It’s that momentum Echuca captain Genevieve Bush is hoping her charges can maintain heading into 2022, after accounting for Shepparton Lawn Average Joes in the heat on Saturday.
But after rolling the unbeaten Rich River Rebels in round six, Echuca was made to work for back-to-back wins against the sixth-placed Joes.
A successful mixed doubles run late in the game wrenched a hard-earned 7-72 to 5-64 win for the visiting Echuca and, more importantly, a spot inside the division one top four when play returns.
Shepparton’s Nicholas Gattuso poured the pressure on early, brushing aside the in-form Jordan Godfrey 8-0 in the opening singles rubber.
Robert Carpio extended the early ascendancy against Echuca fill-in Deagan Tomkins 8-5, while Robbie Mifka did the same against Ed Bush, 8-3.
Echuca’s other fill-in, Oscar Crilly, proved to be a handy addition, prevailing over Reuel Lavaka in the fourth set, 8-4, to drag Echuca back within eight games.
The ladies’ singles belonged to Echuca, drawing level with the Joes through skipper Genevieve Bush (8-2) and Phillipa Bush (8-2).
Godfrey and Tomkins stole the lead over Mifka and Carpio 8-4 in the first men’s doubles set, but Shepparton stole it right back through the pairing of Gattuso and Lavaka in the second with an emphatic 8-1 win over Ed Bush and Crilly.
Genevieve and Phillipa Bush teamed up for an 8-5 victory in the first ladies’ doubles set to level scores at 49-apiece.
Tomkins and Crilly triumphed 8-2 in the third-last rubber of the day, and with one to go, Echuca held a five-game lead.
It was up to Godfrey and Phillipa Bush to ensure victory over Shepparton, and they did just that with an 8-5 win in the final set of the day — a hard-earned win at that.
“Pip Bush didn’t drop a set for the day, which was pretty good. She was a big part of the victory,” Genevieve Bush said.
“We had a few fill-ins for the day. Deagan Tomkins from Rich River really stood up, we couldn’t have done it without him. Oscar Crilly from Numurkah also had a good game.”
After a middling GMLTA 2020-21 season, Bush is now looking forward to Echuca’s first clash of 2022 after a positive start to the season for her side.
“I think we anticipated it was going to be a bit of a difficult season,” she said.
“Now we’ve won more than we’ve lost, it’s looking promising — hopefully we can maintain this momentum heading into 2022.”
Echuca’s win-loss record now reads 3-2, a record that has it well-placed in third spot.
Its rival across the Murray, Rich River, remains atop the GMLTA division one standings after having the round seven bye.
Velvet Tigers, sitting one rung below Echuca in fourth, await on January 8.
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