About 144 association-winning clubs converged on Melbourne and six top section clubs on the Show Courts used during the Australian Open to determine State winners throughout 20 divisions, with the Warriors the sole country outfit drawn in Section 1.
The five-time Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association champions weren’t there to make up the numbers, either.
Numurkah nudged Altona 4-24 to 0-9 before setting up a thrilling one-game triumph against Eastern Region club Macleod to nab a pair of day one wins, though day two defeats to Beaumaris Lawn and eventual section champions Scoresby levelled Numurkah’s the Warriors’ win-loss equation.
Nonetheless, the Warriors squad of Jack Bassett, David Poole, Mark Mills, Jack Forde and Cody George finished third best in Victoria, an ace of a result according to Mills.
“We were placed in the top division, which is the top six sides in Victoria based on the players in the team's rankings,” Mills said.
“We went there without high expectations, but obviously we gave it our best crack, and on the Saturday we managed to win both our matches.
“Everyone played really well on the hard courts, which was a little bit different for us. We managed to adapt pretty well, and it was really exciting playing on the Australian Open courts.
“[On Sunday] we ran into some pretty good teams, and we weren't quite able to match it with them, but third place in the state is no disgrace.”
Meanwhile, McEwen Reserve also made a challenge in Melbourne.
The GM2 premiers sent Justin Hunter, Tim Comer, Josh Mei, Elizabeth Webster, and Cathy O’Brien to represent the club and were unlucky not to make the Section 7 grand final after winning two of their three round-robin clashes.
One section below, SDTA champions Shepparton North went a step further and faced Heatherdale in the Section 8 final, but despite the slick serving of Clark Pettigrew, Louise Dwyer, and Dean Pritchett, the Northerners were denied of the win, 2-20 to 2-25.
The Tatura Twisters made the trip to Dingley to contest in Section 9 but were unable to crack a win in a valiant three-game stretch.
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