Press Release – Finals Day Results
7th September 2015
Junior Player narrowly loses to Club Coach to a three set thriller in Annual Tournament
Hutton and Shenfield Tennis Club hosted their annual Finals Day this Saturday 5th September. A total of ten different competitions and cups were played throughout the summer and the climax of all of these tournaments is the Finals Day.
One of the highlights was the Men’s Singles Final. Over the course of the last few years, one of the club’s junior players, John Coyle (15) has steadily progressed further in the Men’s tournament losing a closely fought semi-final last year. This year he made it to the final, and to add spice to the fixture, he was up against the Club’s Head Coach – Christian Allen.
John took the first set easily, winning 6-2. The second set was a lot closer – eventually being won by Christian on a tie-break. It was all very evenly balanced in the final set where finally Christian’s experience just dragged him through the encounter with a final set win of 6-4.
Many other tournaments were close run affairs – the marquee Men’s Doubles was finally won over three sets by Vernon Prior and Nigel Ware, just edging out the Nash brothers – Mark and Andrew.
One of the most enjoyable competitions is the Mixed Handicap Doubles. In this event the club captains secretly seed all the players in the club and the partners are drawn from top to bottom and bottom to top, with the top seeded men’s player being partnered with the bottom seeded ladies player and vice versa.
This competition is very popular as it usually evens out all the different skill levels in the club and promotes new friendships and partnerships with new members being paired with more experienced players. This year’s final was between Linde Merrell/Clive Garrod and Barbara Holford/Matt Keeling. On this occasion experence won out with Linde and Clive winning 2-0 – both on tie breaks.
Refreshments and a warming barbecue were provided by Club Captain Paul Gibson, who managed to squeeze in a win in the Men’s Veterans Doubles with his partner Mark Feeley.
Paul said: “The club is going from strength to strength with new memberships, development of our junior squads and success in our league matches against other clubs.”.
Club Chairman, Ian Gunn said “It is great to see the progress of all the members at the club. The standard of play has increased immeasurably – as these matches have proven – but I am most proud of the way we have retained the friendly and social nature of the club”.
“The Finals Day is really the culmination of a lot of effort and hard work by the players throughout the Summer season. It really brings the Summer to a close and we then look forward to the Stock Winter League.”
Hutton and Shenfield Tennis Club:
Established in 1919 and with around 150 adult and 100 junior members using five Astroturf courts the Hutton and Shenfield Tennis Club is a thriving local sports facility. With four floodlit courts, the club and courts can be found on Brockley Grove at the junction with Roundwood Avenue located next the Hutton and Shenfield Union Church.
The club caters for various standards, from those interested in serious match play to those happy with just social tennis. The club aims to promote an environment in which everyone enjoys their tennis at a fantastic location.
The club participates in many leagues catering for different levels of play, with Ladies, Mens, Mixed and Veterans matches throughout the year. Also club tournaments are very popular plus social tennis during the day and in the evening.
For juniors, aged 4 to 18, there are a range of activities. Junior coaching takes place every weekday from 3pm to 7pm and Saturday mornings from 9am to 12noon and players are graded based on age and standard. Also, there are fantastic camps that run during the school holidays.
All the courts are kept to a very high standard (two courts being relaid in the Summer 2014) with good facilities, balls and training equipment.
Hutton and Shenfield Tennis Club
Brockley Grove
Hutton
Essex
CM13 2NA