The 2023-24 Tennis SA State League season has been celebrated by the Tennis SA State League All Stars on the Limestone Coast.
Tennis SA, in conjunction with the Naracoorte Lucindale Council and Lucindale Country Club, hosted the event on Saturday 25 November 2023.
The state’s highest level competition visited regional South Australia for the third time, with eight Tennis SA State League players joining eight local tennis players to create Team Red and Team Blue.
After a rain interrupted day, Team Red claimed a six rubbers to four victory to take home back-to-back Tennis SA State League All Stars titles.
The All Stars also took part in a variety of community engagement events over the weekend. They were officially welcomed to town by students from Lucindale Area School on Friday afternoon, before visiting the Naracoorte Caves National Park for An Evening with the Stars.
Saturday began with the All Stars joining the Southern Ports Tennis Association junior competition as on-court coaches, before All Stars matches got underway surrounded by Southern Ports Tennis Association senior competition matches. An All Stars Celebratory Dinner was hosted by Lucindale Country Club on Saturday night.
Players explored the Victoria Fossil Cave at the Naracoorte Caves National Park on Sunday and enjoyed lunch at Wild Game Wine Bar and Cellar Door before returning to Adelaide.
For the first time, locals joined the red and blue teams, with junior and senior tennis (and golf) matches counting towards an overall community event. Team Red emerged victorious at the end of the day.
“The Naracoorte Lucindale Council is delighted to have had the Tennis SA State League All Stars visit our region,” Naracoorte Lucindale Council CEO Trevor Smart said.
“The weekend’s events were a spectacular showcase of not only our sporting community, but our Limestone Coast region as a whole. Our sincere thanks to all involved in making this event such a great success.
“We are proud to have been a sponsor and we thank the local community for their support.”
“One of the things that was most special about the weekend was going to Lucindale Area School,” Tennis SA State League All Star champion Hayley Riessen said.
“We ran through the guard of honour high fiving the kids. It was a very special moment for both the kids and us as well. Getting to know the little ones on court afterwards was amazing.
“A massive thank you to the Limestone Coast community, there were so many different aspects of the event that ran so well. There was so much work that the Lucindale Country Club put in, a special thanks to Eliza and Leanne for really driving the event.”
“The Tennis SA State League All Stars event in the Limestone Coast has been a huge success and we are pleased to congratulate Team Red on back-to-back All Stars victories,” Tennis SA Head of Tournaments, Competitions and Officiating Dylan Hicks said.
“Despite some challenging weather conditions, our team of All Stars really immersed themselves in the variety of events that were held over the weekend. We received such a warm welcome to the region, and we are so appreciative of the local community who really embraced the event.
“Our sincere thanks to the Naracoorte Lucindale Council and the Lucindale Country Club, along with the local sponsors, for their generous support.”
Tennis SA State League All Stars
Teams
| Team Red | Team Blue |
| Sean Van Rensburg | Ashwin Vijayaragavan |
| Kristina Tai | Jieyi Chen |
| Hamish Bartos | Dale Nixon |
| Hayley Riessen | Isabella O’Reilly |
| Andrew van den Hurk | Matt Menz |
| Bianca Cunneen | Eliza Handbury |
| Egan Reginer | Sam Graetz |
| Poppy Moyle-Read | Leanne Graetz |
Results
Singles
Eliza Handbury (Blue) d Bianca Cunneen (Red) 6-3
Egan Reginer (Red) d Sam Graetz (Blue) 6-3
Sean Van Rensburg (Red) d Andrew van den Hurk (Blue) 6-2 6-0
Hayley Riessen (Red) d Isabella O’Reilly (Blue) 6-4 6-4
Kristina Tai (Red) d Jieyi Chen (Blue) 6-2 6-4
Dale Nixon (Blue) d Hamish Bartos (Red) 6-4 6-2
Mixed Doubles
Hayley Riessen/Egan Reginer (Red) d Jieyi Chen/Matt Menz (Blue) d 6-4
Ashwin Vijayaragavan/Eliza Handbury (Blue) d Hamish Bartos/Bianca Cunneen (Red) 7-6
Doubles
Sean Van Rensburg/Andrew van den Hurk (Red) d Dale Nixon/Sam Graetz (Blue) 6-2
Isabella O’Reilly/Leanne Graetz (Blue) d Kristina Tai/Poppy Moyle-Read (Red) 7-5
Overall
Team Red 6-9-74 d Team Blue 4-5-57
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