The first two rounds of the GMTA finals to determine the grand finalists for the 2025-26 season were held at the weekend.
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With four teams from Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club vying for a place on the final day of the season, there was plenty of action.
Saturday results
GM2 elimination final: Kyabram Bombers 7-66 defeated Euroa Back Markers 4-50
In what was a replay of the same final last year, the Bombers were looking at getting revenge for their loss last season and earlier in the year.
Regan More got the team off to a hot start, winning his doubles with David Starling 8-3 and cementing a handy singles victory 6-3 to get the Bombers out of the gate.
The men continued to show their dominance, David Starling combining with his son Kade to secure another emphatic 8-3 victory to really put the Bombers ahead of the game.
On the ladies’ side it was the women’s singles where the Bombers showed their class, with Rhiann Eddy (6-1) and Sheree Starling (6-3) both delivering important victories to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
This meant going into the final three mixed doubles sets, the Bombers held a handy 10-game lead. Regan More completed his perfect day, combining with Rhiann Eddy for a game-breaking 8-1 victory that put the result beyond doubt.
This, combined with a hard-fought 8-6 victory for Kade and Sheree Starling, meant that the Bombers, despite dropping the final mixed doubles set, ended up as 16-game victors.
This secured the Bombers a passage through to the preliminary final, where they would take on the Shepp Lawn Demons.
GM3 qualifying final: Karramomus 5-64 defeated Kyabram Bombers 5-56
Playing off for a spot in the grand final, the undefeated Kyabram Bombers came across the team that was their toughest opponent throughout the season, Karramomus.
On the men’s side, the first two results of the day showed that the game was going to be a tight encounter, with Greg Tarrant and Mitchell Cox combining for a tie-breaker 8-7 victory and Zane Sutton falling agonisingly short in the singles 6-5.
In the ladies’, the first two sets also went one apiece; however, an 8-0 victory for Karramomus was a dominant result, and despite Abby Prycroft and Taylor Sutton combining for an 8-6 victory, Karramomus had built a strong lead.
Team captain Mitchell Cox managed to bring the margin back, however, with a strong number one singles victory of 6-2, but Karramomus’ consistency led to an 8-1 victory in the other men’s doubles. This, combined with another victory, 8-5, in the final ladies’ doubles, meant that the Bombers had 12 games to make up in the final three mixed doubles sets.
Despite the Bombers taking out two of the three mixed doubles sets, they were unable to overcome the margin, eventually going down by eight games.
The standouts on the day were Mitchell Cox, who was undefeated in his three sets, as well as Greg Tarrant and Taylor Starling, who were undefeated in the three sets that they played.
The loss meant that the Kyabram Bombers had to front up again on Sunday to try to earn a place in the grand final.
GM3 elimination final: Numurkah Penguins 4-58 defeated Kyabram Redbacks 5-56
A weakened-from-injury Redbacks side took on a Numurkah Penguins side in what was a grand final replay of the year before.
For the Redbacks, Graeme Elliott showed his class early, winning his two men’s doubles sets 8-3 and 8-4, with Darren Woodcock and Sam McConnell, respectively.
The men finished their clean sweep of victories with Sam McConnell combining with George Brega for an 8-6 victory.
While the women were competitive, despite missing their two top ladies, they were unable to get a win on the board, losing 8-3, 8-4 and 8-5.
This kept the match-up extremely close, with the Redbacks behind by a single game going into the final three mixed doubles. Graeme Elliott rounded out his perfect day with a titanic tie-breaker victory to draw the Redbacks level, then the experienced pair of team captain Susie Bennett and Darren Woodcock were able to combine for an 8-6 victory to give the Redbacks a two-game victory. It looked like the Redbacks might be able to make the great escape.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, with Numurkah taking the final set 8-4 to secure a two-game victory and keep its finals hopes alive.
The loss meant that the Redbacks were unfortunately knocked out and that Numurkah had secured a date with the Kyabram Bombers for a place in the GM3 grand final.
GM4 Open elimination final: Kyabram Bombers 8-65 defeated Karramomus 1-38
The Kyabram Bombers were looking to continue their premiership defence with a match-up against Karramomus.
And Max Hausler, who had just been named the team’s best-and-fairest winner, showed his dominance one again. Hausler combined for a pair of 8-1 victories with team captain Michael Argaet and Amy Harrison. Hausler then rounded out his perfect day with an 8-4 victory with Cameron Heard.
Scott Hausler was also undefeated on the day. Scott started his day with an 8-4 victory with Perry Jackson and then followed this up with an 8-3 victory with Cameron Heard.
Rounding out his day with Michael Argaet with an 8-6 victory meant that the Hausler father-son duo finished the day with an impressive undefeated six sets from six. Michael Argaet and Cameron Heard were also undefeated on the day, with the Bombers overwhelming Karramomus to secure a 27-game victory.
The Bombers will now take on a Tongala side who got the better of them earlier in the season; however, they will have the experience of beating this same side in last year’s preliminary final.
Sunday results
GM2 preliminary final: Kyabram Bombers 8-66 defeated Shepparton Lawn Demons 3-42
Following a strong win on the Saturday, the GM2 Bombers had to back up on the Sunday to earn their place in the grand final.
And it was the Bombers’ men that got off to a strong start. Regan More again led from the front, combining with David Starling for an 8-4 victory before dominating the number one singles with a 6-0 victory.
Kade Starling was equally impressive, starting his day with a 6-5 victory in his singles against a much more experienced opponent and then combining with father David Starling for an 8-0 victory that really broke the game early.
On the ladies’ side, Sheree Starling was the standout performer in the singles match-ups, securing a 6-2 victory. In the ladies’ doubles, Susie Bennett and Taylah Starling combined for a strong 8-5 victory.
This strong start gave the Bombers a 15-game lead going into the mixed doubles. The Bombers were able to extend their lead, with Kade Starling rounding out his perfect day, combining with Sheree Starling for an 8-3 victory. David Starling was the other perfect performer on the day, combining with Susie Bennett for a dominant 8-1 victory.
These two strong sets helped the Bombers to a 24-game victory and a place in the grand final.
The Bombers will now look to secure the premiership against last season’s champions at McEwan Reserve.
GM3 preliminary final: Kyabram Bombers 6-67 defeated Numurkah Penguins 4-52
After knocking out the Kyabram Redbacks the day before, Numurkah was looking to beat the Bombers to make its third straight grand final.
However, the Bombers had other ideas, winning two of the first three sets, with Mitchell Cox and Evan Cooknell combining for an 8-5 victory; however, it was Greg Tarrant and Taylor Sutton who broke the game early with a strong 8-2 victory.
In the second round of matches, it was the men’s singles that set the platform, with both Mitchell Cox and Zane Sutton securing victories, 6-4 and 6-3, respectively.
In the ladies’ doubles, Taylor Sutton and Marissa Hooper combined for a strong 8-5 victory.
This meant that the Bombers had built a 14-game lead going into the final three sets. Despite winning only one of the three finals sets, it was Greg Tarrant and Zane Sutton who secured the victory with a resounding 8-1 victory that was enough for the Bombers to end up 15-game victors.
The win means that the Bombers will have a chance to make amends for their first final loss against Karramomus in the grand final next week.
GM4 Open preliminary final: Tongala 6-65 defeated Kyabram Bombers 3-54
In what was a replay of last season’s preliminary final in the division, the Bombers were looking to make the grand final in back-to-back seasons.
However, Tongala got off to a strong start.
Perry Jackson and Cameron Heard combined for a closely fought 8-6 to get the Bombers on the board. Both Jackson and Heard then combined for victories with Amy Harrison and Max Haulser, respectively.
The hard-fought 8-7 and 8-4 victories kept the Bombers in the match-up; however, Tongala managed to get the momentum again to run out 11-game winners. The clash was close all day, with three tiebreakers, showing the Bombers were close in the contest.
However, Tongala was too strong and will go on to take on the Tatura Twisters in the grand final.