It was the Orange girls who proved the difference in the contest as they won all their doubles matches 4-0, though the Bathurst boys were strong in their own right by winning their sets 3-1.

The mixed doubles sets were split evenly, 2-2, to give Orange the overall victory and an early advantage in the cup.

A decisive set proved to be the first reverse girls doubles set where Orange's Zaley Attwater and Mackenzie Smith won 7-6 over Bathurst's Dakota Hindmarch and Kira Dowling.

Bathurst's number one boys player Jeorge Collins was a cut above the competition as he won 6-0 in all three sets he was involved in, enjoying success alongside Tom Cardosi in the two boys doubles sets and another win alongside Hindmarch in the mixed set.

Bathurst High School tennis coach Paul Abbott was proud of the effort the team showed.

"It was very close. I'd say a key set was probably our girls' reverse doubles set where they Orange were able to sneak the tiebreak," he said.

"In the end one or two key points in that tiebreak ended up being the difference.

"Jeorge Collins, our number one, was dominant in his matches. There's certainly very few at a school level who will match him."

Sets were often lopsided across the day, with the only other very competitive match being Bathurst's Cardosi and Eleksa Matiszik winning 6-4 over Orange's Sam Rollins and Steph Gersbach.

Abbott was full of praise for the Bathurst girls, who had an experienced Orange team to contend with.

"We've got two new girls in the team this year," he said.

"Sarah Hundy's a younger girl who, with match experience, will keep improving. Eleksa, who unfortunately for us is in her last year, has really fallen in love with the game and improved out of sight."

Bathurst's eight-strong team, which also includes Harley Spice and Mark Sheather, will have their opportunity to bounce back at home next week against Dubbo.

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