As Canberra turned up the sun dial over the weekend, so did 156 local tennis players at the annual ACT Residents Championships held at the Canberra Tennis Centre in Lyneham.
The 12/u boys singles final was one of the highlights of the tournament, as unseeded 9-year-old Northsider Stellan Lindrud upset in-form top seed, Nicholas Maleganeas from Red Hill.
Campbell’s Zac Donaldson and Bruce resident Erin Welsh took the 2016 ACT Residents Championships men’s and women’s singles titles.
A maiden men’s ACT Residents title for Donaldson, the 17-year old was thrilled to get the win, defeating former champion Nelson Parker in straight sets 4-2, 4-0.
After a two year standstill, the women’s tournament returned to Lyneham with an epic final. 32-year-old Welsh proved too strong for Franklin resident Laura Ridge, disarming Ridge 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 in a marathon match that lasted over two-hours.
Tournament Director, Jake Lalliard said the tournament had a great atmosphere.
“This year’s resident’s event was very social, yet still highly competitive, he said.
“We had some great results, including some upsets by unseeded players, so it really showed that anyone can enter the tournament and go home with a win.”
1979 women’s singles champion, Helen Holcombe returned to the tournament alongside husband Greg Holcombe from Pearce. The Southside pair showed they’ve still got what it takes, earning the mixed doubles title in straight sets.
With almost all of the matches coming down to the wire, Nicholls local Aaron Liu alongside Theodore resident, Taegan White, took the 12/u & 14/u mixed doubles combined event title, followed closely followed by Nicholas Maleganeas and Isabella Andrews from Deakin.
The final round of the resident men’s doubles event saw both teams begin strongly, holding serve. Top seeded University of Canberra students Joel Gordon and Henry Hobson proved too strong for unseeded pair Ryan Lopez and 2015 ACT Residents Singles Champion Daniel Green, winning the match 6-4.
In the 12/u, 14/u and 16/u girls combined event, Georgia Peapell and Annika Wise paired up to take the 16/u title. Victoria D’Ambrosio and Lauren Milosis won the 14/u event and Taegan White and Anneka Rogers won the 12/u title.
The 2016 ACT Residents Championships tournament featured 156 local tennis players who participated in 321 matches over three days at the Canberra Tennis Centre in Lyneham.
Open to all ACT Residents, the tournament is held annually in December, planned and operated by Tennis ACT. For more information contact Jake Lalliard on 02 6160 7805.
Check out more photos on the Tennis ACT Facebook Page.
Read related The Canberra Times story: ‘Tennis player and coach to unveil his own Chuck Norris at ACT Residents Championships’
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