News
Competition

Club Finals Day - full results and roundup of the day

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 00:00

On a bright and breezeless September day RLTC's club tournament reached its climax with eight finals played and titles won. Earlier fears of intrusive noise – arising from a clash with a big match-day for London Welsh rugby – proved unfounded. Everyone had a good day.

Matches on Saturday 18 September 2021 were played on Tiger Turf court 3 and two of the Front Grass courts, and more than 60 spectators gathered to enjoy the action.

Special thanks to Laura Ritchie, our Tournament Director, for steering a steady course and bringing this annual event to the boil once more.

Thanks also to all those who helped on the day: Michael Jones, Andy Jenkins, Sandra Aldridge, Tony Voller and Max Ivanushkinfor sitting in the umpire’s chair. Carmen Cacicedo, Sue Manley and Lyndsay Halperfor their organisational help.  And let’s not forget Laura and Josie who brought sparkle to the day with colourful balloons, table decorations and other welcome fancy touches and for their general help throughout the day. Thanks also to Richmond Sports for their continuing support of our club.
 
Congratulations to all our winners and finalists. Here – for the record – is where all the titles went  

Left to right: Mickey Nardella, Michael Jones, Iain Ure
Men's singles
Iain Ure defeated Mickey Nardella (7-5, 7-6 (7-5))
 

Left to right: Sophie Weedon, Michael Jones, Carmen Cacicedo
Ladies singles
Sophie Weedon defeated Carmen Cacicedo (7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-7))
 

Left to right: Micky Nardella, Nic Lasalvia, Antoine Decottignies, Iain Ure
Men's Doubles
Iain Ure and Antoine Decottignies defeated Mickey Nardella and Nic Lasalvia (6-1, 6-2)
 

Left to right: Carmen Cacicedo, Sophie Weedon, Sandra Aldridge, Laura Ritchie, Jo Purkiss
Ladies Doubles
Carmen Cacicedo and Sophie Weedon defeated Jo Purkiss and Laura Ritchie (6-1, 6-3)
 

Left to right: Nic Lasalvia, Sophie Weedon, Laura Ritchie, Carmen Cacicedo, Antoine Decottignies
Mixed Doubles
Carmen Cacicedo and Antoine Decottignies defeated Sophie Weedon and Nic Lasalvia (6-1, 6-1)
 

Left to right: Vanessa Brown, Tony Voller, Laura Ritchie
Ladies Veterans Doubles
Laura Ritchie and Vanessa Brown defeated Sandra Aldridge and Penny Maunder (6-3, 6-0)
 

Left to right: Laura Ritchie, Chris Kelleher, Gareth Pearce, Michael Jones
Men's Veterans(over 45) Doubles
Chris Kelleher and Gareth Pearce defeated Charles Soden-Bird and Dan Williams (6-3, 6-3)
 

Improvers Men's Doubles
Winners: David Phillips and Mirko Morello

Improvers Mixed Doubles
Result to be confirmed (match to be finished)

Improvers Ladies Doubles
Result to be confirmed (match to be finished)

Peter Brook - a perfect result

Ailsa Williams writes
  The inaugural Peter Brook tournament was held in 2014, shortly after Peter sadly lost his battle with cancer. 


  Peter was a committed RLTC member who annually organised the club's social non-team tournaments. 
  Consequently the Peter Brook Memorial Mixed Doubles event was designed (with its handicap system) to be a fun and friendly competition for RLTC members of all tennis standards.  

 

Mark Saunders and Nora Dennehy

 

For the last 8 years, Peter's widow, Nora Dennehy has presented the trophy to the winners.

However, this year, for the first time, Nora was unable to perform that duty... because, to the delight of the watching crowd, Nora herself WON the Peter Brook Tournament (with just a little help from her partner Mark Saunders).

Commiserations of course to Eli Couttet and Jilly MacPherson, who battled so valiantly in the Final, but huge congratulations to Nora and Mark - it is lovely that Nora should now have received, as well as having presented, the Peter Brook trophy.

 

 

Stats corner

  • Congratulations to four members who each claimed a pair of titles on the same day: Sophie Weedon, Carmen Cacicedo, Iain Ure, and Antoine Decottignies;
  • Iain Ure took his first Men’s Singles to go with another Men’s Doubles, bringing his personal title-haul at our club since 2017 to 7 (1x Men’s Singles, 4x Men’s Doubles, 2x Mixed Doubles);
  • Iain and his doubles partner Antoine Decottignies, in romping to their fourth consecutive Men’s Doubles title, have entered an elite group of just three pairs to have achieved this feat in the club’s long history (the others were R. Wertheim and B. Stacy 1954-57, and T. Grey and C. Moore 1989-1992);
  • Sophie Weedon and Carmen Cacicedo retained their Ladies Doubles title, and each of them also won a second event: Sophie successfully defended her Ladies Singles crown and Carmen won the Mixed Doubles (with Antoine);
  • Club legend Vanessa Brown won her eighth Ladies Veterans’ Doubles, raising her personal title-haul to 16 (3x Ladies Singles, 4x Ladies Doubles, 1x Mixed Doubles, 8x Ladies Veterans Doubles). Vanessa now sits seventh on the club’s all-time list of multiple title-winners (including men and women); her oft-times doubles partner June Stowell (another legend: 22 titles, and in third place overall) is now looking nervously over one shoulder;
  • Laura Ritchie, who partnered Vanessa in that Ladies Veterans’ Doubles victory, improved her own personal title-haul to 13, jumping to tenth place on the club’s all-time list.