Tennis stars a smash in state finals | Northern Rivers Tennis | Tennis in Northern Rivers

Rod Huxley | 26th November 2009

Grafton’s successful juniors (l-r) Ashleigh Elwood (U14), Taylah Beckman (U12), Brittany Huxley (U16), Liam Davenport (U14), Jake Sullivan (U16) and Georgia Allen (U10).

SIXTEEN Grafton tennis players made the trek to Gosford to contest the Medibank State Finals at the weekend.

This tournament was the culmination of a series of round robin events on the Far North Coast and a qualifying ‘Champion of Champions’ event in Inverell.

The heat caused the main events to be postponed for a few hours on day two, with consolation events for first and second round losers cancelled. Grafton had six representatives in the semi- finals in six different events, with two players going on to taste victory.

Jake Sullivan (U16 boys) was always going to be a threat, with excellent lead-in results. With the second seed losing in the first round and the number one seed being defeated in the semi-final, it was Jake, as number three seed, who prevailed in the final over Lake Cathie’s Jason Taylor 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

Georgia Allen was Grafton’s other winner in the (U10 girls). This event was a round robin, followed by a knockout format from the quarter-finals on. Georgia suffered a defeat in the group stage, but undeterred went on to take the final 6-0, 6-0 over Kara McLaren.

The other Grafton finalist was Liam Davenport (U14 boys) who contested his first major final. Liam defeated the number four seed in round two before moving on to the final only to be stopped by the number two seed, Nathan Boniel of Maroota, 6-2, 6-2.

The other three finalists were Taylah Beckman (U12 girls), Ashleigh Elward (U14 girls) and Brittany Huxley (U16 girls).

Taylah and Brittany were seeded to make final appearances but were thwarted by Sydney competitors in their semi-finals. Ashleigh defeated the number three and six seeds on her way to the semis where she was defeated by an in-form number one seed Sonja Balic from Sydney.

The focus now turns to Lismore for a national point score event next week, with Melbourne hosting Liam, Jake and Taylah in national events in December. Liam (U14 Boys) and Jake (U16 Boys) will attempt to grab one of the eight qualifying spots on offer to contest the National Finals.

Taylah has qualified for the under-12 girls’ event.

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