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As Brodie Cup winners for the last two years, Cambridge are
marked out as the team the other clubs all want to beat in
this year's inter-club knockout tournament. But in the first
round at Hatfield on October 28 we showed we were hungry for
more successes ourselves, coming through victorious in a series
of closely-fought games.
In the Brodie format, a team consists of seven players with
a spread of ability from 30 to 50 handicaps - each playing
once, either singles (at 30, 40 and 50) or doubles (at 35
and 45). So that's five games in the match - each played level.
Christopher Dean and David Pimblett were first on court for
CURTC in the 45+ doubles. Playing from the back of the court
in contrasting styles, their straight sets win was anything
but straightforward, with fine old scraps developing at 5-5
in each set after Hatfield had clawed back from an early Cambridge
lead.
Ed Pearson then showed he could make it even more tense.
His left-handed opponent Steve Brewerton in the top (30+)
singles powered through the first set to 6-3 before Ed could
really settle into his classy floor game. Cutting down on
the return of service errors, and moving so well around the
court that Steve had to really work to win any of the longer
rests, Ed got back to 4-4 in the second set, then closed it
out at 6-4 to set the scene for a real thriller in the third.
Narrow leads changed hands as both players produced some superb
shots. At 5-5 we held our breath, but Ed held his nerve and
suddenly CURTC were two up with three to play.
Mark Perriton (40+ singles) came up against Silas Manhood,
whose handicap is already better than 40, probably because
of his remarkable ability to get everything back. On the unfamiliar
court Mark could never get on top: Silas won in two sets and
Hatfield were back in the match.
So the dedans was packed for Julia Clarke's 50+ singles game
- and it did not disappoint. Before the game her opponent
had openly wondered if his bus pass would be a match for her
young person's railcard; on court, it was his calm, his local
knowledge and skill off the back wall against her nerves,
crosscourt forehand and double-handed backhand power. We thought
she'd win if she took the first set. She did so - but even
so the second set went game for game. Julia was serving a
better length now but needing her best strokes to come off
to clinch the critical rests. At 5-5 and deuce, the ledge
under the first gallery came to her aid to give her match
point- and a crunching forehand won it under the grill.
Cambridge could celebrate now - and we duly did, while the
Hatfield 35+ doubles pair made John Trapp and Jim Ludden sweat
in the final battle, storming through to take the first set
6-2. Our heroes turned that round to level at one set all,
with John doing all the lurking at the net, leaving most of
the actual running and hitting to Jim. This wise division
of effort paid off in the end, as we won the final set 6-4,
and the match by 4 to 1.
Next round at Cambridge on Sunday Nov 18. Worth dropping
in to see some of it if you can.
If you are a current student, alumni, fellow or member of
staff for one of the Cambridge University Colleges then you
are eligible to enter CUPPERS (you should also have a non
volatile handicap).
If you would like to enter then please sign up on the form
on the niticeboard, let one of
the pros know or alternatively email
. Each College will need at least two players to be able to
enter the format being two singles and then a doubles all
played off handicap.
The closing date for entries is Wednesday 7th November
with the draw being announced on the 8th November. Hopefully
enough Colleges will have entered to have a round robin stage
being played before the end of December and the knockout stages
being held in January/February.
Fancy an afternoon of real tennis,
with tea and cakes on the side-lines?
There will be a ladies only event on Saturday
17th Nov from 2.30pm to 5.00pm.
An opportunity to catch up with ‘long
time no see’ friends and to meet new players
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 £3.50
Tea and cakes will be available – but please bring along
additional delicious calories!
Feel free to bring along children to scoff
cakes and to have a go at Real Tennis too.
If you are interested please contact Gill
Houston by email
or by phone 01799 584167
Overnight your handicap, if it was worse than 30, has suddenly
changed and you are now a better player. Magic!
The T & R A Handicap and Rankings sub-committtee, of
which our John Trapp is chairman, has been considering match
results between players from different clubs, and, based on
these data, it has recommended that all Cambridge handicaps
in excess of 30 have improved by 10% of the difference between
the handicap and 30. For example, a handicap of 40.0 has become
39.0, a handicap of 55.0 has become 52.5, and so on. (There
may be a slight discrepancy due to rounding error, but at
most it is 0.2)
A similar, but only to the extent of 5%, change has been
made to handicaps at Prested Hall.
If you have any queries, please contact John on
The Club is committed to give all members the opportunity
to play competitive tennis. The National
League serves this function for the top 10 per cent of
the Club and all members are invited to participate in a variety
of other tournaments and matches organised by the Club’s
Fixtures Secretaries,
match managers, tournament organisers and professionals.
Now, the new and exciting sponsorship of the Club by Kleinwort
Benson allows us to extend the opportunity to compete
using the league format to players with handicaps from 30
through to 70.
The Kleinwort Benson Cambridge League (
KBCL) is for members of the CURTC and will run very much on
the same lines as the National
League. The first matches will be played in October and
the finals will take place in June.
Each team will have five players, three playing on any given
match day. There will be five teams per division and three
divisions.
Mondays: Division 1 players (handicaps
30 – 46)
Tuesdays: Division 2 players (handicaps 46 – 55) and
Wednesdays: Division 3 players (handicaps 55 - 70)
Each rubber will consist of three matches, each a best of
three set singles contest (the 3rd set will be shortened).
Each match will start at 5:30 pm (the evening should end by
9.30 pm). The sponsors, Kleinwort
Benson, are very generously covering the cost of professional
markers and each player will receive a complimentary KBCL
polo shirt.
A captain will be appointed for each team and ultimately
it will be their responsibility to recruit and organise their
team. The only requirements for the players will be to be
present when their captain selects them, pay for their personal
court time, and to prepare a light meal (eg. Sandwiches),
for half of the matches ie. when your team is designated as
the ‘home team’.
We would like to encourage competitiveness and representation
from a variety of areas of the Cambridge Community –
Businesses, school parent teams, college teams, etc….
The league will start on the 15 October 2007 and all matches
will be expected to be played by 12th May 2008. A special
final day will be organised in early June. A match schedule
using the following dates will be prepared for each league.
Each team should play eight matches prior to the finals.
"Kleinwort
Benson, one of the UK’s longest established and
most innovative providers of total wealth management solutions
to corporate and private clients alike has recently opened
a Cambridge office and is keen to support the development
of key Cambridge organisations, and are therefore thrilled
to support the first Cambridge League."
Draft fixture schedule
Division 1
Mondays: 15 October, 29 October, 5 November, 12 November,
19 November, 3 December, 10 December, 14 January,
21 January, 28 January, 4 February, 18 February, 25 February,
3 March, 10 March, 17 March, 21 April, 28 April, 12 May
Division 2
Tuesdays: 16 October, 30 October, 6 November, 13 November,
20 November, 4 December, 11 December, 15 January,
22 January, 29 January, 5 February, 19 February, 26 February,
4 March, 11 March, 18 March, 22 April, 29 April, 13 May
Division 3
Wednesdays: 17 October, 31 October, 7 November, 14 November,
21 November, 5 December, 12 December, 16 January,
23 January, 30 January, 6 February, 20 February, 27 February,
5 March, 12 March, 19 March, 23 April, 30 April, 14 May
The closing date for the entry of teams is
30th September. |
Item: Ladies championship
