With a chock-a-block weekend filled with the Power of Paint Art Show, the Writers’ Festival and Outrigger Races, for some folks, the 43rd Annual Sunshine Coast Open (SCO) Tennis Tournament may have stolen the show.
With great sponsorship providing graciously munificent prizes, meat and cheese platters, opulent breakfast pastries, a salmon dinner feast at the Roberts Creek grass court grounds, as well as T-shirts and jumpers for each competitor, this was a marquee event that attracts more and more new participants every year.
This year saw handfuls of players coming from Victoria, the Vancouver area, and the far reaches of Australia, Poland, and Finland. But in the end, the locals of the Sunshine Coast swept all five coveted trophies.
There was a rematch of last year’s men’s doubles final, where uncle and nephew tandem Otto Grunow and Gustav Guzek reconsolidated last year’s win with poignant emphasis: 6-1, 6-1 over Victoria duo Steven Lorenzo-Baileys and Eric Murphy.
The men’s singles saw a new champion this year with Californian Luke Phillips making it to the final where his opponent, long-time champion Chad Brachet, had to retire from injury.
The women’s doubles played a five-team round robin format where, after going 4-0, Shelley Lawrence and Sandra Watt took home the hardware.
Women’s singles action had Janet Schembri winning her first SCO trophy.
The mixed doubles draw, where the semi-finals and finals are played on grass in Roberts Creek, was hard-fought and filled with talented new comers from the Mainland. Yet their attempts were thwarted as Shelley Lawrence and Gustav Guzek retained their title over Tony Fong and Irene Cheung of Richmond, 6-4, 6-1.
A special thank you to the organizers who always go the distance and beyond to continue the legacy of this fine event.
