Photo of Warwickshire County Council Tennis Club squad in Division Five.
From Left to Right:
Craig Ferguson, Shawn Gladwin, David Asshetton, and David Williams (Capt).
The Wildmoor Spa Tennis League – Week 7
(Covering South Warwickshire & parts or Worcestershire & Gloucs.)
The halfway point in the season of the Men's Wildmoor Spa Summer Tennis League was reached with current champions Stratford-on-Avon (25) topping the Premier Division table. To this point they were undefeated as they travelled to fourth placed Henley-in-Arden (13). The result was predictable as Stratford won the match 3-1 to open a 5 point lead. Second placed Ardencote Manor (19) were also victorious 3-1 over bottom placed Moreton-in-Marsh (7). Third placed Alcester A (14) were held to a 2-2 draw by HDA Redditch (11). Evesham (13) moved up to equal fourth with Henley when they beat Alcester B (10) 4-0.
Stratford march on undefeated with another victory as their pair Callum Bailey & Chris Marrow beat Matt Williams & Tom Griffiths (Henley) 6-2, 6-2 and beat Max Retallack & Sam Turner (Henley) 6-1, 6-2. Cameron Malik & Richard Monk (Stratford) beat Retallack & Turner 6-1, 6-1, but lost to Williams & Griffiths 6-2, 4-6, 0-1 after a championship tie-break.
Ardencote Manor keep up the chase in second place with another win, this time 3-1 over bottom of the Premier Division Moreton-in-Marsh. Ben Summers & Phil Silk (Ardencote) beat Brian Lomas & Greg Stotesbury (Moreton) 6-3, 6-4 and just overcame Chris Adams & Gary Jackson (Moreton) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 after a tie-break. Ardencote captain Myles Wilcox-Smith & John Brain beat Adams & Jackson 6-0, 7-5, but lost to Lomas & Stotesbury 3-6, 2-6.
A weakened Alcester A lost ground when HDA Redditch held them to a 2-2 draw.
Alex Woodbridge & Emma Hubbard (Alcester A) lost to Tomas Cop & Lubo Smoliar
(HDA) 1-6, 5-7, but beat Kevin Porter & Terry Iduitua (HDA) 6-0, 6-0.
Stuart Beach & James Clemons (Alcester A) beat Porter & Iduitua 6-1, 6-4,
but lost to Cop & Smoliar 3-6, 4-6.
The last Premier fixture gave a boost to Evesham up to fourth following their 4-0 win. Chris Francis & Julian Heath (Evesham) beat Andy Pires & Jack Herdsman (Alcester B) 6-2, 6-3 and beat Matt Fielding & Harry Morley-Cotterell (Alcester B) 6-2, 6-3. Andrew Crowther & Simon Wall (Evesham) beat Fielding & Morley-Cotterell 6-1, 6-3 and beat Pires & Herdsman 6-2, 6-1.
Division One leaders Chipping Campden (21) hosted Stratford B (12) this week and their 4-0 rollover meant they stayed top dogs. Second placed Littleton
(19) played third placed Pershore (16) and the critical result of 3-1 to Littleton meant they stayed second. The match between fourth placed Studley (15), who had been joint third, against Claverdon A (10) was not known at the time of going to Press. Meanwhile, the bottom two teams Ardencote Manor B (12) and Snitterfield (3) met which resulted in an easy win for Ardencote 4-0 and allowed them to move out of the bottom two. Snitterfield are in desperate need of points if they intend to avoid relegation.
Division Two leaders Henley B just retained the lead with 22 points after a
2-2 draw with mid table side FISSC (13) of Stratford. Inkberrow A (21) threaten in second, now only a point behind, thanks to a vital 3-1 win over third placed Shipston A (17). Alcester C moved away from relegation worries with an emphatic 4-0 result over Snitterfield B (9). Finally, the result between the bottom two teams Studley B (6) and Claverdon B (7) had not been received.
On to Division Three where the top two teams HDA B of Redditch played
second placed Inkberrow B. Their 2-2 draw meant that HDA B (17) remained top one point ahead of Inkberrow B (16). Previously third placed Warwick (13) also slid back a couple of places as they had no match this week. Chipping Campden B (16) made a move up the table to third when they disposed of Claverdon C (1) 4-0. Pershore B (14) also moved up behind them after they recorded an easy 4-0 win over lowly Aston Cantlow (3). Despite it only being halfway through the season Cantlow and Claverdon C appear to be in desperate trouble.
An important match at the top of Division Four saw leaders Bidford-on-Avon A (27) take on third placed Wildmoor Spa A (14) at Stratford. The 4-0 result to Bidford meant they were 7 points clear with Wildmoor dropping to fifth. Inkberrow C (20) in second placed recorded a comfortable 4-0 victory over the penultimate team Moreton-in-Marsh B (7). Redditch side HDA C (16) moved up the table to third after beating bottom side Moreton-in-Marsh C (3) 4-0. Evesham B (15) trail a point further back in fourth when they defeated Bidford B (10) 3-1. At this point the two Moreton-in-Marsh teams are facing the drop.
In Division Five joint leaders Shipston B lost the lead at the top with 17 points after losing 3-1 to near bottom Inkberrow D (10). Not only did Shipston B lose, but only one pair turned out for the match so had a vital league point deducted. Meanwhile, new leaders Chipping Campden C (18) also slipped to second after going down 3-1 to Warwickshire County Council (16) who, with this result, moved up to third place. Newcomers Tysoe (14) moved well away from the bottom into mid-table, thanks to a storming 4-0 victory at Redditch against HDA D (6). A mid-table match between Henley C (15) and Wildmoor Spa B (11) resulted in a 4-0 win for Henley C.