Home   Rutland   Sport   Article

Subscribe Now

Success for Oakham Tennis Club in the Leicestershire League




Oakham Tennis Club have completed their Winter League campaign in style after toasting a title double.

Both the men's and ladies' second teams will be testing themselves next term at higher levels in the Leicestershire League after topping the tables to win promotion.

The men won their division by the narrowest of margins under the captaincy of Ben Roberts in their first season of league action.

Oakham men's second team of Lewis Clarke, Gideon Bramble, Archie Blackburn and captain Ben Roberts.
Oakham men's second team of Lewis Clarke, Gideon Bramble, Archie Blackburn and captain Ben Roberts.

They started the campaign with a 8-0 away defeat at Loughborough but then went on to win the rest of their games to top the table.

Oakham finished on equal points with Loughborough but lost far fewer games in total to take the title on a 64.9 percentage from their rivals on 59.7.

The ladies' seconds finished their championship-winning season on a high after an emphatic victory at Stoney Stanton.

The ladies' second team at Oakham of Jojo Steveney, Lily Underwood, Felicity Selby and Mandy Friend.
The ladies' second team at Oakham of Jojo Steveney, Lily Underwood, Felicity Selby and Mandy Friend.

Despite vice-captain Jojo Steveney fielding a side of players who hadn't played matches together, they worked well to win all eight sets.

Teenager Lily Underwood and Felicity Selby had to fight for every point against the home pair's firsts but they pulled off an amazing tiebreak at the end of their rubber to keep a clean sheet.

They then went on to beat the second pair much quicker after being totally warmed up.

Oakham Ladies' first team of Anne Boyce, Wonhui Buckley, Lisa Hornsby and Helen Foster.
Oakham Ladies' first team of Anne Boyce, Wonhui Buckley, Lisa Hornsby and Helen Foster.

Steveney and Mandy Friend worked well from the start, forcing errors to win all four sets for the loss of only seven games.

The ladies won six and drew one of their seven league games to finish the season top on 61 points.

Oakham's men's first team also finished with a flourish as they scored an outstanding 8-0 win against Leicester Forest East at The Vale to prevent them from being relegated out of a highly-competitive division.

Captain Dan Potter and Nick Crowson played well together, giving away very few points as they won all four sets for the loss of nine games.

Steve Ward and Will Cutforth only lost 10 games in their four set wins as they kept control throughout.

The men have struggled all season as they lost four of their seven matches due mainly to a lack of consistency in partnerships resulting from injuries and unavailability.

Skipper Potter had to use 14 different players which made it difficult to compete, especially in away matches and on varying surfaces.

The ladies' first team completed their campaign in freezing conditions with a 6-2 defeat against league leaders Hinckley.

Anne Boyce and Helen Foster got off at a gallop against the firsts but were pulled back bit by bit until the tiebreak was reached.

It was the closest of sets which eventually went to the visitors who went on to win both games.

They had a repeat against the seconds but this time they won the tie-break before losing the second set very narrowly.

Lisa Hornsby and Wonhui Buckley faced the second pair and raced ahead with good interceptions to take the first set but lost the second as quickly.

The Rutlanders took time to re-organise against the visitors' firsts but rallied strongly in the second set which they were unlucky to lose.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More