IT was back-to-back titles for Kerri-Ann O’Keefe and Aiden Mibus on Saturday when they took out the Surry District Tennis Association singles A grade championships for 2022-23.
Mibus had a huge weekend, winning the A grade men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles.
The men’s singles win came against young up and comer Marcus McClintock who has shown plenty of improvement throughout the past two seasons.
Mibus made quick work of his opponent, winning the final in just two sets, 6-3 and 6-2, despite some early challenges from McClintock.
“We were even in games then I broke Marcus, then he broke me back but then I managed to break again and then serve out the game,” Mibus said.
“I played Marcus 12 months ago and he has stepped up another two notches since then.
“From the get-go I meant business, with him being young I knew he’d be a lot fitter than me so I wanted to try and get it done quickly.”
The championships are the only opportunity during the year that players get to try their hand at singles tennis locally, which Mibus makes sure is always in the calendar.
“Singles is such a different game, you have no one to blame but yourself, every mistake is on you,” he said.
“I love it though, after doing it for so long you get back into it really quickly.
“I rely a lot on my service game and that’s my biggest strength on the court so I try and keep points short.”
Mibus also claimed the men’s doubles alongside one of his singles opponents, Dan Polkinghorne, with the duo a formidable match up.
“It’s the first time Dan and I had ever played together, we play against each other a lot so I know his game well,” he said.
“It’s a completely different game but it was really good to play together, we’re both pretty solid players so if I mucked up he would fix my mistake and if he mucked up I could fix his, it allowed us to play with a lot of freedom.”
In the mixed doubles Mibus teamed up with regular season partner Brooke King and also managed to get the job done against Kerri-Ann O’Keefe and Cam McCallum in a tiebreak.
“I play with Brooke throughout the season and we also play against Kerri and Cam and it’s always a really good contest and often goes into tiebreaks,” he said.
“This was no different, it was a tough match.
“After the weekend my shoulder is definitely pretty sore, I went to the beach straight after to try and help with recovery.”
O’Keefe gets the job done against Sandeman
Kerri-Ann O’Keefe defeated regular season doubles partner Leah Sandeman on Saturday in the A grade women’s singles championship.
It was a 6-5, 6-2 win for O’Keefe who finished strong after a hard-fought first set where Sandeman managed to contest each game.
O’Keefe’s win is also a back-to-back victory after claiming the same championships last year.
The singles matches were played first to eight games in the regular round robin before a best of three sets final between the two players with the most points.
The double matches were a round robin where the team with the most points claimed the match.
Results
A grade:
Men’s singles final: Aiden Mibus d Marcus McClintock 6-3, 6-2.
Men’s doubles: winners Dan Polkinghorne/Aiden Mibus; runners-up Jeremy Prevett/Marcus McClintock.
Women’s singles final: Kerri-Ann O’Keefe d Leah Sandeman 6-5, 6-2.
Mixed doubles: winners Aiden Mibus/Brooke King; runners-up Kerri-Ann O’Keefe/Cam McCallum.
A Reserve:
Men’s singles final: Andrew Reeves d Harrison Wass 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s doubles: winners Andrew Reeves/Elijah Reeves; runners-up Tony Scott/Harrison Wass.
Women’s singles final: Nyla Conheady d Jane Booth 6-5, 6-2.
Women’s doubles: winners Jane Booth/Nyla Conheady; runners-up Jasmine Dawson/Dianne Finlayson.
Mixed doubles: winners Andrew Reeves/Nyla Conheady; runners-up Jane Booth/Elijah Reeves.
B grade:
Men’s singles final: Phoenix Stewart d Remi Ropitini 6-4, 6-1.
Men’s doubles: winners Remi Ropitini/Barrie Bardoe; runners-up Phoenix Stewart/Gene Stewart.
Women’s singles final: Amali Edwards d Charlee Coates 6-0, 6-0.
Mixed doubles: winners Amali Edwards/Barrie Bardoe; runners-up Charlee Coates/Jensen Moore.
C1 grade:
Boys’ singles final: Robert Wass d Preet Patel 6-4.
Boys’ doubles: winners Robert Wass/Xander Scott; runners-up Preet Patel/Hugo Keenan.
Girls’ singles final: Lara McClintock d Emily Griffith 6-4.
Girls’ doubles: winners Lara McClintock/Chloe Jones; runners-up Eliza Moore/Nikeata Wass.
C2 grade:
Boys’ singles final: Cruz Smith d Dylan Goodman 6-2.
Boys’ doubles: results not supplied.
Girls’ singles final: Scarlett Pevitt d Finna Brok-Bardoe 6-5.
Mixed doubles: winners Claire Fahey/Xander Scott; runners-up Nikeata Wass/Robert Wass.
