This season Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club has four teams competing which is an extra team compared to last year.
The GM2 Kyabram side will be looking to go further than its preliminary final loss last season and will have its eyes set on the big prize.
This season sees the return of club coach David Starling to the Saturday competition to play alongside his son Kade, who is a rising start of tennis in the region.
The development of other young players such as Miley Morris and Kat Wearne should lead to a strong season for the GM2 side.
Kyabram will again field two teams in the GM3 section.
Spearheaded by Susie Bennett for the Redbacks and Zane Sutton for the Bombers, both of these sides have strengths that should place them in good stead pushing for finals berths.
The GM4 Open side consists of a lot of new and returning players to the club.
This will be the first time Kyabram has placed a team in this section and will be spearheaded by Evan Cooknell, who has come across from Shepparton North, as well as the returning Anthony Li and Rebekah Lawson.
Kyabram 7-65 d Euroa Blue 4-52 in GM2
Kyabram’s GM2 side got the season off to a good start with a solid win against an unknown Euroa side which was playing its first game in the competition after transferring from Benalla District Tennis Association in the off-season.
The Kyabram men showed why they should be one of the strongest in the division, going undefeated in their sets highlighted by Regan More dominating, winning his singles 6-1 and doubles 8-3 partnering with Mitchell Cox.
Kade Starling made his debut in senior tennis and started off strong, fighting back to win his singles 6-5 and then winning his doubles with his father David Starling 8-5.
Against strong women from Euroa the match was close going into the mixed sets with Kyabram being down by a single game.
Kyabram then flexed its muscle, taking home all three mixed sets, led by strong wins to More and Marg Haw 8-2 and David Starling and Abby Prycroft 8-3 securing a solid 13-game victory to build confidence for the rest of the season.
GM3: Kyabram Redbacks 8-76 d Kyabram Bombers 3-55
In the GM3 competition, the two Kyabram sides, Redbacks and Bombers, faced off in the Kyabram derby which led to a strong victory for the Redbacks.
The Redbacks were led by their formidable women who won all three of their doubles sets, highlighted by Sonya McCraw and captain Susie Bennett combining for a forceful 8-1 victory.
On the men’s side of things, Wil Worsfold was a highlight for the Bombers, winning the number one men’s singles 6-3 and doubles 8-4 with captain Zane Sutton.
The two best players of the day faced off in the final mixed set, in this battle McCraw partnered with Darren Woodcock just managed to outlast Worsfold, who teamed up with Alyssa Christou, in a hard-fought tiebreaker victory.
Another highlight of the day was seeing two young guns of the competition, Xavier Dodos and Jaxon Eddy, face off in a monster singles clash which Dodos managed to sneak by in a close tiebreaker set.
In the end, the Redbacks were too strong on the day, however, the Bombers will be looking to get revenge later in the season with players to come into the side.
This week is the return of gather round, where all the teams from the first division come together to play at the same venue.
Kyabram will be hosting the GM2 division which will be a huge day for the club.
This day will be highlighted by Kyabram hosting the Tatura Quakes, who were just pipped by sister side, Tatura Monsoons, in the opening round.
The two GM3 sides will be making the road trip to Cobram where the Bombers will be looking to get on the board against Mooroopna Cats, whereas the Redbacks will be looking to get revenge in a grand final rematch from last season against Numurkah Penguins.
Finally, after a bye in the first round, the brand-new Kyabram GM4 open side will be starting its campaign at Tatura against Tatura Lightning.
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