Cameron Koch driving force to Manaia victory

Manaia tennis No 1 Cameron Koch drove through the night to make the Soffe Cup interclub tennis final on Saturday.

Koch, 18, had just worked the night shift for his employer, Tenix Robt Stone, on a project in Taupo on Friday when he jumped in his car to make the trek south.

Arriving home shortly after 3am on Saturday he managed a few hours kip before he was needed on court in Manaia for the top men's singles match against Huatoki's Jonathan Ussher.

While Koch lost 2-6, 2-6 to his fellow Taranaki rep, he managed to lift his game in the afternoon to win both his doubles matches, in the process helping Manaia to a comfortable 11-5 victory.

But it wasn't just Koch who showed his dedication for his club. Ussher also made a long trip, travelling up from Otago University for the mach.

Played in blustery conditions on Manaia's hard courts, the home side dominated the singles matches, winning six of eight to effectively set up its first Soffe Cup win in four years.

Veteran Manaia club member and former Taranaki selector Alaister Murdoch said the victory, Manaia's 14th title, was extra sweet given the youth of the home side.

While Jason Mills and Michael Gates are in their mid-30s, Murdoch said the rest of the squad were in their teens or early 20s.

"It was a top effort," he said. "We were saying last night, Grant Gopperth and I were talking and in our time, this is the first time we've seen such a young team win the Soffe Cup."

Manaia got off to a flying start with women's No 1 Nicole Koch beating Saori Han 6-1, 6-1. Jordan Fleming then capped off a stellar season by beating Neil Bridgeman 6-3, 6-1. Alice Caskey pegged one back for the visitors, however, by defeating Ginny Death 6-1, 6-3.

Mills and Gates showed their experience in beating Amrit Rai 6-2, 6-3 and David Geange 6-3, 7-5 respectively.

The performances of Sarah Kelly and Maree Gopperth deserve special praise taking into consideration the calibre of their opponents. Kelly beat Chris Wilson 6-2, 6-2 at No 3, while Gopperth dug deep to beat Janice Taylor 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (10-2) in the No 4 women's match.

In the doubles, Manaia won three of the four ties to earn an unassailable lead at 9-3 and therefore secure the winner's trophy.

With the Soffe Cup tucked away, the combines effectively became a dead rubber.

In the Wilson Trophy, Inglewood beat Okaiawa 9-7, while Stratford upset first seeded Hawera 10-6. In the Sumpter Trophy Huatoki beat Rotokare 14-2, and Okaiawa beat Hawera 10-6. The finalists of the WilsonTrophy (Inglewood v Stratford) will both earn promotion to next year's Soffe Cup, while the Sumpter Trophy (A3) finalists (Huatoki v Okaiawa) earn the same reward into the Wilson Trophy (A2) subject to team numbers and competition format.

- © Fairfax NZ News