Southland’s top tennis players have a major chance of taking out round one of the Southern Open Teams Event, in Invercargill, this weekend.

During the Division One tournament, Southland’s best male and female players will be vying for top honours against players from Queenstown Lakes District, Otago and North Otago, on Saturday and Sunday, at the Waihopai Tennis Club.

Tennis Southland Chairman Chris Withy said Southland, runner-ups last year, were competitive as it ever and well placed to win at the weekend.

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“It’s one of the strongest teams we’ve fielded in years. We have a great opportunity to really push for top honours this weekend. Southern Lakes are reining champions and are always tough to beat.

North Otago and Otago, on paper, are also very strong so will make for a weekend of great tennis,” says Withy.

Spearheading the team is Sky Lovill, Southland’s top-seeded male player, and Shaylee Syme, the provinces’ top-seeded female player.

“It’s going to make for great tennis, a 100 per cent, when you look at the calibre of players, not just from Southland but from the other areas,” says Withy.

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The competition is the premier tennis event for division one players in the lower South Island and is the second major tournament, after the Distinction Hotels Te Anau Invitational, that Southland will host this year. 

Round two, of the competition, is due to be held in Dunedin on 27 and 28 February next year, and the team with the highest combined scores from both tournaments will take out the Rennie Cup.

The competition starts at 9am on Saturday and the teams play both single and double matches.

Meanwhile, Southland and Northern Southland teams are competing against Queenstown Lake District in the division two competition at Te Anau Tennis Club, in Te Anau on Sunday.

Teams:

Southland team (Division 1): Craig Collins, Harry James, Sky Lovill, Jaime Simpson, Riley Smith. Halle Faherty, Kim Heads, Adele Orangi, Claudia Smith, Shaylee Syme, Emma White.

Southland (Division 2): Nigel Cramond, Patrick Labadan, Miles Pask, Eli Standish, Chris Withy, Taine Withy, Lauren Christie, Bethany Nicholson, Harriet Price, Rebecca Straker-Cunningham, Grace Watson.

Northern Southland: Mike Hegan, Phil Marsh, Greg Sheppard, Murray Willans, Kelvin Wilson. Janine Donaldson, Sarah Gawith, Jan Hegan, Wendy Hopcroft, Natasha Vanweydeveld, Jess Willans.