The Kyabram division three Redbacks were all smiles as they hoisted their hard-earned flag.
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Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club had two bites at the grand final cherry on Saturday, March 15 with the club’s division three Redbacks and division four open Bombers both featuring at the big dance.
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Due to the extreme heat, the senior grand finals were brought forward to escape the hottest part of the day as Kyabram looked to claim its first title since 2020.
They did just that, with both sides clutch in the high pressure moments to walk away with not one, but two pieces of silverware to refill an otherwise empty trophy cabinet.
In what was replay of last year’s grand final in the division of which Numurkah was able to win by 17 games, Kyabram was looking to go that one step further.
In what has been the theme of the season, the Kyabram women gave the Redbacks an early advantage.
The partnership of Natasha Dodos and Marg Haw combined for an 8-2 victory.
Dodos then followed this up by partnering team captain Susie Bennett to another commanding 8-3 win.
The other two women’s sets were closer contests but arguably the best women’s pairing of the season Marg Haw and Sonya McCraw battled out a tough 8-6 contest.
McCraw then battled to a hard-fought tiebreaker victory 8-7 with Lisa Walters to ensure that the women kept their clean sweep.
The Kyabram men had a tougher time of it, however, were able to keep the match in their favour keeping the sets to a slight 3-2 advantage.
The wins going to Xavier Dodos 6-4 in the singles and the pairing of Darren Woodcock and Greg Tarrant fighting out an 8-6 victory in the designated doubles.
This left Kyabram with a close four-game advantage going into the final four mixed doubles sets.
McCraw again was stuck in a titanic battle, partnering Darren Woodcock to a close tiebreaker loss 8-7 to edge Numurkah that little bit closer.
Two of the most experienced players in the region, Greg Tarrant and Marg Haw combined for a nerve settling 8-4 victory to give Kyabram a seven-game lead.
However, a loss in the number three doubles by a margin of 8-3 left it all coming down to the final mixed doubles set to be played by brother and sister duo Xavier and Natasha Dodos.
The pair, who have performed well this season together held their nerve and battled out an 8-5 victory to hand Kyabram a pulsating five-game triumph to secure the premiership.
The win was all the sweeter as the team has come close to making the preliminary and grand finals on a consistent basis without going all the way.
Natasha Dodos was named the best-on-court of the day, winning all of her sets and only conceding 10 games for the day.
The division four open Bombers completed the underdog story of the season to claim the flag.
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GM4 Open Kyabram Bombers 5-53 defeated Tatura Twisters 4-51
The Kyabram GM4 Open side went into the grand final following a 40-game loss to the same Tatura side in the first round of the finals.
From that day, Kyabram had two stars of the team, Evan Cooknell and Rebekah Lawson, return to the side to significantly strengthen the side.
The pair showed their class early, partnering for an 8-4 victory.
Cooknell then followed this up by securing an 8-2 win with team captain Scott Hausler.
Hausler then continued to show his strength, partnering Michael Argaet to a massive 8-1 triumph.
Despite these strong results, the match remained close throughout the day.
With two sets to go, the Bombers were down by a set and two-games.
This left the fate of the grand final to the pairings of Evan Cooknell and Anthony Li, as well as Scott Hausler and Rebekah Lawson.
Both pairs came out strong and held on to slim advantages to both tally an 8-6 win overall, leading to Kyabram winning by a two-game margin.
Scott Hausler was announced as the best-on-court for the grand final, winning all of his matches and only conceding nine-games.
The win is all the more impressive considering the team was made up entirely of players new to the Kyabram Lawn Tennis Club and only one player with previous senior tennis experience.
This, combined with the recent massive loss to last year's premiers Tatura, shows that this premiership could be the biggest tennis underdog story of the season.
