The Wildmoor Spa Tennis League
(Covering South Warwickshire & parts or Worcestershire & Gloucs.)
Photo of Tysoe Tennis Club squad new to the League and in Division Five.
From Left to Right in Back Row:
Ollie Ball, Jim Richardson, Patrick Crowther, Julian Gardner and Tony Wilde. Front Row: Brian Emerson, Carl Hamilton (Capt) and John Alexander.
Wildmoor Spa Men’s Tennis League – Week 6
Week 6 of the Men’s Wildmoor Spa Summer Tennis League saw Stratford-on-Avon (22) win again beating HDA Redditch (9) 4-0. Second placed Ardencote Manor (16) also kept up their challenge with a 3-1 victory over Evesham (9). An interesting tussle between the third and fourth placed teams, Henley-in-Arden and Alcester A respectively, resulted in a 3-1 away win for Alcester A. This result brought the Alcester team level on points and equal third with Henley on 12 points each. Finally, the bottom two teams Alcester B (10) and Moreton-in-Marsh (6) met at Alcester with the hosts emerging as winners 3-1 to lift them to mid-table.
Stratford march on undefeated with another maximum points victory as their pair Callum Bailey & Simon West beat Tomas Cop & Lubo Smoliar (HDA Redditch) 6-4, 6-1, and then beat Tim Bradley & Ben Portman (HDA) 6-0, 6-2. Stratford captain Tim Page with partner Cameron Malik beat Bradley & Portman 6-1, 6-1, and beat Cop & Smoliar 7-5, 6-2.
Ardencote Manor consolidated their second place with another win, this time 3-1 over Evesham. Ardencote’s Jack Smith & Christian Hardy won both their rubbers beating Chris Francis & Andrew Crowther (Evesham) 6-2, 6-3 and then John Clarke & Julian Heath (Evesham) 6-0, 6-2. Ben Summers & John Brain (Ardencote) beat Clarke & Heath 6-3, 6-3, but lost to Francis & Crowther 6-7, 1-6.
Henley played hosts to the team just below them Alcester A, but it was the latter who took the honours. Stuart Beach & Alex Woodbridge (Alcester A) beat Sam Turner & Max Retallack (Henley) 6-4, 6-3, and beat Tom Griffiths & Matt Williams (Henley) 6-1, 6-1. Pete Watson & Charlie Watson (Alcester A) beat Griffiths & Williams 6-3, 7-5, but lost to Turner & Retallack 7-6, 6-7, 0-1 after a Championship tie-break decider.
In the final Premier fixture mid-table Alcester B beat bottom team Moreton-in-Marsh A 3-1. Matt Fielding & Barney Williams (Alcester B) lost to Gary Jackson & James Elliott (Moreton) 3-6, 1-6, but beat Greg Stotesbury & Brian Lomas (Moreton) 7-6, 6-1. Alcester B captain Gareth Price with Charlie Watson beat Stotesbury & Lomas 6-2, 7-5 and beat Jackson & Elliott 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 after a championship tie-break.
Division One leaders Chipping Campden travelled to play second in the table Studley in a crucial match. With only a two-point lead Campden were in danger of being overtaken by Studley if the latter could beat them. In the event Campden (17) retained their lead but it was cut to one point after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Studley (15), who stay equal third. Behind them the third and fourth placed teams Littleton (16) and Pershore (15) kept up the pressure as both enjoyed 4-0 maximum points wins. Littleton’s was over bottom but one team Ardencote Manor B (8) and Pershore’s was over bottom side Snitterfield (3). Meanwhile, a mid-table clash between Claverdon (10) and Stratford B(12) saw Stratford B emerge as comfortable victors 4-0.
In Division Two leaders Henley B retain the lead with 20 points after a 3-1 result over next to bottom side Claverdon B (7). Inkberrow A (18) stay second thanks to a good 3-1 win over lower table side Snitterfield B (9). Third placed Shipston-on-Stour A (16) managed a good 4-0 away win at Alcester C (9). The surprise of the week came when fourth placed FISSC lost 4-0 to joint bottom of the table team Studley B (6) after an epic battle in three of the four rubbers, including two tie-breaks.
In Division Three leaders HDA B of Redditch (15) had no match this week and were vulnerable to second placed Warwick only two points behind, who travelled to Inkberrow B. However, Warwick turned out not to be a threat since they surprisingly went down 4-0 to Inkberrow B. As a result Inkberrow B now with 14 points overtook Warwick (13). The other team that could have threatened was Chipping Campden B (12), however their match versus Aston Cantlow (3) was postponed due to heavy rain. Finally, Pershore B (10) moved away from the relegation zone with a good 4-0 victory away to Claverdon C (1).
A clash of the top two in Division Four between leaders Bidford-on-Avon A (20) and second placed Inkberrow C (15) was postponed due to heavy rain. Third position remains in the hands of Wildmoor Spa A (14) even though they were unexpectedly held to a 2-2 draw by near bottom side Moreton-in-Marsh B (7). Evesham B (12) moved up to joint fourth, thanks to a hard fought win over bottom team Moreton-in-Marsh C (3). Although the result was 4-0 to Evesham B this belied the closeness of the match. A mid-table fixture between Bidford B (9) and HDA C Redditch (12) saw the Redditch visitors take the match 3-1 and as a result moved up to join Evesham in equal fourth place on 12 points.
In Division Five the top two teams met at Shipston-on-Stour and the 3-1 victory to the visitors meant that Chipping Campden C moved to join Shipston B at the head of the table on 17 points apiece. The match between the third and fourth placed teams Wildmoor Spa B (11) and Tysoe (10) was postponed due to slippery courts caused by heavy rain. This meant that Warwickshire County Council (13) celebrated a 3-1 away win at Inkberrow D (7) even more as it elevated them to third spot in the table. Finally, a match near the foot of the league between Henley C (11) and HDA D Redditch (6) resulted in a 3-1 win for Henley C.
Wildmoor Spa Tennis League – 2017-10
By Corin Bishop