The final day of the Winter season saw our 1st Ladies team beat Bucklebury to go clear of Marlow at the top of Division 4 and snatch the title. Level on points with Marlow but behind on rubbers at the start of the match, our team needed a point to ensure the title was theirs following two winning draws during the previous week. Emma Knowles & Tina Stern set the tone with an imperious display against the home 1st pair Helen Raines & Lisa Saunders, winning 6-1 6-0. Ravinder Norman & Jenny Sheppard fought hard against Della Elford & Patricia Strang, losing 3-6 5-7 but putting the Crows well ahead on games after the first round. Norman & Sheppard found Raines & Saunders a harder proposition in round 2 and, the home pair, reacting well after their thrashing in their first rubber, inflicted a 6-0 6-2 defeat on the hapless Crowthorne duo. Knowles & Stern had a battle in the first set against Elford & Strang but took the set 6-4 and then, with the home pair’s spirit broken, cruised through to take the second set 6-0. With the final result a win for the Crows by 4 games, the damage had been done in the first round when the Crowthorne pairs built a 6 game margin.
Winning the division has been a considerable achievement. The final table shows how close a division it has been with 6 of the last 7 matches being 2-2 draws. With Lorraine returning this season after her injury, it looks like a winning summer is in prospect for our ladies.
Click here for the final league table – note that some teams will have 1 pt deducted as draws are initially scored 2-2 instead of 2-1.