Coming up against the reigning back-to-back premier was a daunting prospect, considering Echuca 1 was undefeated throughout the regular season. However, Rochester 1 well and truly took the fight to the favourites in the 4-75 to 9-82 loss.
“It was (hard fought), yes,” Rochester 1’s Karen Taylor said.
“There were a couple of sets that probably could have gone either way, but Echuca were able to capitalise on the opportunities.”
Going into the contest knowing they would have to defy the odds to take home the Dolly Christie Memorial Shield, Rochester gave its all to limit the margin to just seven games overall, just the second time all season any side has been within 10 games of Echuca 1.
“It was always going to be tough, and we always had to be on our A-game to bring home the shield,” Taylor said.
“But the team really made every game count. We gave it a red-hot go, but it wasn’t to be this year, Echuca was just too good.”
The reigning premier didn’t have it all its own way throughout the contest, as Rochester 1 put up a strong fight to ensure every single rubber was as tough as possible for Echuca 1.
Jaycob Dingwall claimed a 6-1 singles victory for Rochester over Charnas, while Jacob Grieves defeated Nick Bush 6-2 to hand Rochy an early advantage once the singles matches had been completed.
Grieves and Nash Hocking also combined to take an 8-5 win in the men’s doubles, but Echuca 1 hit back with wins to Charnas and Stephen Hope (8-4), as well as Hope and Shane Coatsworth (8-7).
Echuca 1 claimed each of the four women’s doubles matches, with Roxanne Dicketts, Celine Joyce, Anthea Mathers, Genevieve Bush and Vicki Bavich all playing extraordinary tennis to open up the lead for Echuca 1.
But Rochester remained in striking distance heading into the mixed doubles, where Tobie Woodfine and Kate Familari managed to claim an 8-2 win.
However, Echuca did just enough to secure wins in the remaining three rubbers and, with them the overall triumph, netting a third consecutive division one title.
Taylor was immensely proud of the efforts of her side despite the result, with a number of new faces joining the team, which quickly came together in their pursuit of the premiership.
“We had a few new players this year, but we quickly gelled as a unit,” she said.
“I think we all knew pretty early that we were a real contender to make it to the grand final, and I’m very, very proud of how the team brought it all together and we made it there.
“We certainly put in our best effort to bring the shield back to Rochester, but that wasn’t to be.”
Although the side will have to settle for runners-up this season, it has already set its sights on next year’s campaign, according to Taylor.
“As you can imagine the commiseration talks were peppered with what we can do better for next year,” she said.
“The team is certainly motivated to play again next year, and take it one step further so we can bring the ‘Dolly’ shield back to Rochester.”
Rochester 2 was also in action on Saturday against Echuca 4 in the division two grand final, putting in a strong showing however ultimately going down 4-57 to 9-72 as Echuca 4 claimed back-to-back titles.
