Summer Pennant returns

Drysdale's Section 3 boys player Sam Duff. (Supplied)

This week sees the return of summer pennants for Tennis Geelong, with junior and senior Saturdays and midweek ladies all starting back.

Midweek ladies will be glad to get back on court after the winter season was again cancelled due to COVID lockdowns.

Sixty-four teams will compete across nine sections this season, and will kick off on Tuesday.

Saturday junior and senior pennants will resume after the Christmas lay off, at the halfway mark of the season.

With the late start to the season, teams will be starting again fresh and with most teams still a realistic chance of making finals.

The battle for the four will continue in Section 1 men, where seven teams are still in contention for finals.

Geelong Lawn hold top spot but with a marginal one point advantage over Waurn Ponds, while third placed Highton is only eight points ahead of Surfcoast Torquay in sixth, meaning all teams will need to have a consistent back half of the season to secure a finals berth.

Anglesea would feel comfortable at the moment with a 10.5 point lead on Moriac Blue in Section 4 mixed, however, with only 12.5 points between second and seventh, all teams will have the chance to push themselves into the four coming up to finals.

On the junior front, Section 6 girls will be interesting to watch.

All Saints has a 10 point lead on Lara, but sixth-placed Barwon Heads Blue is only 11 points behind second-placed Lara.

The results so far for these girls have been close, with each team having at least one loss, and 75 per cent of the matches being decided 4-2 or closer.

Section 6 boys, of all the sections, would be the hardest to pick at this point of the season, with only 10 points separating first and eighth.

Geelong Lawn currently holds the mantle, three points ahead of Clifton Springs, while Grovedale Black, All Saints, Waurn Ponds, Highton, Centre Court and Grovedale Black will be wanting a strong back half of the season to put themselves into the four and push for a double chance.

With seven weeks left to play, all teams have plenty of opportunity to boost their position and get themselves in form for the finals series in March.