May 18, 2024
#RTWC2022
Rapt!
I don’t think this was taken when Rob wins the last point to grab the 8th set 6/5
Congratulations, TK & Camice!
To the strains of ‘I’m getting married in the morning’, they tied the knot in Grantchester Village Church on June 11th (in the afternoon)!
East Anglia Cup+, 60+
The team of four from CURTC (James Downson, Ashley Courtney, Igor Sterner, and Alasdair Bovaird , above) were warmly welcomed at the Prested Tennis Club for the annual East Anglia Cup+. As a cup which had been running for over a decade, yet impeded by the pandemic, there was a common excitement for its return.
Our first round of matches were against Prested themselves. Both Igor and Alasdair lost their first singles matches 4-8 and 6-8 respectively. Alasdair’s game down to the knuckle with a last minute come-back, but it was lost on a 40-40 game point in the end. Both were excellent matches, but strength and familiarity on the Far Court of the hosts proved too good. Our doubles pair, Ashley and James, made up for this by winning 8-2. Their consistent play took the lead from the beginning and went on to take this solid win.
Promptly next began our matches against Newmarket Real Tennis Club on the more modern Glass Court, which felt like more familiar territory. Igor began with a very strong win of 8-0, taking control of the game early. Alasdair then beat his singles opponent in another strong performance, including serving for three games straight taking the scoreboard from 3-3 to 6-3 and finishing at 7-4. Similarly, the doubles pair won a tight doubles match for us 8-5.
Our final matches were against Hatfield House and Igor came back from losing the first games to win 8-4. Alasdair fought hard in his final singles match, with a particularly determined effort from his opponent, ultimately loosing with a close 6-8. At this point Prested were a single win ahead of CURTC, meaning a Cambridge win and Prested loss would take us to 1st place. While our doubles team won valiantly to play their part, the final Prested doubles win left us with a successful 2nd place overall.
It was a wonderful day out and we are all immensely thankful to the team at Prested that made the day happen. CURTC looks forward to hosting next year’s edition. Until then.
Igor Sterner, CURTC Student President 2022
A colourful place to play
And we are up to date…
Bella 8-3 Rosie, 70+
a) found the Boards and
b) agreed on where to put them without
c) clashing with the local colour scheme!
So Close! (East Anglia Cup 45-60)
Cambridge University RTC came within 1 game or some might say 1 point of lifting the East Anglian Cup on Saturday 25th June away at Prested.
I am so proud of the team’s all round performance to come so close after 6 hours and 9 sets of high quality tennis.
All fours players won 2 out of their 3 matches, with one match going to 7-7 – 40 all and game/match point and that is how close we came.
Can I say a big thank you to my team of Ulla Petti (who will be a Ladies Varsity star in the making) Sonia Badenhorst, and Richard Bowers who all were a credit to CURTC.
So having finished joint first level on 12 points each with Prested it came down to games won and lost for which we fell just one game short.
Thank you to Prested for hosting such an enjoyable Cup tournament.
Alan Sharpe – Team captain
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CURTC Ladies Championship
Congratulations to President Vix who is the CURTC 2022 Ladies Champion after winning an exciting final by a handicap preserving score line of 6/2, 6/5 over Sonja Badenhorst.
The quality of the tennis drew praise on the CURTC YouTube so congratulations to both finalists. Commiserations to semi-finalists Jacqui Siu and Ulla Petti!
Bickley 2.0 @MMTCC
Mark Perriton and Jon Speirs represented CURTC in the Bickley 2.0 Cup on 11th June 2022 at Moreton Morrell TCC. UK clubs doubles pairs competed and attended the Gala Dinner to celebrate the installation of the new floor completed in 2020.
Mark and Jon raced ahead to a 4-1 lead in the first rubber against Candida Nichols and Katie representing LRTC. However, the flow of play turned and the Cambridge team were unable to secure the win and overcome the sizeable handicap they were giving away.
The next rubber was a closely contested win against the Hamsters pair.
The last rubber was against the home pair which included the current Over 70 World Title holder, Philip Shaw-Hamilton. A very close battle. However at 4 all, 40 all, the Cambridge team failed to defend a better than half yard chase!
The ladies from LRTC secured the title
Thank you to MMTCC for hosting a great tournament and gala dinner. Everyone agreed that the floor looks and plays well.
Jon Speirs
Cambridge Mixed Doubles
Div 1 Finalists: Igor Sterner, Ariane Huynh-Lenhardt, Alex Sam, Isabella Harvey
Congratulations to Alex and Bella who romped through the Cambridge Mixed Doubles on Saturday of the Jubilee weekend. Try as hard as the rest of us did, there was no stopping the worthy winners of the 10 pair Division. Full Results
Division 2 was very competitive so congratulations to Almudena Cano & Colin Luke who won a pulsating final 6-5 over Iain Davies & Paulina Tulloch having narrowly lost to them 7-8 earlier in the day.
Div 2: Almudena, Paulina, Jo, Colin and Iain celebrate/commiserate
Special mention must be made to Lunch (complete with Jubilee Trifle) and especially the Lunch makers. I’ve never seen such an array of cakes, tarts, pavlovas, trifles and other delicious munchies.
Cambridge Mixed Doubles, Jubilee Weekend, 2022
Congratulations to all the participants, thanks to the organisers and markers and finally …
Div 1 Final
Photo Credits: Kees, Charlie & Oppo
News from the South West: Part 1
Well played everyone today, a great result, a 3-3 draw after some very close matches, especially the comeback of the day, Camice & Marcus recovering from being 0-5 down to win 8-7. All the games were very close, so once again the handicap system showed how well it works.
Safe travels home everyone and congratulations on their forthcoming wedding to Camice & Tony. Here is a photo of both teams.
Al Clark, The Hyde MM
London Calling
MCC (left) vs CURTC (right & centre)
Next weekend it is the turn of Holyport to visit and we have most of a team. But we can still fit in a couple more for the CURTC Mixed Doubles on Saturday June 4th and the visit of the Dedanists on Sunday June 12th.
The 2022 Inter-University Tournament
IUC victors-Benedict Yorston and Louis Manson (Oxford)
The Annual Inter-University Real Tennis Tournament was a huge success this year thanks to sponsorships from the Dedanists Foundation and Pol Roger. The host (Cambridge University Real Tennis Club, CURTC) welcomed 7 universities from across the country: Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, Middlesex, Oxford, and St. Andrews. All 44 tennis players demonstrated great athleticism and sportsmanship throughout the 3 day-long T&RA event (11th – 13th March). That said, the Middlesex players’ thunderous cheers and support for fellow players were inimitable. Indeed, it was a delightful event that brought many new and experienced tennis players together. The CURTC members also continued the tradition of providing home-baked cakes for players.
During Saturday’s Pol Roger Champagne reception a superb Exhibition match was played between two IiP Professionals: Jim Ludekens (Cambridge) and Jack Josephs (Middlesex). It was a thrilling match which displayed startlingly high-level tennis, captivating the audience, Jim won 8/7. The audience were also presented with homemade canapés by Mrs Ludekens for which the CURTC is most grateful. The Pol Roger Champagne reception was followed by the tournament dinner; attendees included the Cambridge President, Vix Harvey, the Pros from Cambridge and Middlesex, and almost all players. For most students, the night extended to the blissful Cambridge town centre.
The finals were played on the subsequent Sunday morning. The Handicap Singles tournament trophy was raised by Hugo Pennant (Durham) who defeated Igor Sterner (Cambridge), 8-2. Despite Igor’s relentless fight, Hugo played incredibly with great finesse and executed both winning and defensive shots intelligently.
Handicap Singles victor Hugo Pennant (Durham)
Igor Sterner (centre) Handicap singles runner up (Cambridge)
The Inter-University Cup was won by a dominant Oxford team against Cambridge. Cambridge’s Patrick Smart and Aaron Wienkers kept the tension high with powerful winning shots, but Oxford’s Men’s 1st pair, Benedict Yorston and Louis Manson retaliated with astonishing tennis. Benedict’s speed and unimaginable retrieving, and Louis’s natural flair for penetrating volleys and returns startled Cambridge, sealing the final score at 3-0.
IUC runners up, Patrick Smart and Aaron Wienkers (Cambridge)
The CURTC has yet again hosted a fantastic T&RA event, and Ben Geytenbeek’s tireless effort and expertise in devising the draw, with contributions from Vix Harvey and the Cambridge Pros is highly commended. Events like this would not have been possible without the continued generous support from the Dedanists Foundation and Pol Roger. We hope to see even more players in 2023!
Jin Lee
Free Taster Sessions!
Membership of CURTC is open to all, very much town as well as gown. We love welcoming new members of any age. This ancient and intriguing game is fast or slow, tactical, subtle and addictive. One of our professionals (Kees, Peter and Mark) is usually here 9am – 5pm on weekdays or 9am – 12 noon on Saturdays, they will be happy to explain and encourage.
We offer free taster lessons in small groups usually on the first and third Wednesday each month at 12:30pm and 5 or 6pm. Just register your interest with the pros, in person, by telephone, 01223 357106 or by email curtcpros@gmail.com
Finals Day Part 3: Wrap-up
If you have seen enough collages, here is a link to a Google Photos album of the individual photos (and more) which went into the collages above. Please note the photos in the album are organised by time the photo was taken.
Many thanks to Ben and Jacqui for taking a spell behind the lens!
Finals Day Part 2: 80+, 40s, 30s
Unlike like the 70s final, youthful experience won the day in the 80+ final as Felicity defeated Marcus, 8-2. Having played against (and lost to) both in the last couple of months I can attest to the trickiness of Marcus’ serve and the quality of Felicity’s ground strokes in an entertaining match.
80+ Final, Marcus Streets vs Felicity Riddall Bell
The same score line featured in the 40s final which I missed but I think the body language captured in the photos sums up the match! Congratulations Aaron!
40s Final, Ben Geytenbeek vs Aaron Wienkers
The 30s final saw the first 6 games shared equally by Andy Smith and Andrew Petrie and a tight finish seemed in the offing. But Andrew went on a 5 game tear as his volleys started to dominate the rallies to give him an 8-3 victory.
30s Final, Andrew Petrie vs Andy Smith
Clicking on the images will reveal a larger clearer version!
Finals Day 2022 Part 1, 20s, 60s, 70s
We kicked off with the 20s Category Tournament final in bright sunlight (streaming through the windows, I should add) and for just a moment an upset seemed possible as Charlie edged out to a 5-3 lead. But Patrick found another gear (and one particular backhand cross court that had us all gasping in the Dedans) and took the match 8-5.
20s Final, Patrick Smart vs Charlie D’Oyly
While we were looking for the (a?) cup for a (the?) presentation, the 60s finalists, Kate and Smuts wasted no time in going toe to toe with, well, the banter. Clearly no quarter was given or asked at the net..
60s pre match banter
The actual match was no disappointment either as Kate followed up her win at the other place in the Varsity 2nds with an 8-7 victory.
60s Final, Smuts Beyers vs Kate Kirk
The 70s Final found a couple of our members at different ends of the age/experience spectrum. But experience proved the winner as John found a place on the Honours board thanks to a 8-3 win over the ever enthusiastic Alex.
70s Final, Alex Kusztyk vs John Reid
CURTC is grateful for the support of our Sponsors…
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Giraffe Club: CURTC Alumni
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