{"id":16560,"date":"2017-01-08T14:42:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T03:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/?p=16560"},"modified":"2017-02-03T17:01:22","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T06:01:22","slug":"goulburn-region-break-inter-regional-country-championship-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/vic\/news\/2017\/01\/08\/goulburn-region-break-inter-regional-country-championship-drought","title":{"rendered":"Goulburn Region break Inter-Regional Country Championship Drought"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Goulburn Region<\/strong> have won the 61st <\/sup>Tennis Victoria Inter-Regional Country Championships, breaking a 56 year drought in the event.<\/p>\n

The last time the Country Region won the event was in 1960.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the Swan Hill Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club from January 6-8, the Goulburn Region finished on top of the table with 269 points, 18 points ahead of Loddon Campaspe (251). View the photo album<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Region had 36 participants and ended Barwon\u2019s eight year winning streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been runners up six years in a row, every time to Barwon, and every year we come back and say we\u2019ll try and we\u2019ll try a bit harder,\u201d said Goulburn\u2019s player representative David Starling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few years it\u2019s been Heather really driving it, and without a shadow of a doubt everyone here is playing for Heather as well as ourselves, and we\u2019re just so wrapped to be able to do it for her and get that win,\u201d said Starling of team manager Heather Lees from Shepparton.<\/p>\n

Central Highlands (92) was awarded the Cooke Shield for the most improved region.<\/p>\n

In the Men\u2019s Open Singles final, defending champion Geelong\u2019s Matthew Hicks<\/strong> (Barwon) was too strong for Warrnambool\u2019s Matthew Moloney<\/strong> (South West) 6-4 6-2.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt and I are really close mates so we were never going to have any issues out on the court. Once you step out onto the court it gets very competitive but playing a close mate it\u2019s always enjoyable and it\u2019s nice to get a win,\u201d said Hicks.<\/p>\n

Having played in 16 editions of the tournament, the 2017 singles title is Hicks\u2019 fourth in a row and fifth in total since 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pleased with the result, it\u2019s a great individual honour but you thrive in a team atmosphere and being a lot older these days and being a full time tennis coach, it\u2019s good to set an example in front of the younger ones and in front of the coaching pupils, which gives me a lot more satisfaction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Also defending her title was Bendigo\u2019s Eliza Long<\/strong> (Loddon Campaspe) who was too good on the day for Hope Curtis-McDonald<\/strong> (Goulburn) 6-4 6-2 in the Women\u2019s Open Singles final.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously it\u2019s quite a nice title to have, it sounds pretty good. The first set was quite close, I had one lucky break at the end and I managed to get it to 5-4 otherwise it could have been a different story. In the second set I managed to find a bit more rhythm and confidence stepping forward on my shots,\u201d said Long.<\/p>\n

Long then backed up her singles victory to take home the Women\u2019s Open Doubles title alongside Danielle Bowles<\/strong>, adding to her 2016 Victorian Grasscourt and Hardcourt Doubles titles. The duo were pushed to three sets by Barwon pair Nicole Mullen and Olivia Ryan<\/strong> , 6-2 2-6 10-7.<\/p>\n

Adding to Goulburn\u2019s history making day was Jarrod Bingham <\/strong>and Nicholas Gattuso<\/strong>\u2019s victory in the Men\u2019s Open Doubles over Hicks and Flynn Marshall (Barwon) 6-3 6-3.<\/p>\n

In the Open Mixed Doubles, East Gippsland\u2019s Aidan Fitzgerald <\/strong>and Sophie Vickers<\/strong> defeated Goulburn\u2019s Nicholas Gattuso and Hope Curtis-Mcdonald<\/strong> 6-1 7-6(5).<\/p>\n

The 2018 Inter-Regional Country Championships will be held at the Wodonga Tennis Club from 5-7 January.<\/p>\n

2017 Inter-Regional Country Championships Region by Region Final Points Standings <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Goulburn<\/td>\n269<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Loddon Campaspe<\/td>\n251<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Barwon<\/td>\n237<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mornington Peninsula<\/td>\n203<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Northern Mallee<\/td>\n195<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wimmera<\/td>\n142<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
East Gippsland<\/td>\n121<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South West<\/td>\n96<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Central Highlands<\/td>\n92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n