Oakham Tennis Club’s men’s first team have been promoted to the Leicestershire Premier League.
In what was an superb squad effort, the team won the final five matches of the season to clinch the first division title and promotion.
They racked up an incredible series of wins with 8-1 victories over Leicester Forest East 3rd and Leicestershire B, followed by 9-0 wins against Ashby Castle and Leicester Forest East 2nd.
Skipper Tim Davies said: “Our main rivals for the championship were Oadby who we beat 5-4 in this run.”
It was a result which proved pivotal as Oakham went up by one set.
During this run the squad featured Nick Howitt, Jack Hubbard, Claude Badowski, Ralph Clarke, Jack Haworth, Craig Haworth, Nikki Rae and Tim Davies, with Ralph and Jack Haworth as first pair unbeaten all season.
Davies added: “Highlights were the 9-0 win versus a strong Ashby Castle side when Ralph and Jack Haworth came from 8-3 down to win 9-8.” The pairs in that match were Ralph and Jack Haworth, Craig and Nikki, and Tim and Nick.
“In our last match we had to beat Leicestershire at least 8-1 to be champions,” said Tim
Oakham coach and first team regular Ralph Clarke described the team’s success as a “monumental effort” and praised the impact of Oakham’s skipper.
He said: “Tim came in when I was captain and never misses a game. He is consistently pumped up for matches and has created a great team spirit.
“This is one of the strongest teams Oakham has had for a long time without question.”
However, he cautioned that the step up to the premier division is a big one.
“We were in the premier before but got a real hiding that season,” he warned. “But this time we have a lot of young players coming through.”
Jack, 15, and Nikki, 17, are both nationally ranked juniors and have both represented Northamptonshire at county level, while Jack’s dad, Craig is a former champion at the Irish Open and former British team coach.
The men’s second team finished mid-table in division four while the ladies sides all found the going tough this season.
Clarke said: “It was a monumental effort by the firsts but overall the teams have struggled.
“We don’t have the facilities that other teams like Stamford have and cannot run a year-round programme.”
But with long summer evenings during the school holidays, the club is welcoming new young players with a junior membership costing just £10 for the year.
“We want juniors to come down and the use the courts as much as possible during the summer,” said Clarke.
For details about the club visit www.oakhamltc.org.uk