August League Roundup

The Men’s Summer League matches were completed with the 3rd team’s postponed match away against Sonning 2 on the last Saturday of August.  A mixture of youth and experience, Dan Rippon was playing his first adult match for the club and, with Joe Forrester, they won their second rubber 6-4 6-4 against the home first pair Brian Curtis/Chris Gibson after losing to Steve Edwards/Tim Banks by the same score.  The experienced pair of Richard McCully and Andy Stone cruised through both rubbers beating Curtis/Gibson 1 & 2 before winning 1 & 3 against Edwards/Banks.  The 3-1 win lifted the team into the top spot in Division 6B and certain promotion, which, after being withdrawn last summer due to lack of players, might have seemed unlikely at the start of the season;  however, with Wokingham 2 points behind and with a game in hand, having now won their remaining match against Sonning, our side finishes second.

The 2nd team are also promoted, having finished top of Division 4A, while the 1st team are unlucky not to be promoted from Division 3B, which has just one promotion spot, having finished 2nd behind a dominant Caversham Park 1.

So an excellent summer for Men’s Captain Russell Finch who also saw Men’s 1 finish 2nd in Division 3 in the Team Tennis competition with Men’s 2 winning Division 5A.

As reported previously, Ladies 2 cemented their position as Division 7B winners with a 3-1 win against Wokingham 5 at the beginning of the month.  For the full report, click here…

In the Mixed League, our 1st team lost a tough match 1-3 away against Division 2 leaders Peppard 1 in the middle of the month.  Helen & Andrew Lee were just too strong for Tina Stern/Matt Paxton who lost 6-7  3-6 in their first rubber but the Crows’ pair fought well against second pair Wendy & James Franklin to clinch the rubber 4-6 6-4 1-0.   Both home pairs, however, were too strong, however, for Cath Sillitoe/Mark Lardner who lost their rubbers in straight sets.

Mixed 2 gained a valuable point in a losing 2-2 draw against Maidenhead 4 in Division 5B.  Both Crows’ pairs started well, Alison Nicholson/Mark Callaghan winning 6-4 6-3 against Susan Carter/Paul Ernst and Ravinder Norman/Steve Stow beating Su Reid/Bahno Marek 7-5 6-3.   But they couldn’t maintain their momentum in the second round and both pairs lost in straight sets with the final result decided on games; a loss by 37 games to 39.

Our Men’s O45 Veterans finished a tough campaign with another loss, this time 0-4 away to Maidenhead D.  Steve Stow/Vince Brooks and Phil Timm/Richard McCully lost by identical scores, 1-6 3-6, in the first round against Stephen Smyth/Simon Brittain and Mike Bottomley/Paul Ernest respectively, but both pairs came close to winning a set in the second round with Timm/McCully losing 0-6 6-7 and Stow/Brooks losing 5-7 3-6.  If we could field our younger over-45 players instead of relying on our 50+ and 60+ players for these matches, it could be a different story, however, relegation to Division 3 for the first time since the team was introduced back in the 90’s will probably be a relief for those that do turn out regularly for both the O55 and O45 teams.

It was better news for the Men’s O55 Veterans who switched their much postponed tie against David Lloyd Newbury to their opponents’ club due to our lack of floodlighting.  Phil Timm/Andy Stone lost their first round match 3-6 4-6 against Simon Middleton/Duncan Chisholm but Richard McCully/Vince Brooks restored the balance by beating Sandy Balfour/Bruce Letham 3 & 3.  It was a similar story in the second round with McCully/Brooks winning 6-1 7-6 while Timm/Stone did just enough to ensure the tie was won on games by recording the same score as in their first round match, 3-6 4-6.  The final result – a win by 39 games to 37 and 4th place in Division 1 which keeps them in the top tier for another season.

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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