Welcome to a bumper issue of the tennis newsletter, rounding up the 2023 season now the Colchester and District league matches and Club Championships have come to a close.

Of course, there is still plenty of tennis to come over the autumn and winter months with opportunities to play in the winter league, box leagues continuing, the Saturday supported sessions going from strength to strength and coaching with Tom available as usual.

 

Colchester & District League 2023 Roundup

Another busy season of tennis at the Club saw a lot of competition for places in teams. This year was a mixed bag for our teams but as a club we managed to field full teams and fulfil all of our fixtures. A big thank you to all of the wonderful captains for all of their hard work throughout the season, and to the players for giving their all!

Ladies A

Captained by Angela Eastaugh, they had to work hard against very strong opposition but managed to maintain their status in Division One, finishing fourth.

Men’s A

Captained by Tom Perry, our men also finished fourth to keep their place in the Premier League. Needless to say, the opposition in this division is the best in the area, so another good season for them.

Ladies B

Captained for the first time by Vikki Sharp, this team included some new members and pairings, and finishing fourth in a tough division was a great achievement. This means they will remain in Division Three for another season.

Men’s B

This team has gone through a big transition this season, with five players from the previous season no longer available and Josh Burrows kindly agreeing to captain the team for the first time. Unfortunately, the team finished fifth so will be relegated to Division Two.

Ladies C

A great season for this team, captained by Christine Long. Not only were they crowned as Champions of Division Five, but they won every match comfortably. Big congratulations to all who played. Good luck in Division Four next season!

Some of our Ladies C team celebrating their win at the end of season dinner.

Men’s C

This team, captained by Kevin Eastaugh, were only promoted to Division Two this season so finishing second was something for the team to be proud of.

Men’s D

Captained by Paul Gloc, this team managed to maintain their place in Division Four, finishing fourth.

Men’s E

Captained by Paul Rainer, they finished second, only three points short of top spot. A gallant effort and great expectation for next season.

Mixed A

Captained by Ali Hysom, the team finished fourth in a very competitive division so will remain in Division One next season.

Mixed B

Similarly our B team, captained by Ikuko White, also finished fourth and will stay in Division Two for another season.

 

Colchester and District – Individual Tournaments

This year was very successful for members of our Club, as we had representation in six finals played at Frinton-on-Sea Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday, 9th September 2023. The results were as follows:

16 & under Boy’s Singles   - Joseph Villagordo won 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

18 & under Boy’s Singles   - Scott Bowman won beating Louis Gannon 6-2, 6-2

Open Men’s Singles           - Scott Bowman won 6-1, 6-2

Open Men’s Doubles         - Dan Cotton and Tom Perry lost 2-6, 4-6

Open Mixed Doubles         - Isabella Snell and Tom Perry lost 3-6, 4-6

18 & under Girl’s Singles    - Isabella Snell lost 7-5, 5-7, 5-7

It should be noted that Issy’s singles match started at 12:00 and lasted over three and a half hours! For her efforts, Issy was awarded a special trophy presented each year for effort and endurance.

Congratulations to all of the above for reaching finals, especially to Joe and Scott for their fantastic wins.

Lots of great tennis was enjoyed as usual by a good crowd of spectators on a hot, sunny day.

 

Colchester and District Friendly League

Teams were entered in Men’s, Ladies and Mixed leagues, captained by Chris Davies, Karen Ainley and Loess Overbury-Tapper respectively. Thanks again to all of our captains for making it possible for our Club to have representation in this league.

In the individual tournaments held at Kirby, Loess Overbury-Tapper, partnering Alex Temple (Lexden Hill), won the Veteran Mixed Doubles title beating Sherry and Andy Hodgson. Congratulations to Loess and Alex!

Sherry and Andy Hodgson were beaten in the Married Couples final and Andy Hodgson with Oliver Saunders lost in the final of the Veteran Men’s Doubles.

 

Club Championships

2023 was another good year with a high number of entrants in most categories, some new categories, and extremely hard-fought matches throughout the competition. Thanks again to all competitors for getting matches arranged and played as early as possible. This makes the organisation much easier for those concerned.

We were lucky with the weather on Finals Day, 17th September 2023, with a good number of spectators enjoying a great day’s tennis. Congratulation to all of our winners!

 

Results

Men’s Singles – Scott Bowman bt Dan Cotton 6-3, 6-2

Ladies Singles – Issy Snell bt Ali Hysom 6-3, 6-4

Men’s Doubles – Louis Gannon/Scott Bowman bt Harry Chatterton/Dan Cotton 6-3, 7-6

Ladies Doubles – Ali Hysom/Angela Eastaugh bt Anna Bisco/Clare Mears 4-6, 7-6, 6-2

Mixed Doubles – Issy Snell/Dan Cotton bt Emily Mott/Louis Gannon 6-1, 4-6, 6-1

Married Couples – Sherry/Andy Hodgson bt Karen/Steve Ainley 6-1, 6-1

Men’s 45+ Singles – Pierre Smith bt Rob Hobson 6-0, 6-1

Ladies 45+ Singles – Not contested

Men’s 45+ Doubles – Rob Hobson/Pierre Smith bt Steve Whitfield/David Rutter 6-2, 6-3

Ladies 45+ Doubles – Angela Eastaugh/Ali Hysom bt Ikuko White/Judith Wickenden 6-4, 6-4

Men’s 60+ Singles – Kevin Eastaugh bt Guy Wynter 6-2, 6-3

Boys U18 Singles – Scott Bowman bt Louis Gannon 6-0, 6-2

Men’s 60+ Doubles – Rony Moreira/Kevin Eastaugh bt Kevin Wilsher/Steve Ainley 6-1, 6-3

Men’s 70+ Doubles – Ray Allan/Phil Mann bt Peter Halliday/Terry White (walkover)

Men’s Restricted Singles – Dave Aston bt Paul Rainer 6-2, 6-2

Ladies Restricted Doubles – Karin Bacon/Tara Lee bt Anita Filer/Sherry Hodgson    6-1, 6-1

Men’s Restricted Doubles – Ian Holoweckyj/Andy Hodgson bt Chris Biggins/Martin Tapper 7-5, 6-3

Scott and Dan battling hard during the men's singles final.

 

Box Leagues

Thanks go to Christine Long for all of her hard work looking after these and keeping all players updated each month with names of their opponents. As a reminder, box leagues are played in the following categories and are open to all:

• Ladies singles
• Ladies doubles
• Men’s singles
• Men’s doubles
• Mixed doubles

If anybody would like to join the next Box Leagues (which will start at the beginning of November) please either contact Christine directly or one of the Tennis Committee.

 

Club Tournaments

All of these proved popular and were fully booked. Participants enjoyed friendly but competitive tennis, including our annual Pimms Wooden Racquets tournament, which this year was won by Caroline Hogan and Rob Hobson.

 

Wivenhoe Winter League

Thank you to Josh Burrows and Nick Moore for captaining our Men’s and Mixed teams respectively last winter. These matches are played at Wivenhoe and Kirby weekday evenings with a 19:00 start. This season Paul Rainer and Sherry Hodgson have kindly agreed to captain Men’s and Mixed teams for us.

If you are interested in playing for either of our teams this year, please contact the captains directly or mention your interest to any of the Tennis Committee.

 

Upcoming Events

Apologies for mentioning the ‘C’ word already(!), but save the date for our annual Christmas Jumpers tournament on Wednesday 27th December.

 

Defibrillator

We wanted to remind all members that we have our own Defibrillator stored safely behind the bar, and we now have another available outside the clubhouse. A defibrillator can help save the life of someone experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. The defib is portable, easy to use, with clear step-by-step instructions.

Your Committee

As a reminder, your committee members are:

• Peter Halliday – Chair
• Tom Perry – Club Coach
• Kevin Eastaugh – Club Captain
• Anna Bisco – Secretary
• Angela Eastaugh – Safeguarding Officer
• Loess Overbury-Tapper

Tennis committee members give their free time to support the club with all tennis related matters. Do come and talk to us with any feedback, ideas or queries. The minutes from our most recent meeting are available to view on the notice board. 

Ali Hysom and Anil Mahendra have recently stepped down from the committee. We would like to formally thank them very much for their invaluable contributions.