Men’s Semi-Final Spots Sealed
Men’s semi-final places were sealed after the final round of pool play in the 2022 Scarbro Caro Bowl last Friday night. The weather cleared and it turned out to be a nice evening for tennis once the storm passed across Auckland City. Highlight of the evening was the thrilling match between Karaka and Cockle Bay to determine the last semi-final spot. Both clubs are recent winners of the Scarbro Caro Bowl but only one team could progress from the pool of death. Karaka won on a countback of games and now move into the semis this Friday.
The Women’s Scarbro Caro Bowl produced a couple of surprises with two of the remaining three unbeaten teams losing. Finals spots are very much up for grabs with four or five teams still in with a chance.
Men Pool A
Next Generation beat Blockhouse Bay 5-1 to finish top of their table. They suffered a surprising loss in the top doubles match but won all four singles in straight sets to sweep away the challenge from Blockhouse Bay who are also through to the semis. East Tamaki created some local tennis history by winning for the first time ever at this level against Bucklands Beach. The result was decided on a sets countback. Matavao and Semisi Fanguna earned all three points for East Tamaki to finish third in Pool A.
Men Pool B
Parnell wrapped up Pool B in style with a straightforward win over bottom placed Royal Oak. Led by NZ Davis Cup team stalwart Rubin Statham, Parnell won 6-0 without dropping a set. They are shaping up to be a real title contender for the first time in several years. The feature match of the round between Karaka and Cockle Bay was a nail-biter. The doubles matches could not have been closer with both going to third set super-tiebreaks. Ajeet Rai played well to turn away the challenge of the always hard to beat James Meredith in the top singles. Cockle Bay picked up the second and third singles while Kai Milburn earned the third win for Karaka. With matches and sets tied, Karaka clinched the last remaining semi-final spot by 7 games.
Women Pool Play
Top of the table Campbell Park lost its first contest this season on a games countback against the evergreen Royal Oak side. The Oak were stronger in the lower order in singles and doubles as Campbell Park felt the absence of Shona Nakano. Next Gen have a game in hand and lie in second place but closed the gap with a clean sweep of previously unbeaten Pompallier. Parnell made a healthy move up the points table with a comprehensive victory over Bucklands Beach and they still have a slim chance of making the final in a few weeks if they finish strongly.
More great Scarbro Caro Bowl action is scheduled on Friday night this week. Matches start at 6pm. A full round of women’s contests is also scheduled for Sunday.
Go to the SCARBRO Caro Bowl section at https://www.tennisauckland.co.nz/scarbro-caro-bowl for full draws and results.
