21/10/13
Chorley's Fabrice Higgins (pictured) and Birmingham's Melissa Brookes secured a hat-trick of singles titles at the Tennis Foundation's 10th National Learning Disability Tennis Event at Nottingham Tennis Centre, which was once again held in partnership with Special Olympics Great Britain.
Higgins and Brookes won the Group 1 men's and women's singles gold medals for the third successive year, while Higgins also partnered Wirral's Peter Millar to win gold in the men's doubles.
With more than 50 players divided into 14 men's and women's singles round-robin groups according to their tennis abiliy, Higgins finished ahead of Cheltenham's Thomas Mellor to repeat his win over the Gloucestershire player in the men's singles final of the INAS World Tennis Championships in the Czech Republic earlier this year. Millar won the Group 1 bronze medal ahead of Welshman Shain Lewis as all four of Great Britain's INAS World Championships squad members went head-to-head.
Higgins, a triple gold medallist in the Czech Republic, and Brookes were among those to add to their singles gold medals at the Special Olympics Great Britain National Summer Games in Bath in late August and early September.
Oliver Hill won one of three singles gold medals claimed by Scottish players after winning men's Group 2, while Thomas Haddow beat Nottinghamshire's Luke East to the gold medal in the men's Group 5 singles.
Haddow joined Higgins, Eastern Region's Oliver Beadle and West Midlands player Tomos Bevan in winning singles and doubles gold medals during the weekend.
Haddow partnered Gordon Taylor to win the men's Group 4 doubles, while men's Group 3 singles gold medallist Beadle partnered South West Region's Robbie Hampshaw to win the gold medal in the men's Group 2 doubles. After winning gold and bronze medals respectively in the men's Group 8 singles, Tomos and Ciaran Bevan paired up to win the men's Group 6 doubles.
Two of the men's doubles gold medals went to all-Scottish partnerships as Sean Campbell and Sean McCormick also won the Group 5 doubles, while there was a local Nottinghamshire victory in the Group 3 doubles, with Matthew Chilvers and East claiming the gold medal.
With men's gold medals being won by players from England, Scotland and Wales, Stephen Davies, winner of the Group 4 singles, and Damon Hughes, winner of the Group 10 singles, both claimed major honours for Wrexham Special Olympics Group.
Michael Goggins took a gold medal back to the South East after winning the men's Group 8 singles, while David Jones won a gold medal for the South West in the Group 11 singles.
While Brookes won the women's Group 1 singles, Katherine Ashcroft's victory in the women's Group 3 singles was one of two singles gold medals won by players from the East Midlands Special Olympics Tennis Group based in Nottingham, as Aiden Leighton also won the men's Group 6 singles.
Lucy Porteus, a member of Great Britain's team at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens in 2011, added to the Scottish gold medal haul when she won the women's Group 2 singles. Porteous denied Birmingham a second women's singles gold medal after finishing ahead of silver medallist Jayne Hinett.
Yorkshire and Humberside's Laura Campbell partnered Hinett to edge out Brookes and Ashcroft in the competition for the gold medal in the women's doubles.
17/10/13
Defending men's and women's singles Group 1 champions Fabrice Higgins and Melissa Brookes are again amongst an entry of more than 50 players for the Tennis Foundation's 10th National Learning Disability Tennis Event at Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Players will be divided into singles and doubles groups against others of like tennis ability to contest the medals at the event, which is held in partnership with Special Olympics GB.
The entries include several players who have gained international success at either Special Olympics or INAS-sanctioned events.
Chorley's Higgins won three gold medals for Great Britain at the INAS World Tennis Championships for elite players with a learning disability in the Czech Republic earlier this year. Thomas Mellor also won a silver medal at the INAS World Championships and will also be competing in Nottingham again this year alongside INAS World Championships team mates Peter Millar and Shain Lewis.
The entry also includes a number of gold medallists from the tennis event at the Special Olympics National Summer Games, which were held in Bath at the end of August and the beginning of September. The gold medallists in Bath also included Brookes and Higgins.
With the Tennis Foundation's National Learning Disability Tennis Event returning to Nottingham for the tenth successive year, the local players who are a part of Special Olympics East Midlands Regional will also be hoping to add to their considerable success achieved over the course of the last nine years.