{"id":16552,"date":"2017-01-06T17:46:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T06:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/?p=16552"},"modified":"2017-01-06T17:46:29","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T06:46:29","slug":"temperatures-soar-in-swan-hill-for-inter-regional-country-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/news\/2017\/01\/06\/temperatures-soar-in-swan-hill-for-inter-regional-country-championships","title":{"rendered":"Temperatures soar in Swan Hill for Inter-Regional Country Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 61st<\/sup> Tennis Victoria Inter-Regional Country Championships got underway on Friday in sweltering conditions, with the mercury nudging 38 degrees.<\/p>\n

However despite the extreme heat, over 250 players from across nine Victorian Country Regions took to the pristine grass courts at the Swan Hill Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to play more than 250 matches.<\/p>\n

Tennis Victoria Tournaments and Events Manager Andrew Reynolds said officials monitored the temperature throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pleased to be able to get through the matches today as scheduled, but we are more than aware of the high temperatures forecast for the weekend so we have rescheduled matches to start at 7.30am tomorrow to try and beat the extreme heat,\u201d said Reynolds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been really impressed by the camaraderie within each region\u2019s team, and the encouragement and support shown to all players across the day,\u201d said Reynolds.<\/p>\n

Taking the temperatures in his stride was Geelong\u2019s Mick Mullen, who as team manager, has guided the Barwon Region to an incredible eight straight Inter-Regional Country Championship titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very very proud of that, if you\u2019ve got a good team and people know there is someone they can go to who will have everything in place, [winning] just goes hand-in-hand,\u201d said Mullen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a great buzz to go and collect that trophy for the last eight years that I\u2019ve been managing, but without the team there is no point having a manager so I\u2019m thrilled to do the job I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a family, Mullen and his four daughters – Emma and Nicole, 18, Mikaela, 16 and Alana 15 – have attended every event for the past 13 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing here for 13 years, my youngest is 15 so since she was two she\u2019s been coming along. The girls have always travelled with us to the Inter-Regionals but now we\u2019re all playing in the same team which is pretty good, because instead of having the kids standing behind the court watching dad, they are now out there playing for their region, so it\u2019s a bit of a thrill,\u201d said Mullen.<\/p>\n

Saturday will see players continuing the singles matches, and beginning their mixed doubles events from 7.30am.<\/p>\n