March League Roundup

With Coronavirus precautions coming in during March and full lockdown imposed on 23rd, just two matches from the Winter season, which were rescheduled for 28th and 29th March, were not played.

Most Men’s matches were completed by the end of February, so just two matches remained to be played in March.  On 1st March  Men’s 2 were away to Royal Ascot 2 in Division 4, the result of which would determine whether Crowthorne or Ascot were relegated.  In the event, the Crows were able to come away with a 3-1 win, although it was a struggle in the second round with both rubbers going to deciding tiebreaks.  Matt Paxton/Andy Sayer survived a tight first set against Dan Lampton/Don Taylor but won it 7-5 before taking the second set 6-3.  With Hamish McCarthy/Michael Harris cruising through 6-3 6-1 against Adrian Camp/Tristan Southwell, it looked like plain sailing for the match win but the Crows players found it tougher in the second round.  After winning the first set 6-4 against Camp/Southwell, Paxton/Sayer slipped up. losing the second set 2-6 and dropping the deciding tiebreak.  McCarthy/Harris found themselves a set down against Lampton/Taylor after losing the first set 6-7 but they recovered to take the second set 6-4 and win the deciding breaker to make the match score 3-1.  The 3 points leapfrogged them above Sonning and Maidenhead 5 into 4th place on 11 points.

On 8th March, Men’s 3 faced Binfield at home in Division 6E.  The result was a 3-1 win for Binfield but the Crows still finished a point clear of relegation, above Wokingham 3, in 6th place.  Joe Forrester/David Stone had a poor start, losing 2-6 0-6 to Scott Alloway/Dominic Ogden but Andy Stone/Steve Stow nearly squared the match only to lose 6-7 6-7 to Richard Nichols/Tim Usher.  Forrester/Stone got one back for the Crows with a 6-4 6-2 win against Nichols/Usher but Stone/Stow were unable to level the match, losing 3-6 4-6 to Alloway/Ogden.

Men’s 1 narrowly escaped relegation finishing in 6th place in Division 2.

Ladies’ 2 had a rearranged match on Sunday 1st March away against Wellington 3 in Division 7.  Penny Hemingway/Wendy Miles were unable to make any impression against either of the home pairs but Maggie Ingham/Jenny Partridge were able to win a close rubber 6-2 4-6 1-0 against Margaret Lucey/Judith Taylor to make the score 1-3.

The following Saturday, Ladies’ 2 faced Royal Ascot 2 at home, again losing 1-3 but in a much closer match.  Jenny Sheppard/Ravinder Norman started well with a close 6-2 6-7 1-0 win over Lisa Buttle/Caroline Everett but Wendy Miles/Penny Hemingway lost 3-6 1-6 to Kath De La Harpe/Gail Nash.   In the second round. Sheppard/Norman had another close match but lost to De La Harpe/Nash 7-6 3-6 0-1, while Hemingway/Miles nearly salvaged a point losing 6-2 4-6 0-1 to Buttle/Everett.  The team finished the season 6th in the division of 8 teams.

Ladies’ 1‘s rearranged match against Caversham 3 on 28th March was not played due to the lockdown, so the team finished 4th in Division 3.

On 15th March, Mixed 1 played their final match in Division 3 against Riseley 1 away from home.  Jon Blatchford/Emma Knowles won a very close first rubber against a strong Michael Fairburn/Karen Holt pairing 6-4 6-7 1-0 while Simon Usher/Cath Sillitoe were losing 1-6 1-6 to John and Clementina Tuck.  Blatchford/Knowles put the Tucks firmly back in their place with a 6-1 6-1 win but Usher/Sillitoe were again outclassed, losing 0-6 1-6 to Fairburn/Holt.   Still, the 1 point means the team finishes in 2nd spot above Riseley, who were unable to play their final match.

Mixed 2 were at home against Caversham 3 in Division 4 and Mark Callaghan/Jenny Sheppard found Rebecca Tricks/Andy Von Glehn too hot to handle, losing 3-6 1-6.  Andrew Morrison/Jenny Partridge were unlucky to lose a close rubber 6-7 3-6 to Elisabeth Andersson/Michael Barker and they too had no answer against Tricks/Von Glehn. losing 0-6 0-6.  However, Callaghan/Sheppard salvaged some pride with a 6-1 5-7 1-0 win against Andersson/Barker to make the final score 3-1 to the visitors.  The team finished 4th in the division which was dominated by Ascot 1 who didn’t lose a set.

With Bisham 2 withdrawing from the league. Mixed 3 had no match in March and finished in 4th place in Division 5E.

The last Junior match of the season was Boys 14U A against Caversham at home in Division 1B.  It was a good end to the season with a 6-0 win to finish in 3rd place in the division.  Jake Griffiths started well with a 6-2 6-0 win against Joseph Rogers with Jonathan Snyman finding it aconsiderably tougher in his 6-1 2-6 1-0 win over Joseph Bradley.  The Crows pair then completed the clean sweep with a 6-4 6-2 win in the doubles.

The Boys 14U B match against Royal Ascot, postponed to 29th March, was not played.

Congratulations to Boys 18U A who won Division 2, pipping Latika B to the top spot by a set.  Boys 18U B,who were in the same division, finished 6th.

Girls 18U finished 3rd in a division of 3 teams in which each side won 1 match.

Congratulations also to Mixed 10U who won Group B by a significant margin – it was a shame that three of the 7 clubs, Caversham, Wokingham and Caversham Park, withdrew their teams.

Places must be booked in advance via the Members’ Area and selections will then be confirmed on the morning or evening before the event.  Please do not turn up if you have not been selected as you will be turned away. Players are selected on a first come first serve basis usually in multiples of 4 players.  Note that none of these sessions is suitable for beginners.

  • Note that the Committee tries to accommodate the wishes of members, within the constraints of time and 4 courts, but a session for each ability level is the guiding principle.
    • The Friday session is for recreational and higher players and runs from 6pm to 8pm
    • The Thursday 5:30 session is for intermediate players and runs from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
    • The Thursday 7:30 session is for intermediate and advanced players including potential team players and runs from 7:30 to 9:30pm.
    • The Tuesday session is for advanced players and runs from 7pm to 9pm. 
    • In all cases you must commit to the full two hours.
  • Before the session you will have been told by the organiser your starting court, your partner and your opponents.
    • These will take into account each player’s normal playing standard with the best players starting on court 1 and, with 16 players, the least able players on court 4.  However, the organiser may occasionally decide to organise it differently such as a “lucky dip” for starting court & partner.
    • In addition, for the Thursday 7:30 session, the organiser will take into account any pairings for matches at the coming weekend.
  • Play is split into 3 rounds lasting 40 minutes each.  Play 1 set with normal deuce scoring.  If you finish early either carry on or mix in your 4.
    • If you haven’t finished the set after 40 minutes and the scores are level, play a sudden death point
  • At the end of the 40 minutes the winners of the first set played move up a court, the losers move down a court (court 1 is the top court). Winners on the top court stay, as do the losers on the bottom court. If you didn’t finish your set then the pair winning at the time moves up.
  • Pairs then split partners with the pair joining them and you play a second round.
    • Partners are selected by spinning rackets or using common sense to try to get a balanced 4.
  • Exactly the same happens for the third round.

Drop-In club nights are, as the name implies, more informal sessions than the bookable ones and you can arrive and leave when you like.  Those attending organise themselves, changing who plays with whom after most present have completed a set, although there’s often a more senior member present who  will take charge if needed.

We are currently running 2 Drop-In  sessions for all levels from Starter upwards…

  • The Tuesday session has recently been rebranded for All Levels and runs from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  If you want to sit out and watch, maybe with a drink, you can do that too.  If you’ve arrived early for the 7 o’clock session, you’re also welcome to join in.
  • The Wednesday session is for all levels of player including beginner and usually runs from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.
    • You can expect members attending adult coaching to join in.
  • The Sunday session is for All levels and runs from 3:00 – 5:00pm.

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