WTC Press Release - Wellow Tennis Club

Lots of league action for Wellow tennis clubMatches are coming thick and fast at Wellow Tennis club as the summer league seasongathers momentum. In a key local derby Wellow visited local rivals Romsey& Abbey in theSouthampton & District Apsley league Division 3. In what is likely to be a closely contestedleague a win was vital for both sides. In the event Wellow held the upper hand all day andwon 8-0. Despite the score all matches were tightly contested and the match could easilyhave been much closer. In the best match of the mixed doubles round Wellow’s number 1pair of Stuart and Jeanette Martin won a very close match 6-4 1-6 6-4.Stuart Martin was then involved in another tight match when he was joined by new clubmember Mike Bevan to take on Romsey’s first men’s pair. The match finished long after allthe other games and in a highly entertaining and close encounter Martin and Bevaneventually ran out winners 4-6 7-5 6-2 to seal a great day for Wellow.Wellow’s ladies vets team of Lin Hounslow, Sally Huffam, Jan Mullarney and Kate Jacksonfound the going tougher in their match against a very strong Lee on Solent team. The windand rain made matters worse and despite a brave battle Wellow lost the match 4-0. A weeklater and on a warm sunny evening a very different looking team of Lin Hounslow & JeanetteMartin, Caroline Easton & Simone Easton put in a much stronger performance on Wellow’shome courts beating Glebians in a very competitive match 4-0. Wellow came from behind infive out of the eight sets with the final scores being 6-3, 6-3; and 6-3, 7-5 in favour ofHounslowand Martin; and 6-0,7-5; and 6-4,6-4 to Arnott and Easton.A few days later Wellow Ladies pulled out all the stops to win their re scheduled matchagainst Totton& Eling. A mix up with the timing of the match saw Wellow assemble with lessthan ½ hours’ notice to be on court. The team of Elaine Pickering, Judy Wallis, LinHounslow, Jeanette Martin, Cathy Tarvin and Jane Capper went on to win the match 7 - 1 inconvincing style, though Hounslow and Martin had to win two championship tie breaks andPickering and Wallis also had to win one. Tarvin &Capper missed the opportunity of going toa championship tie break in their first match against Totton’s first No 1 pair narrowly losingthe second set in a tight tie break.Wellow’s mens super vets(Over 55s) team of Geoff Blackburne, John Moret, Dave Pinch &Terry Smith battled hard against Lyndhurst eventually going down on games after the matchfinished with two events won by each side. Pinch & Smith struggled all evening onlymanaging to take games off the Lyndhurst second pair. Blackburne and Moret playingtogether for the first time were in inspirational form and in two high quality matches camethrough without losing a set.In the Sarum League Division 3 after a disappointing defeat 0-8 to Downton B in their firstmatch Wellow’s D team won a narrow victory against Penton B in their second match. JudyWallis was drafted in at the last minute to replace Caroline Easton who was suffering from ahamstring pull. Judy played with husband Graham as first mixed pair and they won both theirsets. Paul Feeney and Catherine Carter played well to win their first set 6-4 but lost their wayin the second set 0-6. In the mens doubles Wallis and Feeney kept up the pressure in a veryeven match to win 6-4, 7-5. The ladies pair of Wallis and Carter had a long and ultimatelyunrewarding game but Wellow still game out on top 5-3 – a win which lifted them off thebottom of the table.

In a much awaited Division 2 clash Wellow’s B team were pitted against their fellow C team.Such close rivalry created some nail-biting and riveting tennis during the evening. First pair,Mike Bevan & Cathy Tarvin, had a long, closely-fought battle against the C's first pair, PaulGoodman & Elaine Pickering, in an epic 2 hour match. The first set ended up in a tie breakwhich Bevan &Tarvin just managed to clinch 7-6 and the second set was won by Goodman& Pickering by 6 games to 4. The B team’s second pair of Dereck Pickering & SimoneArnott had a quicker match which also ended in a draw 3-6, 6-2 against C's second pair,Judy & Ben Wallis. The men's doubles match swung completely both ways in both sets 2-6,6-1 thus also ending up in a draw. The ladies doubles ended in the twilight after 9pm –andalso in a draw 6-3, 3-6 after a very evenly match with lots of rallies. So at the end of a longevening the result was a 4-4 draw.This was the 2nd match of the season for the B team, who were defeated 7-1 in their firstmatch by a very strong Alderbury A side who are new to the division having come down fromthe first Division. The score did not reflect the games which were close with good, fast-hittingtennis. Colin Jager & Laura Hart played as 1st pair for Wellow with Steve Pugh & SimoneArnott as 2nd pair. Pugh & Arnott were unlucky not to draw their match as they let slip a 5-2lead in the second set but the ladies managed a draw to avoid a whitewash. The B teamalso lost 2-6 to Alderbury B leaving them at the bottom of the table behind the C team andalready facing a relegation battle.In one other Sarum league match Wellow’s A team of Stuart and Jeanette Martin, JohnMoret and Ruth Hounslow played their first Division 1 match away to a very strong VictoriaPark team and after some very competitive tennis Wellow lost 1-7.ENDS