We’re only two tournaments into the new season, yet 2017/18 is already looking great for Lucia and Laura, with appearances in the AA final of both events.
In what seems to be the creation of a rivalry, the same girls who beat Lucia and Laura in the ‘Pairs Warm-up’ – Sara Roth and Sarah Ellis – were the opponents they would eventually meet in the ’round one’ final of the Vic Beach Series. But to make the final, the girls had to push hard through a solid pool, tough quarter final opponents, and a relentless semi-final.
In the pool rounds Lucia and Laura had to get past older state representatives, Ruby Valentine-Bell and Keely Knight; the pairing of Koutsoukis/Kuklych, and Nguyen/Riemer. Wins against all three teams took them through to the quarter final stage and a meeting with former VBVA crew member Dee Tomic and her partner Natasha Wilmann – former State U17s coach for Lucia and Laura in 2016. The recent wind training Lucia and Laura have endured, ensured they could take advantage of the growing intensity of the afternoon breeze, beating Tomic/Wilmann in straight sets (18-11, 18-13).
The semi-finals, against previous AA winners and regular finalists Sara Orpana and Nathalie Brennan, was never going to be easy, but the girls stood up and made it count in a grueling three sets (18-10, 13-18, 15-10). Without any luck, they somehow managed to defeat the division top seeds and progress to their second final in a week.
Their opponents, Sara Roth and Sarah Ellis, lost to Lucia and Laura twice in the pool group at the last event, before coming back to beat the VBVA juniors in the final. This final would be the fourth competitive meeting between the teams in only two rounds. Unfortunately Roth/Ellis would even up the wins (18-14, 18-14), and more importantly, restrict Lucia and Laura to a 2nd place in consecutive tournaments.
Even with the loss, Lucia and Laura were still beaming; they had achieved their early season goal to make a AA final in the very first tournament, repeating the feat a week later… well ahead of schedule. Their goal to join close friend and fellow VBVA crew member Lauren in AAA is moving quickly from a dream to reality.
Well done girls!
