Clean sweep for Cambridge in Varsity match

Cambridge completed a clean sweep of the men's and ladies' Varsity matches at Lord's last weekend, with both teams winning 6-0. A fortnight earlier, the men's 2nd team won 4-2, and the ladies 4-3,(Cambridge like to be called the Cambridge Ladies, incidentally, in case anyone thinks this report is politically suspect). Warm congratulations to the teams, their captains, and the professionals. The standard of play throughout was extremely high, and showed that at both universities, there is both quality and depth, as well as huge enthusiasm for the game. It was great to see so much Cambridge support in the dedans, as well as at the reception and the dinner in the Long Room, sponsored by Pol Roger.

The format and timing was slightly adjusted this year, because the reception and dinner was shifted to the Saturday night, after the match, much to the relief of the players. The ladies match began with the four singles, starting with Charlotte Barker (Trinity), the captain, playing at 4. She had a tremendous battle with Emma Ormerod, who squared the match by coming back to take the second set; but Charlotte held on to clinch the decider at 6-4. After that, Cambridge never looked like losing a set. Marsali Grant (Trinity Hall), won 6-0, 6-1, Helen-Frances Pilkington (New Hall) was almost as ruthless, winning 6-1, 6-1, and Sarah Vigrass (Caius) overwhelmed the plucky Oxford captain, Gabby Savage, 6-0, 6-0. So Cambridge had retained the trophy, won for the first time last year, by the end of the first day's play. In the doubles next morning, played at an extremely early hour to allow Sarah to get back to Cambridge and represent the university at football, she and Charlotte won their doubles 6-0, 6-1, and Helen-Frances and Marsali followed this up with a cool and efficient performance, 6-1, 6-3, showing a very good tactical sense. When the whole match was over, the Cambridge reserve, Julia Clark (St John's) played a 'friendly set against her Oxford counterpart, and won that too.

Ladies win 6-0
Cambridge	beat	Oxford	6-0
Charlotte Barker Trinity	beat	Emma Ormerod	6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Marsali Grant Trinity Hall	beat	Bryony Tomlinson	6-0, 6-1
Helen-Frances Pilkington New Hall	beat	Fay Dalby	6-0, 6-1
Sarah Vigrass Gonville & Caius	beat	Gabby Savage	6-0, 6-0
Pilkington & Grant	beat	Dalby & Ormerod	6-1, 6-3
Vigrass & Barker	beat	Savage & Tomlinson	6-0, 6-1

The men's match was played the other way round, with the two doubles on Friday afternoon, and the singles on the Saturday. Burak Salgin (Caius) and Jamie Douglas (St John's) were first on court, against the Oxford numbers 2 and 3, William Fortune and Alistair Mitchell-Innes. They soon established dominance, and moved swiftly to a convincing 6-2, 6-1,6-2 result. David Woodman (Trinity) and Neil Roxburgh (Darwin) are a hugely formidable doubles pair, having played so much together, and, of course, having extensive experience in the Premier Division. Ted Alexander, the Oxford captain, and William Broadbent are both good players, and there were some entertaining and lengthy rests. Each Oxford point, and game, was loudly cheered, but it was clear that the Cambridge pair had plenty in reserve, and they duly won 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

The singles next day were very good to watch. Burak played Alexander, who has a lot of natural talent, and occasionally smacked the ball around to good effect. Burak's speed about the court was notable - he takes the ball very early - and although he was made to work hard at the beginning of the first set , he went smoothly up a gear and won 6-3, 6-1. Neil Roxburgh came next, and gave a highly impressive performance of concentration and ruthlessness, winning 6-1, 6-2 to ensure Cambridge won the match. Jamie Douglas followed, against a first year Oxford player, William Fortune, who is a rackets champion. Jamie played beautifully in the first set, using his great range of strokes, and from time to time producing an unanswerable boast to Fortune's backhand. At 6-1, 5-1, we were beginning to think of tea, when Fortune fought back to 5 all, playing at the high level Jamie had set, and learning on his feet. However, Jamie dug in, went for winners, and closed out the match 6-1, 6-5. Finally, David Woodman played the very talented William Broadbent, like David a top-class squash player, with long legs, and very sure strokes, especially in terms of retrieval. David gave a highly controlled performance, and showed the full variety of his game, together with a pin-point ability to hit the winning openings when required, especially the winning gallery, and the dedans after a main-wall force. He won 6-2, 6-2.

Men win 6-0
Cambridge	beat	Oxford	6-0
Burak Salgin Gonville & Caius	beat	Ted Alexander	6-3, 6-1
Neil Roxburgh Darwin	beat	Alistair Mitchell-Innes	6-1, 6-2
Jamie Douglas St Johns	beat	William Fortune	6-1, 6-5
David Woodman Trinity	beat	William Broadbent	6-2, 6-2
Douglas & Salgin	beat	Fortune & Mitchell-Innes	6-2, 6-1, 6-2
Woodman & Roxburgh	beat	Broadbent & Alexander	6-2, 6-2, 6-3

It's never easy for a team when they are expected to win comfortably, and Cambridge accomplished all that could be asked of them, with a quartet that must be the strongest ever to represent either university. It's been a pleasure to watch them over the last few years.

One final note - there was an 'old boys' dinner match, for the first time, with Cambridge represented by Andrew Page and Simon Kverndal. A small comfort for Oxford - they won. But we fortunately didn't have to pay for the dinner. And Andrew Page, in his long white flannels, comfortably won the best-dressed player award.

Tennis & Rackets Association 2007 Amateur Doubles Championship - Sat 3^rd Mar
Sponsored by British Land

The first match, between Colquhoun/Douglas and Danby/Danby, will start at 9.30. The second match, between Woodman/Roxburgh and Howard/Page, will start at 10.30. There will be a third-place playoff at 1.30, with the final taking place at 2.30 (all times are approximate).

David Woodman and Neil Roxburgh, who reached the World Championship Doubles Final in 2005, are the current 1st pair in the CU doubles team. Along with Jamie Douglas and Burak Salgin, they defeated Oxford 6-0 last weekend. David Woodman is also the current Amateur Singles champion, so he is looking for the double.

The Danby cousins, from the Seacourt club, are the current holders of this championship.

Duncan Colquhoun is the current CURTC club captain and an ex CU blue; he is joined by Jamie Douglas, who is the CU no. 2 singles player.

Andrew Page and Mark Howard represent a blast from the Cambridge past glory days; both were captains and great players during a previous era of Cambridge dominance, contributing to a long Varsity match winning streak.

All in all, this should provide an excellent day of tennis. Spectators are welcome.

If you want to see some more great doubles, Peter Paterson and Jamie Douglas are playing the Danby cousins in a national league match on Friday night, 2nd March, starting at 6 pm. Spectators are welcome.

Category 40-49 Championship - Sat 17^th Mar

Club members with handicaps from 40 to 49 (inclusive) are invited to compete for the “C.U.R.T.C. Category 40 – 49 Championship”.

This is a level tournament. The initial stages will be round-robin. Group winners will go through to the knockout semi-finals. During the round-robin stage each match will be first to win six games. The knockout matches will be first to win eight games.

Please sign up for this tournament on the notice board at the club. Alternatively, contact the professionals at the club via telephone or

The tournament fee is based on the amount of court time used and will be charged to your account. Entries close Monday, 12^th March 2007, at 5pm.

Mens 2nds Varsity Match

Having lost narrowly in last year’s match in Oxford, the Cambridge team, now at home, was determined to reverse the 2006 result. The men’s matches, four singles and two doubles, were all played on the blue court – a very different beast to the court in Oxford, and this would prove later to be of some advantage to the home team in the closer sets

Following early morning training sessions and pre-varsity level singles play-off matches, the Giraffes were prepared. Nick Wright got Cambridge off to a flyer in the fourth-string singles. With his usual Racquets-inspired subtlety, Wright raced to an early lead, before crushing the Oxford captain in straight sets. The third singles followed straight away, but after two close sets, Cambridge’s Simon Fox went down to the Oxford number three, whose left-handed railroad and very dogged retrieving consistently denied ‘Le Docteur’ the server’s end. At 1-1, the second and first-string singles both went the full three sets, and in both Cambridge started slowly, dropping the first. However, the home court advantage, coupled with some smart serving and vocal team support, resulted in Simon McLoughlin and James Watson eventually defeating Oxford’s second and first players respectively.

With the score standing at 3-1 in the Giraffes’ favour, Oxford would have to win both doubles matches if they were to force a play-off match. First on court after lunch was the second pair of Wright and Fox, to face their combined singles opponents. With their backs against the wall, the Oxford pair fought well, and, now more used to the Cambridge court, took the match in convincing fashion. However, Oxford’s hopes of taking the score to 3-3 were soon and quickly extinguished – McLoughlin and Watson proved to strong for the Oxford first pair, winning the last and deciding doubles comfortably, and Cambridge the match 4-2.

Results:

Ladies 2nds Varsity Match

Real tennis may not be a particularly significant sport for most people, especially not concerning women playing, and particularly not when referring to their 2nd team. This however was proved to be unmerited on Saturday when the Cambridge University women’s Real Tennis 2nd team defended their title, and indeed their 100% unbeaten record versus Oxford University in the 2007 varsity match.

Played in Cambridge, the home court advantage helped the team clinch a nail biting 4-3 victory over their toughest rivals. Cambridge 4th seed, Vicky Savage started against Oxford’s Emily Pimm. Sharp cross court ground strokes from Emily meant Vicky faced a tough match and despite consistently impressive serving form Vicky, Oxford took the lead with a secure 2 set victory.

Clemmie Briance then stepped onto court against Oxford’s Emily Coats. After a slightly shaky start, losing the first two games, Clemmie’s experience on the lawn tennis court shone through and some strong volleying led to her taking 12 straight games to win the match 6-2, 6-0.

Cambridge’s Kate Halliday then played Alice Unwin and some slightly unconventional real tennis saw her victorious in three sets putting Cambridge back in the lead.

The two team captains, Julia Clarke for Cambridge and Emily Johnson for Oxford, then battled it out in the final singles game, with fierce ground strokes and powerful volleys dominating play. Emily got off to a confident start taking the first set 6-3 but Julia remained undeterred, levelling the score winning the second set 6-2. Emily wasn’t giving up without a fight, however, and a tough 3rd set saw Emily fight back into the lead with every game reaching deuce at least once.

At 2-all Cambridge’s 2nd and 3rd seeds, Kate and Clemmie took on Oxford’s 3rd and 4th seeds, Emily Pimm and Emily Coats. Cambridge being the stronger team on paper rose to the challenge and won easily in two sets. The 2nd doubles game was not so simple, however. With the difference in pairing between the two sides, the Oxford duo was clearly much stronger and despite Julia and Vicky putting up a valiant fight, Emily and Alice played tactfully off Cambridge’s weaker player, levelling the score to 3-3.

It was then down to the deciding doubles where both teams put forward their choice of two players. The pairings could not, however, be the same as those played in the previous two doubles matches. This meant that Cambridge was at an advantage as they could play their two strongest players.

It was decided that Clemmie and Julia played Emily Pimm and Emily Johnson in a nerve-racking final two sets. Fitness dictated the match and some great teamwork, consistent, safe ground strokes, and much encouragement from supporters, saw Cambridge take the first set 6-2. From there it was simply a sprint for home with Clemmie and Julia winning the second set 6-0 and thus securing the overall victory.

Results:

A big thanks must go to all those involved in organising such an enjoyable day and especially to Kees Ludekens, our head coach, and his wife Louise, for delicious food and wonderful hospitality.

Victory in Field Trophy semi-final - Sun 4th Feb

Holyport had sprung a surprise by beating last year's winners, Seacourt, in the previous round, so, although we seemed favourites to win on paper, we knew it could be a close match.

In the opening game, Burak endured some forceful hitting by a top rackets player and won as expected. Then the first doubles pair of Hugh and David were up against a useful pairing of Penny Lumley, the ex ladies world champion, and her volleying partner. Some close games in the second set saw the score level at 4-4 but Hugh and David were not going to succumb to someone of the opposite sex and quickly closed out the match.

We had hoped to be two matches up at this stage, but knew the next two singles were likely to be evenly balanced. Jamie was next on, up against Peter Wright to whom he had lost earlier in the season. After losing the first set, Jamie really worked hard with excellent retrieving and a good variety of controlled play and forceful hitting to take the second set 6-0. The final set was close all the way with many deuces, but Jamie showed good nerve, winning many of the crucial points to close out the set 6-3.

Cambridge had won the match, but it is worth reporting on the next game as Nick Brown was playing his first singles match for the Field Trophy side against an opponent who had defeated a very good player in the previous round. Nick played impressively, winning convincingly and confirming his true handicap is much lower than his official one. This is a very good omen for the future of the team.

Charles and Duncan had an easy final doubles and the 5-0 win was well deserved. Now for the final on 11th March at Moreton Morrell.

CURTC victory in Brodie Cup semi-final

As defending champions in the Brodie Cup, CURTC went through to this year's final by defeating Oratory on the Cambridge blue court on Sunday 4 February.

But not without a bit of a scare at the outset. Our 45+ doubles pair, Helen-Frances Pilkington and Marsali Grant, started scratchily and were one set down without winning a game before a change of tactics got them properly into the match. Marsali went up and began to dominate at the net, and Helen-Frances put away enough forehand winners to give them a chance of a 5-4 lead in the second set, but the crucial point escaped them and their heavyweight opponents closed out the match.

Roger East was next on in the first string singles (30+), and with Cambridge already 0-1 down he started with an unwelcome combination of the feeble and the violently erratic. Having lost the first set 0-6, Roger then pulled his act together, started playing a better floor game, levelled at one set all, and eventually took the final set 6-5. His relieved teammates were kind enough to call it a 'captain's innings', but it was noticeable than nobody had the stomach to start in on the lunchtime food until it was over.

Julian Stafford then imposed some calm and order on the proceedings with an admirably steady and well-judged performance in the 40+ singles, hitting a particularly good length from the receiver's end. His 6-3 6-2 win over the Oratory captain was harder fought than the score might suggest; many of the games went to deuce but Julian kept putting together a winning sequence of strokes on the crucial points.

Cambridge were thus 2-1 up when Gerald Smith came on court for the 50+ singles, facing an opponent who kept swapping his racquet over to play left-handed or right-handed ground strokes with equal ease. Fortunately Gerald had played him the previous week and kept well focused, rallied well, brought an effective bobble serve into play, and put us into the finals with another straight sets victory. So the 35+ doubles was a dead rubber - and no real contest. John Trapp and Glenn Pilgrim overwhelmed their opponents with a ruthless display, apart from a brief wobble of concentration which cost them two games when the job was almost done.

Tea & Tennis - Sunday 11^th March

Fancy an afternoon of real tennis, with tea and cakes on the side-lines? There will be a ladies-only event on Sunday 11th March from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.

Games will be informally arranged amongst the attendees. No scores will be recorded on the handicap system. It is open to all lady members and is meant to be a fun, non-serious event.

There will be a nominal charge of £3. Tea and cakes will be available – but please bring along additional delicious calories! Bring along children to spectate and /or scoff cakes too.

If you are interested please contact Gill Houston or by phone 01799 584167.

Category 20-29 Championship - Sunday 18^th Feb

The 20-29 tournament was held on Sunday 18th February. There was a very limited entry, which meant that those who did enter managed to get more court time than expected. The event was played in a round robin format between the three contestants, Neil Stutchbury (25.9), Nick Brown (23.6) and Blake Vickers (26.2). Remarkably, in all matches the handicaps proved to be in the correct order!

Nick had the benefit of playing both his matches first and therefore did not risk getting cold between them, which was a problem for Neil. Nick managed to triumph in his matches to win the event but the match of the day was between Neil and Blake. Blake managed to win the first set with some excellent tennis, 6–4. Neil, by then thawing out after having to sit through Blake's match against Nick beforehand, took the second set 6–1. A closely contested final set saw Neil come through 6–3. This was an excellent win for Neil, who is playing at his lowest handicap ever.

The tournament was won by Nick Brown.

Category 60+ Championship - Saturday 17^th Feb

The 60+ tournament was marred by withdrawals, both before and during the competition. The three preliminary groups were won by Jeremy Gummow, Howard Richardson (with Tom Hartley taking his place) and Jeremy Davidson, with Mike Whibley the best runner-up. The two Jeremys won through to the final, both by a comfortable 8–3 margin.

The final was closely contested, with both players serving well – Gummow in particular producing a variety of tricky serves – and hitting the ball to a good length. From 2–2, Gummow pulled ahead to 5–2 as Davidson started to make mistakes. Play then evened up again, with a series of close games and many well-defended chases. Davidson got back into the match at 5–6 through some clever shots, but in the crucial 12th game Gummow hit a series of winners into the dedans, and then forced two difficult chases in the final game to win 8–5.

Ladies Club Championship - Postponed

This event, originally planned for Friday and Saturday the 2nd and 3rd of February, will now take place at a later date

January Caption Competition - Results

The runner-up in this competition was Julian Stafford (sorry, no prize) who had Chris Bray (pictured) saying to Rob Fahey, his opponent

“Hey Rob, look into my eyes, look into my eyes, not around the eyes, look into my eyes – one, two, three .... you’re under.”

But the unanimous winner was Neil Roxburgh (and he should know) with

“Let go of my b*ll*ç*s you Aussie b*s*á*d.”

Neil wins a prize kindly supplied by The Wicked Fruit Company, which can be picked up from the club.

Many thanks for your entries, which kept us amused! There will be another caption competition later in the year.

Junior Real Tennis Coaching - 10^th - 13^th April

How many of us who play real tennis wish we had taken it up earlier? Even if we can’t turn back the clock for ourselves, we can now give our younger family members the opportunity to start early at CURTC.

A different sort of real tennis was played on the Grange Road courts in the first days of 2007 (see picture, right), in CURTC’s new Junior coaching initiative: three short sessions offered an introduction to the game for children aged 6 – 14. All three professionals and over twenty children had a great time on court, using short/lawn tennis racquets and lawn tennis balls.

Following the success of these January coaching sessions, short after-school courses have been introduced in February/March and in April. The Easter Course is £16 for the 4 days (more details available on this downloadable flyer), although the Extended Course has already started (five consecutive Mondays in February/March). Please call 01223 357106 or use the signup-by-email icons below:

Extended Course 19 Feb - 19 Mar		Easter Course 10 - 13 April
Age	Time	Age	Time	Signup
Under 7	16:30 - 17:10	Under 7	10:30 - 11:10
Under 9	17:10 - 17:50	Under 9	11:10 - 11:50
Under 11	17:50 - 18:30	Under 11	11:50 - 12:30
Over 11	16:15 - 17:00	Over 11/td>	10:00 - 10:40

Category 30-39 Championship - Saturday 20^th Jan

The Category 30-39 Championship was a feast of nail-biters, with Ian Miller coming from behind in three matches and triumphing for the third time since 2003 – Brazil-like, he hopes to keep the trophy! [No chance! – Ed.]

The first group, with Roger East, Ross Smythe, and Ian Miller, was tight, with Ian coming out on top. The second group of Julian Stafford, John Trapp, and Chris Schramm was won convincingly by Chris.

In the final, Chris looked set to add another scalp as he rattled up an early 4-0 margin against Ian. Chris’s excellent retrieval play was matched by a string of short chases from Ian that helped take him to 5-4 and 6-5 leads, but two strong service games by Chris left the match on a 7-7 knife-edge. A forehand ground stroke tight in the backhand corner finally forced the error on a last gallery chase – and gave Ian victory 8-7.

Category 50-59 Championship - Saturday 27^th Jan

Club members with handicaps from 50 to 59 (inclusive) were invited to compete for the “C.U.R.T.C. Category 50 – 59 Championship”.

This event was won by Peter Singleton.

The Ideal Christmas Present - Jan 16^th for 6 weeks
This course is now full - more courses to follow later

Still looking for a Christmas present for a Real Tennis player in your life?

£75 for a place on a 12-hour course with Kees. The course is suitable for all levels of player from beginner through to experienced player.

Each course takes place over 6 weeks in the form of a two-hour workshop.
First hour is ‘off-court’ with presentation of the week’s topic; use will be made of video footage of you playing to support teaching.
Second hour is on court ‘putting it into practice’. The course will cover:

• Techniques of various strokes
• Serves
• Return of service
• The rally
• How to practice

Playing the game including tactics, strategy, movement about the court

There are two courses running on Tuesdays 6:30 –8:30 pm or Thursdays 12:30 – 2:30pm starting on 16^th January and 18^th January respectively and running for the next 6 weeks.

To reserve a place contact Kees by email or by phone 01223 357 106.

Note: This course is now full

Cambridge 1 v Queens 1, January 4^th
(Fahey & Roxburgh  v   Bray & Matthews)

The first Premier League match of 2007 saw Cambridge 1, represented by Rob Fahey and Neil Roxburgh, play Queens 1, with Chris Bray (returning to his old stamping-ground) and Ben Matthews. Chris began his training at CURTC and many members did not know who to support!

In the second-string singles, Neil got off to a fine start, winning the first set 6/3 and leading 5/3 in the second, but then Ben found his form and pulled back to 5/5. An exciting final game of the set went to several deuces, with one match point to Neil, but Ben closed the set out 6/5 to level. Despite several close games, the third set went 6/1 to Ben.

In the keenly awaited clash between Rob and Chris, a previous winner of the British, French, Australian and US Opens, the good-sized crowd were given a masterclass in measured and controlled tennis. Although there were many long rests, Rob came out on top more often than not, and closed out the match 6/2, 6/2.

Once again, the outcome of the match depended on the doubles. This proved to be an excellent and entertaining set, with Cambridge 1 winning 8/4 and taking the match.

Christmas Coaching, January 2,3,4^th
A great chance for youngsters to try real tennis!

The club will be be running a series of introductory courses for 12 to 15 year olds early in the New Year. These cost just £10 each and will offer the chance to:

• Watch the professionals in action
• Learn about the game and its fascinating history and rules
• Enjoy a coaching session on court

Courses will run on:

• Tuesday January 2^nd 10:30 to 12:30 : 12 and 13 year olds
• Wednesday January 3^rd 10:30 to 12:30 : 13 and 14 year olds
• Thusday January 4^th 10:30 to 12:30 : 14 and 15 year olds

The attached booking form gives you more details about the courses.

To book a place or places just ring (01223 357106) or email

Boosting junior membership

We do hope that you will encourage your children, grandchildren or friends' children to get involved in our great game. The club is very keen to increase junior membership and family involvement and this is an exciting opportunity to do so. For more information, please refer to the attached leaflet. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

With all best wishes for Christmas

George Pearson and Kees Ludekens

Coaching classes for 12 to 15 year olds, just £10, running from 10:30 to 12:30 on three consecutive days

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