Sport
2 March, 2026
Pressure’s mounting in top four race
Birchip staked its claim to a top four finish with a hard-fought 11-game win over St Arnaud on Saturday.
THE stage has been set for crucial battles in the run to North Central Tennis Association finals.
Birchip staked its claim to a top four finish with a hard-fought 11-game win over St Arnaud on Saturday.
They now sit just eight points behind the Saints, percentage ahead of Charlton.
The two are a point up on fellow top four aspirant Nullawil.
In a closely fought encounter at Birchip the St Arnaud team scraped home 147–136 games (6–4 points).
The Saints face Nullawil and Charlton in the last two rounds.
Whilst the St Arnaud Men’s Doubles team continued its merry winning way with a victory 55–44 games, this was a much tougher encounter than anticipated.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the top pairing of the Male brothers, Sam and Jake, were outplayed 8–5 games by Birchip’s Sam Tozer and Denley Tyler. Only Ben Batters could manage winning both his sets on the way to a clean sweep of three sets.
Although Birchip had a convincing win, 58–33 games, in the Ladies Doubles the margin would have been considerably wider had it not been for a three-set winning contribution from Andrea Tyler.
St Arnaud Mixed Doubles pairings fought hard to record a 48–45 win over the hosts but the gap was too large to close.
Jake Male and Trudie Jackson were particularly sharp, with Matthew Goode and Keegan Amos also delivering a composed and disciplined performance. At that point, St Arnaud had secured two of the three sections and looked well positioned.
St Arnaud had the bye last Saturday.
LADDER
Kara Kara 100
St Arnaud 96
Birchip 88
Charlton 88
Nullawil 87
Richardson 59
Wirrim 54
Avon 54
Wycheproof 15
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