Maribyrnong College has shown the strength of its tennis program by winning the 2014 Oakley State Inter-Academy Team Challenge.
In the tournament, held at the Queensland Tennis Centre in late April, a team of four players from Maribyrnong went head to head with teams from 14 of the best tennis academies in Australia as well as one Pacific Oceania international team made up of players from Noumea and Tahiti.
The Maribyrnong team of Ken Cavrak, Mary Jayakody, Bianca Compuesto and Stefan Milenkovic blitzed its way through the qualifying rounds before going on to win its semi-final, which was played under the roof of Pat Rafter Arena.
With the team still buzzing from that experience, Maribyrnong defeated the TFP Tennis Academy in the final to claim the overall win.
Maribyrnong College head tennis coach Marc Sophoulis said the event was a great experience for his players.
“When they were told the semi-final was going to be played on Pat Rafter Arena there was a big smile from all the kids.”
As well as the great team results, it was also a great tournament for Milenkovic, who was named the “best male tennis player”.
The Oakley State Inter-Academy Team Challenge also incorporated a Davis Cup-like format with Sophoulis and the coaches of the other academies allowed on the court to guide their players at change of ends.
“I’ve done it a few times before and I feel the kids can really learn a lot from it,” Sophoulis said.
