Stanhope’s title: Stanhope was the GMLTA section two premier on Saturday, the match moved from Cobram to Kyabram due to predicted high temperatures at the border town.
Marg Haw has lost count of how many tennis premierships she has played in with her beloved Stanhope after adding the Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association’s section two title to her list on the weekend.
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The grand finals were moved from Cobram to Kyabram on Saturday, which meant Stanhope’s opponent Cobram was forced to move away from its home courts.
In an interesting sidebar to the match between the two outstanding teams of the season, Haw was pitted against her nieces Jodie Wastell and Kate Bird.
She had 8-3 and 8-6 set wins against her much younger opposition and ended up with an unblemished record when she ended the afternoon with a mixed set win alongside Steve Browne.
Fleur Nurse, also a regular grand final winner with Stanhope, said the side’s last grand final was a one-game loss to Numurkah six years ago.
She said the weekend’s win was great for Taylor Apps and Browne, who had played with the club for many years but never won a grand final.
Haw, however, has titles stretching back to a division one premiership when she was 14. She is now 67.
She and Nurse’s father, Bill Macknamara, played in a division one regional tennis title together.
Haw only filled in last season and her return was a major coup for the team.
Wastell and Bird are daughters of Haw’s sister Kath.
Stanhope was 11 games up going into the mixed sets and lost the first set 2-8 before the Apps-Nurse and Haw-Browne combinations put a full stop on the victory.
Overall Stanhope was a 68-57 (8-3) winner.
Winning smile: Marg Haw (centre) with her nieces Jodie Wastell and Kate Bird, who were playing for Cobram in the grand final against Marg’s Stanhope team on Saturday.
