Clash of codes for Jono Hurley

BY KATIE FARMAN

The Masterton Tennis Club regional one team captain Jono Hurley is scheduled to play in the Wairarapa Tennis Association's (WTA) Gawith Shield senior inter-club final, but straight afterwards he will swap colours and codes to join the Carterton Rugby Club in their season opener at Memorial Park.

"To be honest, the timing is going to be a bit tight, so I am hoping they [WTA] can be a bit lenient and let me play my tennis matches earlier than the scheduled time," Hurley told Wairarapa News.

"Both fixtures are really important to me."

Hurley and his Masterton team- mates Luke Atkinson, Matt Bunny, Sade Atkinson and Brooke Candy earned their place in the final against Pirinoa after narrowly beating competition favourites Martinborough 5-4 last weekend. Pirinoa earned their finals berth following a 6-3 victory over Gladstone.

"It was a really close result with Martinborough and one that I thought reflected the top two teams in the competition," said Hurley. "But we were fortunate that things went our way in two crucial games  one with Steve Hurley in the men's singles and the other with Sade in the women's singles."

Masterton stepped up to the mark early last weekend with wins in the men's singles thanks to Jono Hurley who beat Steve Chapman 6-0, 6-3; Atkinson who beat Marco de Groot in three sets and Steve Hurley who beat Dan Nicholson in the deciding game. Martinborough's Matt Nicholson got his team's sole men's singles victory after edging out Bunny.

The two teams split the women's singles when rising star Atkinson proved too strong over her more experienced opponent Rhona Lovell, while Libby Paterson took one back for Martinborough, beating Candy. Even though Martinborough also won the women's doubles it was not enough to see them in the finals of the three-round competition  the first time they have not made the final in about four years.

Hurley, who is based in Wellington as a coach for the Island Bay Tennis Club, said he was looking forward to playing Pirinoa at the Masterton Trust House Tennis Centre on Saturday. He said rain forced the cancellation of the game the last time the two teams met, meaning points were split evenly between the two sides. But he hopes his team will be feeling buoyed from last weekend's win. He also hopes another victory this weekend will hold him in good stead for the upcoming rugby season.

"I've played for Carterton Rugby Club since I was a junior, then played colts and have been playing senior A for about the last four years," said Hurley, who plays full back. "I was part of the team that won the competition in 2006 after beating Eketahuna and that's still one of my proudest moments so I am really looking forward to trying to do the same again this year."

While Masterton and Pirinoa will guts it out on court in the regional one tennis final at 12.30pm, Masterton will meet Opaki in the regional two final, beginning at 1pm.

- Wairarapa News