NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA TENNIS CLUB
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The return of summer also means the return of the latest intercity sports rivalry, Summer Slam in Simcoe tennis.
This past week saw the return of the ever expanding series of tennis matches between your Orillia Tennis Club (OTC) and neighbouring communities. Last season your OTC were the Summer Slam Champions winning all but one of their interclub matches. You will recall Orillia took last season’s series 2-1 with Bracebridge winning the final match of the summer last season.
How would it start off this season? It was a beautiful day for tennis to kick off the 2024 Summer Slam series with The Orillia Tennis Club having their first away match in Bracebridge this past week.
Court 1. Bracebridge stormed out to an early lead and won the first set 6-2. Orillia came back and won the second set 6-4. Setting up a third set tie break which Bracebridge won 10-7, to win the match two sets to one. Gary and Christy were victorious over John Jackson and Ryan McKnight. A tight battle to start off the Summer Slam Season.
Court 2. Tight battles seemed to be the theme on Court 2 as well. Orillia won the first set 6-4, then Bracebridge came back and took the second set 6-3 which meant we were going to another third set tie break to decide the match on Court 2. The score went back and forth many times with Orillia holding a nine points to eight lead, but Bracebridge stormed back and took the last three points, winning 11-9. Therefore, they won the match two sets to one. Jim and Cathy also won a very close matchup over Orillia’s Debbie and Nathan Hele.
This put Bracebridge up two matches to none with two courts to go.
Court 3. After a hard fought battle in two sets, OTC’s Charlotte Wallis and Ken Brownlee lost to Jon and Sharon. Bracebridge won this match, with both teams displaying exceptional sportsmanship and determination.
Court 4. The over match was decided; the only thing left to learn was would it be a clean sweep by Bracebridge. Orillia won the first set 6-4, then Bracebridge took the second set 7-6, winning that set in a tie break, 8-6. It set up our third 10-point tie break round of the day, with Orillia winning 10-8, to win the match two sets to one. Kate and Kevin Smith of Orillia won a very close match over Howard and Jennifer and prevented the Bracebridge sweep of the first Summer Slam Series.
What a close and exciting match with two clubs that know each other well putting on some impressive tennis with three of four courts going to tie breakers to determine the over all outcome. Very close scores across the four courts provided for some excellent tennis viewing by the audience.
In the end the home team, Bracebridge, won three out of the four matches. The OTC would like to thank Bracebridge for hosting the first Summer Slam in Simcoe match of the new season and would like to congratulate them on an excellent match. Thank you to Kevin Smith for filing the court report.
The next match of the Summer Slam series will be played in Orillia on Wednesday, June 26, at the Rotary Place courts at 10:30 a.m. Will your OTC bounce back, will they get back into last season’s championship form?
If you are fan of tennis and of local community sports, bring a chair, find a spot and enjoy what should be some exciting and fun Ttennis provided by your Orillia Tennis Club.
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