MORNINGTON NEWS scoreboard
Late starter smashes through the rankings By Ben Triandafillou IN JUST over a year, junior tennis player Emmerson Priest, of Mt Eliza has risen from competing in entry level competition for the Mornington Tennis Club to sitting in the top 50 of Victoria’s under-12 girl’s category. Her commitment and rapid improvement has seen her move from section six in 2016 to now representing her club in section one and competing in Australian ranking tournament events. Emmerson has had a full schedule over the past few weeks where she has represented the Mornington region at the Judy Dalton Cup and competed in the 2017 Better Tennis Frankston Cup, an Australian ranking tournament. At the Judy Dalton Cup, which was held at the Mornington Tennis Centre on Saturday 28 October, Emmerson helped her side reach second place and take home the runners-up trophy. The following weekend at the Frankston Cup, which was held at Frankston Tennis Club, Emmerson
took out the under-12 doubles event with partner Alexis Stergiopoulos and finished in third place in her singles event. Emmerson said she wasn’t too sure with how she would go at the Frankston Cup where she played doubles with a girl she hadn’t met before. “I was a bit surprised with the overall results,” she said. “I didn’t know what we would be like together as a team, but it turned out that we worked really well together. “I feel like every match and tournament I play in, I continue to play better and improve my results.” Having only started competing in Australian ranking tournaments at the start of this year, Emmerson has now risen to rank 31 in Victoria’s under-12 girl’s category and sits just outside the top 1000 in Australia’s open women’s category. Emmerson trains seven times per week under the guidance of Elite Ten-
nis Academy coaches Kate Antosik (based at the Mornington Tennis Centre) and Greg Wikman (based in Glen Iris) and said she would just love to be one of the next top women’s tennis players in Australia. According to her coaches she has a lot of potential considering how quickly she has risen through the ranks. “She has a great work ethic and has huge potential upon the junior and senior circuit,” Kate Antosik said. “Emmerson only began playing Australian ranking tournament events in 2017, and has already proven that she can compete with these girls who have been playing a lot longer than her.” Emmerson’s result’s from the Frankston Cup has seen her jump up 206 places in the rankings. With no specific upcoming tournaments in mind, Emmerson said she just wants to play as much as she can to reach her goal of playing with the elite.
Golfers geared up for charity golf day PLANS are in full swing for the 13th annual Independence Australia Daddo Charity Golf Day which is set to be held on Friday 24 November. Independence Australia has again teamed up with the Daddo family to host the inaugural event, with more than 130 golfers ready to tee off at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula. Independence Australia chief executive, Peter Turner said the event holds great significance to the organisation, which supports people living with a disability or personal need. “The Independence Australia Daddo Charity Golf Day has earned a reputation as a go-to event, with a large number of participants and
sponsors returning each year,” Turner said. “Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are able to continue to provide essential psychology and counselling services to Victorians living with a disability and their families.” More than 35 teams will battle it out on the Legends and Open courses, with the main attraction being the ‘Hole in One’ competition where golfers will have the chance to win a brand new Mercedes Benz SLC200 thanks to Advance Careers. The event’s auction and monster raffle are two other highly anticipated parts of the day, with more than $10,000 worth of items up for grabs
including a Western Bulldogs 2016 AFL Premiership Lithograph, exclusive dinner gift vouchers, electronics and accommodation packages. Prizes will also be awarded to the winning teams and players scoring the longest drive. Co-founder Peter Daddo said it was an “absolute honour” to be part of Independence Australia’s main fundraising event, which continues to sell-out each year. “My family and I are looking forward to another memorable day and sincerely thank everyone who has played a part in ensuring this important event continues to strengthen each year,” he said.
Frankston fire at state championships By Ben Triandafillou THE Frankston Athletic Club had 21 medal-winning performances at the Victorian All Schools Track and Field Championships across the weekend of Friday 3 November. The championships, which was held at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park, is one of the premier junior events in Victoria with any student from any school allowed to enter from across the state. Frankston’s medal-winning performances included seven gold medals ranging across a variety of track and field events. The athletic club’s gold medal winners included: Bailey Barrett (Frankston High School), Mohamed Mohamed (St Peter’s College), Lewis Bailey (Frankston High School), Kaelah Elvish (Frankston High School), Hope Kareta (Dandenong High School), Daniel D’Alberto (Peninsula Grammar), Aiden Hinson (Padua College), and Amber Kamau (Frankston High School).
Frankston Athletic Club secretary Colin Lane said it was a fantastic achievement by the juniors to return with 21 medals. “Our junior section between the under-14’s and under-20’s is our largest part at the club and we usually do quite well at these events but to get seven gold medals is a great achievement,” Lane said. The gold medal winning athletes are now preparing to head to Adelaide next month for the Australian All Schools Championships. The Frankston Athletic Club also won a bronze and silver medal at the State Relay Championships on Saturday 11 November at Lakeside Stadium. Ned Buxton, Hani Abdelrahim, Lachlan Enno and Daniel D’Alberto came away with silver medals in the men’s under-18 4x800 metre relay. While the women’s team of Georgia Mills, Shahd Mohammed, Isabella Phanivong and Charlotte Cain earnt bronze medals in the under-16 4x100 metre relay.
The Dunes Medal to raise a new star THE DUNES Golf Links, Rye will host the annual open amateur event, The Dunes Medal, on Tuesday 21 November. The 72-hole amateur event has again attracted a capacity field of 168 amateur golfers who will be trying to emulate the successes of past winners such as Jason Day (pictured right with Emma Bennett) and Bryden MacPherson. The Dunes Medal has been used as a stepping stone to a successful professional career with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Brett Rumford and Curtis
Luck also having entered the event in the past. The men and women competitors will tee off from 7am on the Tuesday with the final round to be held on Friday 24 November. Spectators are encouraged to go along and try and spot a future star or cheer on one of the many local hopes. Volunteers are also needed to help through the week with The Dunes offering incentives to all who volunteer. Call the pro-shop on 5985 1334 for more details.
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21 November 2017
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