Tennis Match With Wellington

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30395, 20 March 1964, Page 13

Tennis Match With Wellington

The Dunlop Cup for the annual interprovincial tennis match between Wellington and Canterbury will be contested for the fourth time at Wilding Park tomorrow.

A revival of interest in the fixture came with the advent of the trophy which coincided with stronger Canterbury teams. Before 1961 the meeting had a pattern. Wellington would send virtually a second team when the venue was Wilding Park and Canterbury would win: Wellington would play its top team at Central Park and win comfortably.

However, the first Canterbury Dunlop Cup team which played in Wellington in 1961 was headed by the national champion, L. A. Gerrard, with C. G. Judge, G. D. Moss, and W. Thom to support him in the men’s section. Canterbury lost, 6-10. The next year, at Wilding Park, Canterbury had I. S. Crookenden as well as Gerrard and the team won, 106. With both players gone last year, Canterbury gave a wonderful performance at Wellington to lose only by 18 sets to 19 to a team which looked superior. So Wellington now has a much greater respect for Canterbury as an opponent For the last two meetings, the Canterbury women have won all their four singles and both doubles, so Wellington has to keep its men’s section at strength.

J. B. Souter and R. N. Hawkes, who are at the top, were both national semifinalists this year, and they will meet G. A. Davidson and C. G. Judge respectively. When Judge played in 1961, he had also been a national semi-finalist, and he beat Hawkes in the inter-provincial contest, 6-2, 6-2. Canterbury’s third man, A. Brooks, who has been in grand form in recent weeks, will play V. J. Stubbs, run-ner-up to R. McCutcheon for the South Island title, and B. J. Aldridge will play L Houghton, not one of Wellington’s strongest men. The Canterbury women may again be superior even without Miss J. Davidson, who had notified she would not be available some time ago. Miss D. Smith is now top woman and tier’s will be the hardest task when she plays

Miss J. Hayvice, who caused a sensation at the national championships when she beat first Miss S. Rich (Canterbury), seeded seventh, and then Miss E. Terry (Waikato), fourth. Miss Terry had already beaten Miss Smith.

Tomorrow, Miss Rich will play Miss J. Mackenzie, who has Impressed in junior tournaments and Howe Shield matdies at Wilding Park, and the Mid-Canterbury member of the side. Miss H. Bruce, will meet Miss A. Mitehell, who won the North Island women’s doubles last season, and the previous season was ninth-ranked New Zealand junior. The experienced Mrs E. Campbell is drawn with Miss J. Halt

Wellington is also without its top woman, Mrs M. Law, formerly Miss M. Johnston.