Next week is the highspot of the season for our county tennis players, with both our senior teams competing in the nationwide Aegon Summer County Cup. Suffolk Men travel to Havant for another crack at life in the lofty heights of Group 2, whilst our Ladies are hoping that home advantage will see them moving out of the basement of Group 7, where they have languished in recent years. Local supporters have a great opportunity to cheer them on as they compete at Felixstowe Tennis Club.
With one of the original counties dropping out, Suffolk Ladies will be taking on the South of Scotland and Oxfordshire on this Sunday, 2lst July, and Tuesday 22nd July.
Record-breaking Suffolk champion Katie Tassell captains an experienced looking squad, which is boosted by the addition of Amanda Janes, daughter of former Wimbledon runner-up Christine Janes. The remainder of the squad is Emma Elsom, Kari Sherington, Kitty McWhirter, Olivia Cambell-Lamerton, Louise Rogers, Kim Percy, Lysette Fulcher and Janie Taylor.
It is hoped that county tennis enthusiasts will take full advantage of this rare opportunity to cheer our Ladies on, and play their part in ensuring that we lift ourselves out of the basement where we don’t belong. County organisers are certainly playing their part, with a reception for VIPs and SLTA Council Members on the Sunday afternoon of the opening match. Play starts at llam , weather permitting, and let’s ensure our Ladies are given every encouragement to earn that promotion !
Suffolk Men’s team find themselves in Division 2 again this year, with a massive uphill struggle to avoid relegation. Their opposition includes Derbyshire and Lancashire, relegated from the top tier last July, Hampshire and Leicesterhire. This tough opposition line-up is made even tougher with inspirational captain Jez Cowley and full-time player Myles Orton unable to play the final two days, and Ashley Watling unable to turn out at all this year.
However, these availability problems do give an opportunity for Suffolk’s next line of players to come in and shine. Reigning Suffolk Men’s champion Matt Hough, Ollie Sutton, Ben Smith and Matt Kirby complete the first three day’s line-up, but the final two days will see an opportunity for the likes of Ryan Lambert, Paul Midgley, James Ling and Ben Roberts-Law to come in and show what they can do. The final squad will be a last-minute decision, but Cowley has high hopes that Suffolk can somehow survive.
Our Senior teams have been in action over the Summer, and Men’s Organiser Keith Flewitt has just submitted a very impressive list of the latest result :-
70+: bt Oxfordshire 4-0 (Colin Stephenson, Geoff Johnson, Roger Tuckett, Julian Corbell)
65+: bt Berkshire 3-2 (Mike Ellis, Keith Palmer, Peter Aldous, Peter Brown)
55+: bt Middlesex 3-2, bt Norfolk 3-2 (Peter Taylor, Steve Everest, Rick Gillingham, John Clarke, Steve Belton)
45+: bt Surrey 3-2 (Hussain + Liban Ahmed, Gary Keens, Ian Moore)
Finally news of our junior encounters. In the recent 12U Aegon County Cup, our Boys beat Bedfordshire and Norfolk to finish 3rd, with our Girls fighting hard but not troubling the scoreboard. Congratulations to Culford tennis scholars Maria Andrews and Hannah Vickers, who successfully defended their Under 15 title at the finals of the Independent Schools’ Tennis Association National Championships at Eton College, Berkshire,beating Kingswood 6-2 6-0. The Bury Junior Tournament heralds in the holiday programme as usual, and will be previewed next week.