The Star: January 18, 2024

The Star Thursday January 18 2024
22
SPORT
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Players ‘raring’ to resume interclub early
• By Diane Keenan
CANTERBURY’S premier
players could not be happier to
get on court earlier than usual
for the second round of the
interclub competition.
Interclub is set to resume
two weeks earlier than last
season, with the women playing
tomorrow night and the men on
Saturday afternoon.
Cashmere captain Tim
Meredith said Tennis
Canterbury general manager
Bevin Johns has improved the
competition with some positive
changes.
“The new competition format
is great from a player perspective
– it means more tennis. We are
now raring to get back on court.
“Bevan is doing an amazing
job. He definitely has the locker
room support for what he is doing
for our sport.”
Johns said the interclub format
now includes five round robin
games followed by the semifinals
and final.
Tim and brother James
Meredith will be in the top
slots to play Te Kura Hagley
on Saturday at Te Kura Hagley.
The regulars are also back for
Cashmere, apart from Lucas
Evans who will be in Wellington
playing an International
Tennis Federation (ITF) junior
tournament. Evans’ regular
double’s partner Liam Barrett is
available and Tim McHarg who
was injured in his first match
earlier this season, has recovered
and will play doubles. In the
women’s competition Elmwood
captain Louise Oxnevad is
feeling positive about the
interclub competition. Elmwood
will play Shirley in a repeat of the
semi-final from the
pre-Christmas competition, in
which three of the five roundrobin
matches were cancelled
due to bad weather.
“I actually think this round
of the competition will be more
competitive,” Oxnevad said.
First round runners-up in the
men’s competition, Elmwood,
have 10 highly-ranked players
from which to select their
starting line-up. They take on
the Nic Jenkins-led Edgeware
Waimairi team at Waimairi,
while Bishopdale play Burnside
Park at Burnside Park.
Cashmere play Bishopdale
POWER PLAY:
Elmwood captain
Louise Oxnevad (left)
will lead Danielle
Scheepers, Holly Jane
Feutz, Tessa McCann
and Abby Mason
in their interclub
match against Shirley
tomorrow night.
at Bishopdale tomorrow night,
while Waimairi take on the
experienced Te Kura Hagley
featuring Michelle North Kelsen,
Beth Williamson, Petra Belzova
and Bailee Wilson.
Over the first round, a number
of women’s players juggled Caro
Bowl tennis in Auckland on
Friday night with interclub in
Christchurch. The Caro Bowl
competition is now finished.
However, for the next two weeks
several premier interclub players
will compete at ITF events in
Wellington and Auckland.
Oxnevad, Ruby Young
(Cashmere No 1) and Charlie
Byers (Waimairi No 1) have
READY: Cashmere
teammates
(from left) James
Meredith, Harry
Weeds, Tim
McHarg, Tim
Meredith and
Johnny Mcharg will
take on Te Kura
Hagley on Saturday.
played at tournaments in
Christchurch and Wanaka over
the past month. Young won
the Wanaka Open singles and
combined titles, while Byers won
the doubles against Oxnevad and
her mother, Felicity. Young and
her Cashmere teammate, Lucia
Gale, also made the quarterfinals
in both the singles and
doubles at last week’s ITF junior
event at Wilding Park.
In the pre-Christmas finals,
Cashmere defeated Elmwood
in the first round of the men’s
competition. In the women’s
final, the experienced Elmwood
team beat the young Bishopdale
line-up.
Stay informed in 2024.
Get the ODT. Get a free mag.
It's time for New Year's resolutions and plans. Resetting your life, updating yourself with quality, reliable news and
information, and reconnecting with real people might be just what you need. Fact-checked local knowledge from the ODT can
be a great way to start a conversation and is an easy way to keep yourself informed about what is happening around you.
Buy any 12-month digital subscription to the ODT by the end of January 2024 and get a free annual magazine subscription to
one of the below magazines. Offer available to new subscribers only. While ODT subscription starts immediately, your
magazine will start physically reaching you from March.
Annual ODT Digital Access - $186.30
Kiwi Gardener
(12 issues a year)
Rugby News
(10 issues a year)
Classic Driver
(6 issues a year)
. Subscribe to the South.
ODT.co.nz/subscribe
Ts & Cs apply.