preparation, better footwork and on-court positioning, more consistent serving and greater focus on shot choice.

Congratulations to all players on their sportsmanship and good attitude and good luck to all in their matches in Round 2.

Jessica Spratt | Coach 5th and 6th IV

 

10A and B Report

The As had a tough loss on the weekend against a very good Cranbrook side. The doubles were one-way traffic as the Cranbrook team played very consistently and put away any mistakes made by Trinity. Max Tsai (10Fo) fought hard in his singles and had some moments of brilliance, hitting some great forehands down the line. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough against his opponent. Similarly, Shan Mohan (10Ke) played bravely despite some pain in his shoulder, not giving an inch until the match was over. Josh Lee (10La) had the closest match of the fixture going down 5-7 in a gruelling contest with plenty of twists. Initially down 4-1, Josh won four games in a row to gain the lead. In the final game, with his opponent serving for the match, Josh saved numerous match points with some ice-cold baseline hitting. Lastly, George Stavrakis (10WH) played a good match but was outclassed by the Cranbrook player.

The boys will have to work hard in practice to improve their serving and consistency from the baseline.

The Bs had a slightly closer fixture with some keenly contested matches. In the doubles Alexander Liang (10Ar) and Owen Street (10La) had some good early momentum with clinical serving and net play. However, they couldn’t maintain this, and the Cranbrook pair were able to come back and win the match 6-3. Alex played well in his singles as well with some great forehands but unfortunately went down despite a great effort. Michael Hatzisteigous (10Mu) and Nikhil Akula (10La) also looked good early on in their doubles, but once again their early momentum was snuffed out by a clinical Cranbrook team. Michael should be commended for his singles performance, winning the only match of the fixture in a dominant display. Avenging the doubles loss from earlier, Michael was on a mission and never looked in doubt, winning 6-3.

Ritvik Dinesh | Coach

 

10A and B report

10Cs had some fantastic games dispersed throughout their sets. Fouad Deiri (9Fo) had two very close games in singles and doubles, with the match point coming down to a tie breaker with a fantastic rally, ending with a ball right down the line to secure a 7-6 victory. Ethan La (9La) fought hard against a fierce Cranbrook opponent with a strong serve, with some excellent receiving rallies. Ollie McComb (9He) had some excellent cross court rallies in his singles games, and Elliot Russell (9Fo) demonstrated great backhand skills. Their determination and sportsmanship were sadly not reflected in a win, but all in all it was a good vibe all round, and the boys did not let their losses impact their positivity throughout each game.

Thomas Deller (9Ho) and Felix Reddel (9Ke) played a close doubles game with Trinity continuing to keep Cranbrook on their toes by winning games, unfortunately ending in a 4-6 set. Felix won both his double serving games and is showing great improvement in his serves and rallies. Thomas was again up against a strong opponent and was unable to secure a win, but showed excellent sportsmanship throughout his singles game. Oliver StGeorge (9Ta) and Edward Layson (9Ke) also had a close doubles game, eventually coming out with a 4-6 set, with Edward demonstrating strong volleying skills, and Oliver having some excellent rallies along the baseline in both his singles and doubles games. All boys are showing some strong individual skill development.

Stephany Boyce | Coach

 

9A and B Report

The Year 9 As and Bs played their first set of matches against Cranbrook last Saturday. The As had a difficult encounter, going down four sets to two, while the Bs won their round by the same margin.

The highlight in the As was Ishaan Sharma (9Ar), who won a close singles match 7-5. Ishaan displayed clinical volleying on his way to victory. The other win came in the A3/4 doubles, where Toby Zuzza (9Ho) and Ashvin Nagartnam (9Yo) won 6-4. The difference came in the boys winning key points, including several back and forth rallies, where all four players were at the net. Also of note was A1 player, Noah Figliuzzi (9Fo). Despite going down in both singles and doubles, Noah hit some almost unreturnable serves, some of which even earned commendation from his opposition.

The Bs started off with both sides trading victories in the doubles. Mention should go to Axel Lee (9Yo) and Leo Wong (9WJ), who won their doubles in commanding fashion with a final score of 6-1. Axel backed up this effort in the singles with a 6-1 win in singles, including some well-timed drop shots which caught his opponent off guard. Dara Ritchley (9Ho) won his singles 5-3 before play had to finish due to time. The performance of the day came from Sacha Ratnavadivel (9Du). At one point, Sacha was down 5-1 in his singles match. Sacha demonstrated great determination and won four consecutive games to bring the scoreline to 5-5. The match would go to a tiebreak, which Sacha ended up winning 7-4. Sacha’s singles victory also secured the overall win for his team this round.

Thomas Thorpe | Coach

 

9C and D Report

If anyone has watched the Amazon Prime series Sydney Luxe Listings, you would know quite a few of the homes are based around Rose Bay. This would be our home for the next two hours, battling a tough Cranbrook side in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The Cs performed diligently, with Joshua Lubke (9Ta) and Alexander Hales (9Ar) winning their singles matches 6-1 and 6-3 respectively. However, we were outdone by some quality Cranbrook doubles play, and finished the fixture with a 2-4 set and 21-29 game loss.

The Ds were on fire, though, outclassing their opponents in every fashion. In the end, we finished the day with a whitewash 6-0 win in sets and 36-16 win in games. Notably, Aston Tran (9WH) won his singles 6-2 with Geordie Brown (9Ta), Gavin Qian (9Du) and Judah Krishnamoorthy (9Ke) winning their singles 6-3. I wish the Cs and Ds the best of luck for next week!

Kevin Batliwala | Coach

 

8A and B Report

The 8As played a close series of matches over the weekend. Ryan Qin (8Yo) and Marcus Kuit (8Ho) played a dominant doubles match, easily beating out their opponents 6-1. Nathan Della Torre (8Yo) narrowly missed out on a win in his singles despite a good showing and Lucas Preston (8WH), who despite an impressive forehand, was also unable to win. Overall a great effort from the 8As.

The 8Bs on the weekend were part of an intense battle, but unfortunately just missed out on a win. Ollie Jessop (8We) and Lucas Davies (8Ta) played an impressive series of matches, winning their doubles and their respective singles with their consistency and power. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Orlando Ang (8WJ) and Nicholas Servos (8Sc) were not able to claim a victory against their much more powerful opponents.

Sunny Tang | Coach

 

8C and D Report

The 8Cs played a fierce opponent over the weekend. While Sebastian Musumeci (8Ke) and Peter Papadopoulos (8He) played a few fantastic shots, they lacked the consistency and unfortunately lost their doubles matches. Similarly, Domenico Pangallo (8Ke) and Ben Loughnan (8Ke) were also unable to win their matches. However, all the boys put up a tremendous fight and must be commended for their efforts.

The 8Ds were unfortunately unable to claim victory on the day, fighting against a much stronger opponent. Jared Chan (8Mu) and Sam Telfer (8He) played a strong doubles set, but were beaten out by the power and speed of their opponents. While Alex Rabey (8He) and Tanner Hitay (8WH) also put up a close fight, they were yet again beaten by the consistency of their opponents. Despite the loss, all of the boys must be commended for their persistence and perseverance.

Sunny Tang | Coach