Tennis
23 March, 2026
Fourth time lucky for Central Park
After falling short in the previous three grand finals, Central Park has claimed a long-awaited pennant premiership, defeating Horsham Lawn in the Central Wimmera Tennis Association grand final on Saturday March 21 at Haven Tennis Club.
Team captain Adele Joseph was elated with the victory, crediting her team’s resilience over the last three years.
“It's so great, so unexpected; we've had such a good season,” Joseph said.
“I'm so proud of every single player on the team.
“It's hard being in three grand finals and not winning any of them but we stuck together and finally got it done today.”
Central Park established an early 3-1 set lead through the opening four doubles games.
Adele Joseph and Willow Sainsbury defeated Tahlia Thompson and Cheire Wood 8-2, Matt Jones and Brendan Nitschke defeated Jae McGrath and Graeme Wood 8-5 and Sienna Nitschke and Tara McIntyre defeated Lydi Boyd and Ella Thompson 8-4, while for Horsham Lawn, Lachlan Punchard and August Koch defeated Harry Allan and Frazer Shurdington 8-5.
Central Park extended their lead by winning three out of the four singles sets, as Harry Allan defeated Lachlan Punchard 8-3, Adele Joseph defeated Tahlia Thompson 8-1 and Sienna Nitschke overcame Lydi Boyd 8-7 in a thrilling set.
Horsham Lawn’s Jae McGrath defeated Matt Jones 8-3 to make it 6-2 to Central Park heading into the final six doubles rubbers.
The Horsham Lawn men gave their side a chance with three victories in the men’s doubles.
August Koch and Graeme Wood defeated Frazer Shurdington and Brendan Nitschke 8-4, Lachlan Punchard and Graeme Wood defeated Harry Allan and Brendan Nitschke 8-5, and Jae McGrath and August Koch managed to overcome Matt Jones and Frazer Shurdington 8-7 in a hotly contested set.
Under pressure, Willow Sainsbury and Tara McIntyre prevailed in a tiebreaker to defeat Cherie Wood and Ella Thompson 8-7 to claim Central Park’s seventh set.
Needing to win six games total in the last two female doubles rubbers, Central Park secured victory as Adele Joseph and Tara McIntyre defeated Tahlia and Ella Thompson 8-3.
Horsham Lawn’s Lydi Boyd and Cherie Wood claimed the other set 8-4 over Sienna Nitschke and Willow Sainsbury.
Overall, Central Park won 8-6, with 92 games to Horsham Lawn’s 80.
Joseph said she was confident entering the final two doubles matches, knowing the team needed only six games across the two sets.
“We had seven sets and we just needee to get one more to confirm that we had won,” Joseph said.
“When Tara and I went out for the last one and we got six games, we knew we had won enough games and got a little nod from the sidelines, so that was good.”
The premiership victory ensured Central Park finished the 2025-26 season undefeated.
A special
Following a dominant season where they lost just one match, Central Park won the A special premiership with an 8-4 (81-58) victory over Horsham Lawn O’Connor in the grand final.
The winning Central Park team of Yassasri Sumanapala, David Wear, Shaun Alexander, Rod Shurdington, Eve Wear, Paula Davis, Misha Wear and Sharon Clough proved too strong for Horsham Lawn’s grand final lineup of Dylan Thompson, Brett Thompson, Shane Gillespie, Damien Holmes, Paige Thompson, Daniella Gillespie, Maree Thompson and Luisa Boddi.
With the men winning both sets and the women splitting theirs to take one, Central Park got an early 3-1 lead in the opening four doubles rubbers.
The sides then split the four singles matches, keeping Horsham Lawn well and truly in the contest.
But Central Park came out strong in the last six doubles rubbers, winning three of the four sets.
The pair of Eve Wear and Sharon Clough secured the premiership with an 8-2 victory over Paige Thompson and Luisa Boddi.
A grade
Central Park’s A grade team made it three senior premierships in one day for the club as they held off Haven Red in the grand final.
The team consisting of Ross McIntyre, Heidi Robinson, Brayden Culhane, Deb Nitschke, Archie Wardlaw, Erin Alexander, Sam Borgas and Rebecca Clough prevailed 7-5 (74-54) over a spirited Haven Red team consisting of Richard Goudie, Sarah Hateley, Woody Conboy, Ruth Addlem, Alexander Goudie, Breanne Mills, Jye Rossbotham and Sara Clark.
Only a few games separated the teams after four mixed doubles sets, with each team having claimed two sets.
The women’s doubles sets saw both Central Park and Haven Red claim two sets each.
It was ultimately the men’s doubles that proved the difference, with three set wins from Central Park to Haven Red’s one resulting in a Central Park victory.
Rebecca Clough and Brayden Culhane were impressive in their side’s win, claiming a victory in each set they played in.
Making the victory even more impressive was that Central Park bounced back from their 9-3 loss to Haven Red in the qualifying semi-final.
B special
Having fallen short in the 2024-25 grand final, Laharum claimed the Central Wimmera Tennis Association B special premiership with a victory over Central Park in the grand final on Saturday.
In a thrilling contest all day, Laharum held off a late Central Park push to win in 10-6 (81-64).
The victorious Laharum was represented by Reuben Launder, Lauren Sykes, Daniel Phillips, Lucy Butler, Oliver Sykes, Vanessa Lenehan, Greg Matthews and Stacey Peucker.
The runner-up Central Park team comprised Joel Emmett, Kylie Penny, Todd Krahe, Kelly Krahee, Dallas Robinson, Fiona Jones, Curtis Morson and Kellie Morson.
The opening four mixed doubles games saw the teams perfectly split in both sets and games.
But Laharum quickly opened up a lead in the middle portion of the afternoon, winning five out of the next six men’s and women’s sets.
Two set wins from Central Park ensured all potential sets had to be played before Laharum held on and extended their lead to win the premiership.
Reuben Launder was a standout for the winning Laharum team, winning every set he played in.
