2017 MASHAMSHIRE TENNIS CLUB FUN DOUBLES COMPETITION REPORT
On an overcast but thankfully dry August Sunday afternoon 12 intrepid and hopeful young and not so young tennis players set foot on the courts at Masham. Their aim was to achieve a trophy win and secure their place in history. Well perhaps that's overstating it a little, but anyway 12 tennis hopefuls entered for this our annual club event.
As always pairings were drawn out of a hat, and despite some minor changes on the day as the numbers altered slightly, we ended up with 6 pairs who throughout the course of the afternoon would play each other in a series of 4 game matches. For each individual play every game they won would be recorded, and at the end of the afternoon the highest total in the various categories would then be declared winners and be presented with the magnificent club trophies. Once again this may be making an overstatement, this time regarding the stature of these trophies, but nonetheless they would look good on any mantleplace.
In the Ladies event we were well represented with most of our Harrogate League stalwarts having entered the event. I think it is in the standard of play of our ladies that we have seen the most improvement over the past year, and there is no doubt that this helped considerably in the club being able to achieve promotion from Division 6 of the Harrogate District Tennis League. After almost 3 hours of fine battling tennis Michelle Clyde prevailed with a fantastic score of 17. Michelle can be seen above left receiving her trophy from our President Terry Marshall. Not too far behind Michelle was our Ladies Runner Up, Lara Theakston with a more than creditable score of 14. Lara can be seen right collecting her trophy from Terry.
The Men's event is always highly competitive and 2017 was no exception. Once all the scores were in a recount was being demanded as it wasn't possible to separate a number of players. After considerable checks and rechecks the result was confirmed and thus a group of 3 men were declared joint winners on a score of 11, Neil Hutchinson, Simon Kitching and the 2016 winner Ewan Walker. Congratulation go to all 3 for their fine play during the event. From left to right Simon, Neil and Ewan can be seen collecting their trophy from Terry.
For 2017 we were particularly pleased to be able to run the final event, which was the Intermediate Cup. This year we had 3 entries, Tom Lodge, Tom Stansfield and Hamish Klemz, all of whom have recently joined the club sessions and have been a very welcome addition to our numbers. All 3 acquitted themselves commendably and we look forward to seeing them on court much more in the future. After all matches were completed it was Tom Stansfield who ran out winner. Tom can be seen on the right collecting his trophy from Terry.
Thanks go to all those who entered the event and who hopefully had an enjoyable afternoon of tennis. Also to our 2 scorers on the day, Terry Marshall and Norma Johnson who was unable to play due to a back injury - too much gardening!