Lawn Tennis SENIOR GRADE MATCHES

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28414, 22 October 1957, Page 17

Lawn Tennis SENIOR GRADE MATCHES

Committee Plans Competitions

Senior men s and senior women’s grade in the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association’s competition vill this season each comprise eight teams as last season but the grades will be conducted under a straight draw system. This was decided at e meeting of the association’s management committee last evening. The committee adopted a recommendation from the annual meeting of delegates that the two rounds and knockout system, under which the competitions have been run for the last two seasons, be abolished.

For the senior men’s competition. which will begin on November 2, there are nine entries— North Linwood, United. Avonside. Opawa. Cashmere. Elmwood, University, South Brighton, and Woolston. The teams are the same as last season except for South Brighton, which is a new entry. Because the entry is restricted to eight teams. Woolston. the bottom team last season, and south Brighton, will be required to play a qualifying match on November 2, the day the first round is played. The odd team that has the bye that day will then play the winner of the qualifying match the next Saturday. November 9. when the senior womens competition begins, thus bringing the men’s competition up to date. The eight entries for the senior women’s competition are as follows : —St. Albans. Cashmere, Elmwood, United, University, AvonSide. Opawa and Shirley. The teams are the same as last season except that Shirley-South Brighton was then entered as a combined team. Now the side will be made up from the Shirley club only. For the senior reserve men’s competition there are provisionally 12 entries. The losing team in the senior men’s qualifying match will also be able to enter. Seventeen teams are entered in the first grade mixed competition and 20 are in the second grade competition which began last Saturdav. Because of a very poor entrv for the third grade—three teams—the committee decided to abandon the grade, but the teams will be able to enter the under 19 grade if their members qualify. There are already 10 teams in the under 19 grade. In response to a desire for more organised competition among •ome senior players, the committee called for entries for senior men’s and women’s hardcourt competitions, to be played on the Saturdays alternate to the grass court competitions. These entries will close next Tuesday. The committee last evening decided that it would play the senior women’s and first grade grass competitions on the same Saturdays so that first grade women might be called on for hard court days. Such arrangements were not necessary for the men who may call on senior reserve players for the hardcourt competition.