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Our congratulations go to our Junior Professional Scott Blaber
and his new wife Kerry, who were married last weekend in Fordham.
The weather was glorious and a lovely day was had by all.
Scott and Kerry are honeymooning in Borneo.
Last year's dinner was a truly
memorable event and this year's promises to be just as
good. We do hope that you will be able to join us - even if
you are not able to play in the handicap doubles tournament
earlier in the day. Guests are welcome and there will be drinks
and canapes from 7pm. Tickets are just £30 each. Please
make cheques payable to CURTC .
click for pictures
from last year's dinner
We are again tremendously grateful to Sue Colquhoun for agreeing
to mastermind the catering and to all the other members of
her team. Do please contact Kees (01223 357106 or
)
in the next week if you would like tickets.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jamie’s first return of serve in the Bathurst Cup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvyNPo9M-mc
On Thursday 17 April all roads led to The Queen’s Club
in London for the finals of the Maurice Lacroix National League.
For the first time the qualifying Premier Division teams,
Cambridge University 1 and Prested Hall 1, were joined by
the Division 1 finalists, Petworth 1 and Leamington 1, for
a feast of tennis.
Division 1 led off with the second-string match between Tom
Durack of Petworth and late replacement Craig Greenhalgh from
Leamington. Craig raced away with the first set, 6-2, but
then Tom took charge of the second set, leading 5-1. Craig
came back to 4-5 with some patient retrieving, but Tom finally
closed it out 6-4. The final set was nip and tuck all the
way, with neither player able to stamp any authority on the
game. Tom finally took the set 6-5.
[Win to Petworth 2-6, 6-4, 6-5]
With the timetable for the day already in jeopardy, the Premier
Division second-string match between young lions Jamie Douglas
(Cambridge) and Ricardo Smith (Prested Hall) was next up.
Jamie laid his cards on the table with his first shot –
a stunning force to the dedans. He kept up this attack to
take the first game, then to lead 4-2 and 5-3. Ricardo was
never out of this set, however, and squared it at 5-5 with
winning shots to the grille and the dedans. Another flurry
of clear winners in the final game saw Jamie squeeze victory
6-5. The second set saw Ricardo, serving to a very good length,
race to a 5-0 lead; Jamie at last managed to get into the
set and pull back to 3-5, but Ricardo finished the set off
with some good shots to the tambour to win 6-3. So, to the
deciding set. Jamie took the first game and then a long rest
in the second game saw him set a chase of 1 yard, which he
won to lead 2-0. Jamie continued to play with great power,
forcing at every opportunity, although Ricardo’s defence
kept him in the set at 3-2. From then on, Jamie’s patient
play kept up the pressure, forcing Ricardo into mistakes,
and he closed the final set out 6-2, giving him one of his
biggest wins of the year.
[Win to Cambridge 6-5, 3-6, 6-2]
The Division 1 first-string singles was up next, between
Ben Matthews of Petworth and Marc Seigneur of Leamington.
This was expected to be the closest contest of the day, and
there was hardly more than a game in it throughout. Although
Ben fought well, Marc never let him off the hook and went
on to win 6-5, 6-4 to level the tie.
[Win to Leamington 6-5, 6-4]
The first-string match between the World Champion, Rob Fahey
(Cambridge) and Bryn Sayers (Prested Hall) had been eagerly
awaited. Rob moved swiftly to a 3-1 lead with a series of
main wall forces, but Bryn then managed to get the measure
of these and defended them brilliantly for the rest of the
match. At 2-3 down he hit the grille to get to deuce, then
a rare mistake from Rob and a fine serve brought the set to
3-3. However Rob then increased the pressure, winning the
set 6-3 with a brilliant volley into the hazard end. He started
the second set in the same way to lead 1-0, playing very accurately
into the corners, but Bryn continued to defend well and hit
some clear winners to win the next two games and lead 2-1.
The next game culminated in a great attack from Bryn but Rob
pushed him from corner to corner to level the score. The fifth
game saw Bryn playing excellent shots into the backhand corner
to put Rob under real pressure, and then setting a chase of
1 yard. Playing the chase, Rob hit a force to the dedans to
lead 3-2, then went on to win the next game with a cross-court
volley, 4-2. Bryn must have seen the next game as his last
chance to get back into the match; he hit two winning forces
that Rob could only get his racquet to, but then Rob hit some
killing shots into the corners and although Bryn set a 2-yard
chase, Rob closed out the game with a shot to the grille.
The eighth game saw a lethal boast from Rob that only just
missed the dedans but set a chase at 40-15. Both players went
for winning shots but Rob finished the match off with a shot
to the winning gallery to take the set 6-2. In his last major
competitive outing before the World Championship next month,
Rob looked in great form against a strong and fit young opponent.
[Win to Cambridge 6-3, 6-2]
[Cambridge win Premier League title 2-0]
As the match was already won, and time was moving on, the
Premier Division doubles was not played. The Division 1 doubles,
between Ben Matthews/Tom Durack (Petworth) and Marc Seigneur/Craig
Greenhalgh (Leamington) was an entertaining but one-sided
match, with Petworth winning 8-1 and taking the Division 1
title.
[Win to Petworth 8-1]
[Petworth win Division 1 title 2-1]
Presentations of the Division trophies and Maurice Lacroix
watches for Most Valuable Players were made by His Royal Highness
the Earl of Wessex. Rob Fahey and Scott Blaber of Cambridge
were MVPs of their divisions, along with Ben Matthews, Gareth
Rees, Olivier Walter, Julian Wilkinson, Martin Rogers, John
Lumley, and David Mikail.
A full dedans watched four players they knew well –
all having spent their formative years playing at Cambridge.
Peter Paterson, defecting to the Hatfield team for the evening,
played at a higher level than expected; most felt that he
had a chance of taking the first set. But the Cambridge no.2,
Jamie Douglas, showed great confidence, a determination to
play a controlled game and, one would imagine, superior fitness
to win through in straight sets.
As expected, Mark Hobbs would sweat blood for Hatfield and
in the early stages, when the ball was mainly on the floor
and in the corners, the score reached 3-all. It was at this
point that David Woodman, now Dr. Woodman after being awarded
his PhD the day prior, stepped up the pace with number of
life-threatening forces. Hobbs just could not cope with the
sheer aggression of Woodman and was defeated in quick fashion
after his promising start.
Although all players made their contribution to a great
night of tennis it was Dr. Woodman's quality and the rising
star from the University, Douglas who were always ahead. Cambridge
won all matches and took 7 points.
Jamie Douglas defeated Peter Paterson 6/4, 6/2
David Woodman defeated Mark Hobbs 6/3, 6/1
Woodman/Douglas won the doubles 8/2
The T&RA Amateur Doubles Championship was held at Cambridge
on March 1 and 2.
Following the quarter final on Saturday, the first semi-final
was between David Woodman (last year’s winner with Neil
Roxburgh) and Jamie Douglas (last year’s finalist),
fresh from their success as nos. 1 and 2 for Cambridge University
in the Varsity match, playing Duncan Colquhoun (last year’s
finalist with Jamie) and Nick Brown from Cambridge. The second
semi was between the Americans Hombrecher and Miron and Luke
and Charlie Danby from the Seacourt club.
Woodman and Douglas did not have things all their own way;
Colquhoun and Brown defended well but were finally overcome
in two sets by the university pair. The Danbys then played
some excellent tennis to put Hombrecher and Miron out of the
tournament.
The first two sets of the final were over quickly, with Woodman
and Douglas racing into the lead, but in the third set the
Danbys finally found their rhythm and led 5-2. Woodman and
Douglas worked their way back into the set with some aggressive
play and closed the match out 6-5 in the third.
The Men’s and Women’s Varsity matches were again
hosted at the prestigious MCC where the players and guests
from both Universities were entertained by some superb tennis
with the generous support of Pol
Roger, the renowned producer of excellent champagne.
On the Friday the Women took to the court for their singles
matches. Marsali Grant played a very controlled match, intercepting
the ball early throughout; she won against Emily Johnson 6-0,
6-2. In the next match it would have been understandable for
there to have been some confusion in the crowd as the players
had represented opposing Unis in the previous year. Clare
Watson, now studying a PGCE at Homerton, was much too strong
for Charlotte Barker, now doing her clinical years at Oxford
– Watson winning 6-1, 6-0. At this point Oxford was
still in the match but was unable to win a further game in
the remaining four matches of the event. Although the Oxford
women gave it their all they were up against players rated
8 and 9 in the World. Sarah Vigrass defeated Victoria Ormerod
and Karen Hird defeated Emma Ormerod. On the Saturday, Karen
partnered Marsali to defeat Victoria and Charlotte and Sarah
partnered Clare to defeat Emma and Emily. Cambridge won 6-0.
The reverse of the format used by the women was employed
for the men. Jamie Douglas and Burak Salgin started slowly
in the second-string doubles but were able to withstand the
Oxford pair, winning 6-5, 6-1, 6-0. In the first-string doubles,
the Varsity veteran David Woodman was supported by the promising
Edward Pearson. Their opponents tested the Cambridge pair
and won the second set by a convincing margin to indicate
to the crowd that there was more to come. Cambridge countered,
winning the third set 6-0 and were just able to fight off
Oxford’s final attack to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-0, 6-5. On
the Saturday, Ed Pearson was the underdog against the more
experienced Sam Halliday. Ed knew he needed to start well,
and he did, but at 4-2 up he was unable to withstand his opponent’s
more penetrating shots. At 5-5 Halliday took command of the
match, only dropping one further game to win 6-5, 6-1. The
Oxford no.3 was of a similar standard to their nos. 4 and
2, so Burak Salgin was expected to win. Although his opponent,
Horatio Cary, showed excellent racket control, the formidable
Cambridge player was always a step ahead, winning 6-3, 6-3.
The Cambridge Captain, known for his ruthlessness, was next.
Jamie Douglas, still on a high from his recent Premier League
match when he defeated Mark Hobbs, a scratch player, was matched
with another Oxford fresher, Tom Dance. Tom was athletic and
focused but Jamie gave away nothing, literally, as the score
was 6-0, 6-0. Cambridge had now reached an unassailable lead
and as the proceedings were ahead of schedule there was an
opportunity for the reserves to play an exhibition mixed doubles.
This was also an excellent opportunity for Ali Hakimi and
Julia Clarke (Ladies’ Captain ) to accumulate some valuable
Varsity experience; it is hoped that they might both play
in the first team in the future. After a slow start the Cambridge
pair found their form, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. A huge crowd
was in attendance for the premier match between David Woodman
(+3 ) and the Oxford no.1 Will Fortune. Although Fortune is
considered a future star he was unable to cope with Woodman’s
mastery. Woodman won 6-2, 6-2.
An excellent dinner in the Long Room was preceded by a Champagne
Reception in the Museum. The players and the guests of the
MCC were treated to an excellent evening of fine food, wine
and good company.
Many thanks to all the sponsors of the Varsity Match and
Dinner Pol Roger
and to the sponsors of the Cambridge University teams –
Cambridge University Press, Kleinwort Benson, Mobilis, The
Answering Service, Savills, Cambridge Saab, NW Brown Group,
Lorimer, Longhurst and Lees, The Rice Boat, Noel Young Wines,
D H Thomas Opticians – long may their generous support
continue.
This premier league match promises to be the most outstanding
event of the season! Hatfield is represented by the fabulous,
ambidextrous, Drew Lyons partnered by our own Mark Hobbs,
who has recently made huge progress in his game (now playing
off scratch).
CURTC will be fielding two of the best students ever to represent
the Club - David Woodman (+3) and Jamie Douglas (University
captain who recently led Cambridge to a fine win over Oxford
in the Varsity match).
We expect a large crowd so please book your place a.s.a.p.
by contacting Kees.
Remaining quarter final match:
(best of three first-to-six-game sets)
D.Colquhorn & N.L.Brown
Saturday 13:30
W.Watson & S.Barker
Semi finals:
(best of three first-to-six-game sets)
D.Woodman & J.Douglas
Sunday 9:30
Winners of quarter final
A.Hombrecher & A.Miron
Sunday 10:45
C.Danby & L.Danby
Final (best of five first-to-six-games sets)
to be played Sunday 14:30 after the Semi-final losers match
at 13:30. Lunch will be available from 12:00 to 13:30 at a
cost of £6 per person.
As you may know, the Committee has been considering for some
time implementing a cap of £100 on the amount outstanding
on any Member's bill, in order to help with cash flow and
avoid serious arrears being accumulated. This has been described
in the "Accounts" section in the Members' Booklet
for several years. This system will be implemented from Monday,
31st March 2008. This will mean that any Member whose bill
is £100 or more will be unable to book courts or play
until the arrears are reduced.
It is very much hoped that Members will appreciate the necessity
for this action, and that it will not prove a serious inconvenience
in practice. If anyone feels that they will have a problem
with this policy please contact either Kees or Simon as soon
as possible.
Just a reminder that it may be convenient to pay online -
if you would like to make an online transfer, please email
for details.
In a sure sign that spring is approaching, the time has come
to sign up for this year's Graduate Cup. Time is of the essence,
we want to start the tournament as quickly as possible to
give the maximum period of time for people to play their matches,
so don't delay... SIGN UP NOW!
The Graduate Cup is a fantastic opportunity for higher handicappers
to gain the experience of playing better players, and for
low handicappers to really test their control and composure
when giving away significant handicap advantage.
And after months huddled in darkened rooms, endless data
entry and spreadsheet modelling, hours discussing the relative
merits of snowball samples and Quasi-Monte Carlo methods,
and consideration of the effect of the American sub-prime
lending debacle, the playing sub-committee has
decided that this year—refresher courses on calculus
and differential geometry will be provided on request—the
handicapping rule will change as follows—brace yourselves....
ALL matches will be played
off a
maximum handicap difference of 23.
So come on, enter the tournament now before someone nationalises
it…
You can enter by adding your name to the list posted on
the club notice board or by contacting Kees, Peter or Scott
by ‘phone or e-mail. Entries close , noon, 7 March.
Maximum draw 64. Played at Cambridge since 1875.
More details are available in this
23kb pdf
At last. A tournament that ran (more or less) according to
schedule. Three closely contested round robin groups and proper
semi-finals that were marred only by an injury to Paul Brown,
but who still managed to complete a short set. The day culminated
in a fascinating final that contrasted the power game of Chris
Schramm with the considered floor shots of Nick Chrimes. Nick
faced an early barrage of service returns that tested the
dedans netting, his strings and the form book. But slowly
and assuredly Nick began to take control. The tambour became
his best mate, his tighter serving now restricted the frequency
of the Schramm exocets and his volleying became attacking
and penetrating rather than defensive.
Congratulations to Nick and commiserations to all who took
part (this lot had even organised food!)
Thanks to John Trapp for marking the latter stages. At the
end of a long day all players enjoy being able to concentrate
on hitting rather than thinking. I was asked to be sure to
mention the excellence of Trappy's marking but I can't recall
who made the point.....err..oh, yes I remember now. It was
him.
It seems that the best laid plans of mice and men feature
not at all in CURTC category tournaments. After sweating courts
in the 50-59, this time it was the organiser who was sweating.
Though not, as we shall see, from playing tennis. But neither
player no-show, nor agonisingly close round robin groups,
nor player injury could knock this tournament off course.
And the players were happy to introduce a new concept to Cambridge
- Least Worst Loser. (But when I relate this to the Kees I'll
have to call it something more Oz-positive, like "The
Repercharge").
Linda Fairbrother bore the brunt of the re-formatting and
in the semi-final came upon a very in-form David Pimblett
for the second time that day. Long competitive rests could
only help the Pimblett cause and a "fagged out"
Linda finally succumbed to David's considered tennis. And
so to the final. Gerald Smith had (embarrassingly) played
fewer games than anybody in the whole shooting match, and
this "disadvantage" rose to the top of his long
list of excuses.
In reality David continued to play consistently and effectively
as he had all done, all day and was simply too good. He even
managed to complete a Woodmanesque hat-trick of match points
via the dedans.Thanks to John Lees for marking the later stages
and also for his gauntlet-throwing declaration: nobody has
ever won the 40-49 tournament more than once.
Fancy an afternoon of real tennis,
with tea and cakes on the side-lines?
There will be a ladies only event on Sunday 16th March 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
or by phone 01799 584167
The Cambridge men's and women's 2nd teams performed at a
very high level to beat Oxford at Oxford yesterday.
The men were just too strong, especially with James Watson
(18) playing at first string. The strength in depth was obvious
as the team of Watson, Ali Hakimi, Nick Wright (c) and Kunal
Dusad took all the matches, winning 6-0, with only the minor
hic-cough of the loss of a set.
In a nail-biting match, the women also won, largely due to
the excellent play and leadership of captain Julia Clarke,
who did not concede a set over the two day contest. At 3 matches
all a deciding doubles was required to determine the winner.
All four ladies played a vital part to achieve the victory
- Pippa Tregear in the 3rd string singles, Jess Nicholls in
the 1st string doubles but it was Julia's contribution, with
the excellent volleying of Clemmie Briance, in the deciding
doubles, 6-2, 6-4, that separated the two teams.
Congratulations to all who played and many thanks to the spectators,
who were mostly Team Cambridge. Oxford were gracious
in defeat and were excellent hosts.
The 1st team matches are in two weeks, at Lords. Cambridge
aim to achieve a repeat of last year's clean sweep.
The Tennis and Rackets Association (T&RA) are celebrating
their centenary. All members are affiliated to the T&RA
through membership at CURTC so are eligible to join in these
celebrations, the core of which will be the T&RA Centenary
Ball to be held at Hurlingham on Saturday the 26th of April.
Tickets are around £115 a head, and tables of 10 can
be booked if you wish. There wil be a champagne reception,
fine dining and both a hot Samba band and a discotheque going
until well into the night. There will also be an electronic
auction with some exciting and unusual auction prizes. It
will all be enormous fun, and the organisers very much hope
we and our team will be there with our partners.
Click here
to download the application form
The 2008 CURTC Ladies Club Championship will take place on
1st–2nd February. All lady members of the club are welcome
to enter, whatever their handicap.
This is a level tournament. If there are sufficient entries,
a round-robin event will precede the knockout stage.
All players must be available for the final stages on Saturday
afternoon; when you enter, you must also select the time slots
when you are available:
Friday 09.30-12.30, 17.30-21.30
Saturday 09.30-12.30
Please sign up for this tournament on the notice board at
the club. Alternatively, contact the professionals
at the club via telephone or email
, confirming the time slots for which you
are available.
A light lunch will be available on the Saturday.
On Sunday 20th January we intend to stage our annual tournament
for players with handicaps of 50-59.
The precise format will depend on the numbers entering, but
it is likely to be run as round robin leagues followed by
knock-out in the later stages. Matches will be played off
level handicap. There is no entry fee, court time will be
simply charged to your account.
If you would like to enter, please add your name to the sign-up
sheet on the main noticeboard. Alternatively contact the Professionals
or one of us
.
The closing date for entry is Sunday 13th January.
Gerald Smith & Malcolm Howlett
CURTC Fixture Secretaries
Unfortunately the Blue Court was underwater on the day, and
so the byzantine and elaborate formula of play that had been
used hitherto for the tournament was replaced by a straightforward
doubles tournament; the organizer had proposed a mixture of
tennis on the Green Court and synchronized swimming on the
Blue, but it was felt that some
would drown.
The first round robin produced a win for each of the three
pairs, and Fiona Brown and Michael Womack sneaked in. In the
second round robin, Alasdair Poore and David Pimblett (last
year’s winner) swept all before them.
The final was a truly epic affair with never more than one
game different, until the end. Alasdair and David looked in
good form at the beginning with the betting on David reclaiming
the trophy, but they made too many errors, giving Fiona and
Michael strokes on a plate with watercress as decoration.
Scores
Round robins
Gillian Moore & David Herbert — 8 4 12
Fiona Brown & Michael Womack 6 — 8 14 Winners
Malcolm Howlett & James Miller 8 2 — 10
Andrew Petrie & John Trapp — 2 8 10
Alasdair Poore & David Pimblett 8 — 8 16 Winners
John Hodge & Martyn Downer 4 5 — 9
Final
Fiona Brown & Michael Womack beat Alasdair Poore &
David Pimblett, 8–6
Cambridge unfortunately lost their first match in this year’s
Field Trophy, being knocked out of the competition by Queens
in a match reminiscent of their semi-final defeat in the same
competition two seasons ago. Cambridge was represented by
Duncan Colquhoun, Burak Salgin, Robert Hird, Nick Brown, Hugh
Tomlinson, Charles Harcourt and David Mills.
The day started hopefully with Robert pulling off a convincing
win over the experienced John Prenn. Robert, playing with
such determination and with outstanding retrieving, pressurised
John into making many errors, and it was Robert who ended
up looking the more experienced! We have another excellent
prospect at the University.
Duncan and Charles were evenly matched against a new Queens
pairing but failed to make their mark at crucial times towards
the end of each set. It seems the time has come for an injection
of fresh talent after another disappointing performance from
these stalwarts.
In possibly his last match for this side, Burak began in
outstanding form and demolished Harry Eddis in the first set.
Burak has been very busy with work and his possible lack of
practice saw the match turn completely in the second set,
Harry well on top. So to the final set, and Burak regained
his focus and confidence to storm to a 4-0 lead and surely
had done it. No such luck: Harry stopped making errors and
Burak could not finish off his determined opponent, not managing
to win another game. Thanks from us all to Burak for his enthusiasm,
availability whenever required, and for all those nail-biting
times watching him play. We’ll miss you.
So we now had to win the final two matches, and first it
fell to Nick to try and upset the much lower handicapped Tom
Seymour-Mead. The first set saw Nick fight back from 5-3 down
to take it 6-5. He had taken a lot out of himself, and it
was Tom who now took control. Despite good efforts to fight
his way back in, Nick was unable to disturb Tom’s composure
and both Nick’s result and that of the team were decided.
Nick has landed himself with very demanding fatherly commitments
and has not played that much recently, but he is another prospect
who will surely improve with more experience.
Our final pairing of Hugh and David proved too strong for
the Queens pair. How we had hoped the result would be decided
by the final match as this is such a good doubles partnership.
Results
| match |
players |
result |
score |
| 1st |
2nd singles |
Robert Hird beat John Prenn |
6-2 6-4 |
| 2nd |
2nd doubles |
Duncan Colquhoun and Charles Harcourt lost to
Ben Bomford and Andrew Reid-Thomas |
4-6 3-6 |
| 3rd |
1st singles |
Burak Salgin lost to Harry Eddis |
6-1 1-6 4-6 |
| 4th |
3rd singles |
Nick Brown lost to Tom Seymour-Mead |
6-5 3-6 1-6 |
| 5th |
1st doubles |
Hugh Tomlinson and David Mills
beat
Dom Wilson and Dominic Wright |
6-4 6-2 |
The National League match against Burroughs was an eagerly
anticipated game, with Rob Fahey, fresh from victories at
the British Open and the IRTPA championships, was matched
against Nick Wood, who just missed being one of the World
Championship contenders for 2008. Jamie Douglas was up against
Rod McNaughtan, who played for Cambridge 2 last year.
Unfortunately the conditions played the greatest part in
the match. Jamie started well against Rod, taking the first
set, but the Blue Court started to sweat and the match transferred
to the Green Court. Rod obviously preferred the conditions
there and took the match 2-1. However the players were not
happy with the state of this court either, and so it was decided
to attempt the doubles rubber, rather than the number 1 singles,
back on the Blue Court. It started well, but the players moved
more and more gingerly until the match was called off due
to the dangerous conditions.
The spectators were obviously disappointed but managed to
lift their spirits by going for a splendid meal and fortifying
drinks at the Rice Boat in Newnham, where a good time was
had by all. The Spirit of Christmas was invoked by a beautiful
reading from Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas
in Wales, by Nigel Brown, who was in fine voice.
This season the Category Tournaments (for players within
set ranges of ability) are being held in order of descending
handicap. The 60+ competition kicked off proceedings on Saturday
1st December with a series of close-fought matches played
out amongst 7 members each of whom clearly fancied lifting
the trophy and getting his or her name on the Honour Board.
Jeremy Davidson won through from the Blue Group to contest
a final against Mike Whibley, winner of the Green Group. This
was only after a close run where in a round robin game against
Gillian Moore, Mike had lost 6-5 against the handicap. Gillian
used any opportunity to place a return of serve into the backhand
corner, and made Mike work very hard not to go down 6-3, which
would have put his route to the final under threat. When Gillian
triumphed, the crowd (all 2 of them) went wild whilst Mike
went to have a lie down.
And so to the final. In his own inimitable style Mike ruled
himself out of the reckoning, citing exhaustion, malfunctioning
surgical supports and beer deprivation. Jeremy soon found
his range and was peppering the tambour to take an early 3-0
lead. But Mike gritted his teeth, girded his loins and climbed
back into the final, taking his opponent to deuce on several
occasions and entertaining the crowd with two consecutive
shots which floated majestically into the dedans. In the end
though Jeremy showed a standard of gentle controlled play
that will no doubt worry many in the 50's handicap range,
and had just a bit too much for Mike. He came out a worthy
winner, six games to two.
Congratulations or commiserations to all who took part.
Forthcoming Category Tournaments - watch the notice board
for sign-up sheets.
50-59 Sunday 20th January
40-49 Saturday 15th February
30-39 Sunday 16th February
20-29 Saturday 16th March
Gerald Smith
The third National League Premier Division match of the season
took place at Grange Road on Thursday 8 November. Once again
Cambridge 1 is represented by Rob
Fahey, the world champion, and his new partner is Cambridge
University captain Jamie Douglas.
Cambridge had already won their first two matches, away at
the Royal Tennis Club (2/1) and at home to Oxford (3/0). The
third match was against Prested Hall’s team of Bryn
Sayers and Ricardo Smith. Jamie’s match against Ricardo
was first up, and this was a tough game between two well-matched
players. Although he lost a close first set, Jamie came back
strongly in the second and looked at one point as if he could
even things up, but Ricardo continued to play calmly against
the fierce onslaught and closed the match out 6/4, 6/3.
On paper, Rob’s match against Bryn looked to be an
easy win, and the score of 6/1, 6/3 suggests that it was,
but Bryn put up a spirited defence and his flat two-handed
backhand caused Rob some problems. Rob, preparing for the
British Open this week, showed just why he is the top player
with a terrific display of accurate power tennis.
In the doubles, we were treated to the unusual sight of Rob
playing at the front, with Jamie trying to live up to his
instructions of “Don’t miss anything!” He
missed very little and Cambridge won an exciting rubber 8/5,
to win the match 2/1.
The next Premier League match at home is
Cambridge 1 versus Burroughs 1 on Thursday
6 December, followed by the Club Christmas
Dinner. The approximate timings are:
6 pm - Jamie Douglas versus Rod McNaughtan
7:15 - Rob Fahey versus Drew Lyons
8:30 - Doubles
9:30 - CURTC Christmas Dinner at the Rice Boat
Jacob Abrahams, the owner of the Rice Boat in Newnham –
serving excellent food from Kerala – has booked out
his restaurant for us and has selected a special set meal.
The special Christmas price to cover the whole evening:
£35, which includes
Dedans or Sponsors room tickets and
drinks
Dinner and drinks
Please book your tickets for the match, the dinner, or both
with Kees.
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Barnaby Perks serves for Hazard When Wet
Salsa lessons on court