An Otago tennis selection heads to Ashburton this weekend to play a Christchurch Selection and Canterbury Country.
The fixtures have been arranged as a preparation for Christchurch interclub, and to allow a further look at some students, most of whom will soon leave Dunedin, with a view to including them in the representative team later in the season.
The demise of a match against Canterbury has led local administrators to search for alternative opportunities, after being restricted to southern regional events in recent times. The absence of a national teams event for senior players has meant limited pathways for players leaving junior status.
High performance training squad members will get a chance to put their training into practice on the road trip.
Although not strictly a representative fixture, the competition is expected to be close, as the computer rankings of players look well matched.
The Christchurch men, based on professional coaches and their leading charges, will be led by Vaughan Kingi, a former Otago Open and Indoor Open titleholder. He, and some of his squad from Edgeware club, will continue south to play junior tournaments in Timaru and Dunedin before the Otago Indoor Open the following weekend.
Kingi's comment that ''the boys are amped for this'', suggests there will be plenty of pressure on the young Otago men. Eight men have been picked but only four women, reflecting lower competition numbers in both areas.
The women will play a team based on Burnside Park club but will join the men for a combined tie against Canterbury Country. The Christchurch team tie is on Saturday and the Country match is on Sunday.
The Saturday fixture will include reverse singles by request, so players will play two singles and one double that day. Sunday sees one single and two doubles (or mixed doubles for the lower order).
Otago selection to play in Ashburton
Patrick Nolan, Aaron Hicks, Alex Low, Sam Poulter, Paddy Ou, Jong Kyu Kim, Carlos Reid, Jessie Stevenson, Nicki Wallace, Debby Stevens, Emma Hilder.
