After a week full of exceptional tennis on the pristine grass courts at Alexander Park in Perth, the 2014 Pizzey Cup is in the books. With only two Year 12 students on the team in Martyn Icke and Laura Briant, the very young and inexperienced Tasmanian line up took to the grass courts into what would be a crucial development event for all involved.
The team got off to the worst possible start with Remy Lynch and Marty Icke going down with ankle and back injuries respectively. The injuries would keep both players on the sideline for much of the championships with Lynch not able to partake in any of the action. The team didn’t get any favours from the organising committee with Victoria (2nd place), New South Wales (1st place), Western Australia (3rd place) and Queensland (4th place) the schedule for the first four days.
After getting blasted off the court against Victoria the young Tasmanian team really dug deep, taking it right up to their older and higher ranked opponents. Many matches were determined by a few points here and there with Daniel Groom, Thomas Cornish and Erin Fazackerley pushing their opponents to a final set tie-break through some breathtaking tennis. From a team coach’s perspective it was great to see the players embrace the challenge ahead and really learn from how the other states carry them self to make them self bigger and better.
The final two days saw winnable matches against Australian Capital Territory and South Australia in see sawing affairs. With the injuries on the boy’s side and not full team on the girls side it was clear the large amount of matches were piling up and taking their toll. After a somewhat sluggish start against ACT the girl’s team really dug in, splitting the points in their six singles matched. The boys were struggling with niggling injuries with Sean Oosthuizen dispatching his opponent using great footwork and power to seal the victory. In the end the team went down in a very tense finish with Olivia Maskell the star of the day with wins in singles and doubles (partnering Kristina (Peduru-Arachchinge). The final days play was against a hungry South Australian team looking for a much needed win. In contrast to the ACT the team came up very fired up and ready to go leading on four of the six doubles matches before a rain delay halted play. After the delay it was a mixture of sloppy Tasmanian play and an increase in South Australian intensity to completely turn the match on its head with the team trailing 5-1. From here the team was unable to hang on with Daniel Groom providing some light en route to a straight sets triumph.
With seven straight days of tennis the team took some much needed rest and relaxation by visiting the picturesque Kings Park in Perth followed by some retail therapy at the outlet malls in the city. Last up was the final ceremony where Martyn Icke and Laura Briant were congratulated for three years of service to the Tasmanian Pizzey Cup team.
Overall it was a fantastic experience with almost all players eligible for next year’s competition right here in Tasmania. We are very excited to play host to the 2015 Pizzey Cup and a big thanks to team manager Julie Edgell for taking fantastic care of all players on the trip. All players had a great experience with the morning swims in the beach being a big hit! Look forward to seeing everyone shortly!
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