Sports Reports: Murray Bridge’s Alex Bolt wins US tennis championship
Plus the results from the Lower Murray hard court tennis premiership and the friendly competition between the Murray Bridge and Bordertown rifle clubs.
This post includes contributions from Daniel Irvine.
- Jervois wins consecutive Lower Murray hard court tennis premiership
- Murray Bridge Rifle Club secures narrow victory over Bordertown Rifle Club
Alex Bolt from Murray Bridge has won the men’s singles championship at the 2023 Bakersfield Tennis Open in the US.
Bolt defeated American Kyle Kang 6–3, 7–6 in the final.
The Bakersfield Racquet Club posted about Mr Bolt on Instagram, “We’re still feeling the energy from his epic performance!”
Jervois win consecutive Lower Murray hard court tennis premiership
Last summer’s champs have defended their title away at Brinkley in 2023.
Jervois are back as premiers of the Lower Murray’s hard court tennis circuit.
The defending champions held onto their title at Brinkley on Friday night with a close-fought victory.
Murray Bridge Rifle Club secures narrow victory over Bordertown Rifle Club
A superb day greeted travellers from the Bordertown Rifle Club as they arrived at the Deed Range in Monarto to compete against the Murray Bridge Rifle Club from a range of 600 metres.
It was sunny and warm, but a strong southerly breeze from Lake Alexandrina kept the temperature mild.
The breeze, however, also made conditions more than a little challenging as shooters took to the mound after a shared lunch provided by the hosts.
Bordertown, despite improving markedly since the two clubs last competed against each other, still struggled in the first round, with Jeff Makin top scoring with a 53.01, and Emily Cooper the only other shooter to crack 50 with a 50.01.
Murray Bridge didn’t fair much better despite any possible home-ground advantage –Nicole Edwards top scored the first round with a 55.04, with Ian Taylor supporting with a 54.01 from the F-Class shooters, while Greg Traeger was the pick of the TR squad early with a 48.02.
It would be great to say that things got easier in the second round, but it remained tricky.
Several shooters seemed to get the read of things a little better, though, with “Jack” Blackwell adding 11 points to his first-round score to record a 54.01 for Bordertown and Chris Cooper adding 13 to post a 54.03.
Jeff made it a double with another 53.02, leaving him the top scorer for Bordertown and second highest score for the day, with 106.03.
Murray Bridge also saw improvement from many in the second round, with David McDonald posting a 54, Gordon Harrison a 52 and Frank Marshall (with 10 broken ribs) scoring a 56.01.
Nicole Edwards proved consistency is key, backing up her 55.04 in the first round with another in the second to record the highest F-Class score of the day with 110.08.
Andrew Heard was the second-round standout for Murray Bridge, scoring the only possible of the day with a 50.05.
Overall, the winner for the day, based on an average of mixed category converted scores, was Murray Bridge but by a narrower margin than their last shoot, with Bordertown Captain, Jeff Makin, letting Murray Bridge know that they shouldn’t attach the shield too firmly to the wall, as they are determined to see it travel back to Bordertown soon.
All in all, shooters had an entertaining and convivial time, a reminder of how enjoyable interclub shoots can be.
Email your sports reports to michael@murraybridge.news.
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