Apathetic Look About Tennis Entries

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31522, 9 November 1967, Page 17

Apathetic Look About Tennis Entries

' (By Our Tennis Reporter) I The senior sections of this year’s Show tennis tournament, which will begin at Wilding Park tomorrow, have been badly supported—so badly, that a women’s section cannot be held and the men’s entry is the lowest for 10 years. There has often been a •struggle to gain entries for Canterbury tournaments but the show fixture, in the midfifties one of the most excit- ! ing items on the season's proi gramme, has generally re- ! tained fair support. j Figures for singles for 10

years have been.—l9s7: men 20, women 20; 1958: 17, 11; 1959: 21, 17: 1960: 16, 16; 1961: 24, 14: 1962: 21,11; 1963: 17, 10; 1964: no tournament; 1965. 26, 11; 1966: 24, 7. This year the men’s entry has dropped to 14 and there were only two entrants for the women’s singles. One other woman entered in doubles only. Although the organisers will accept and hope to obtain more entries for men’s sections, the women’s events have been abandoned.

Apathy among players is not wholly responsible for the lack of women entries. Unfortunately, the tournament coincides with the first round of the Howe Shield junior interprovincial contest, when a team of five Canterbury girls —Misses R. Legge, R. Dillon, J. Bishop, J. Habgood and G.

Hampton—will be away in Nelson.

As Canterbury’s leading girl players are also its leading women this took away the cream. Misses S. Field and J. Christensen, the two who entered, are others on the women’s ranking list of 11.

If the men’s field is also small, it at least has the main contenders for the province's top places and the way they emerge is awaited with interest.

This has been caused by the arrival in Christchurch of the very competent Australian player, B. Leech. He has been seeded second to last season’s top man, J. Mitchell, who is ranked next to B. E. Fairlie on the national under-19 list last season.

Their meeting in the final, if it eventuates, would be the first time they have

clashed. Not only will it show who is top in the province but also whether the brilliant but sometimes erratic attack of the young Mitchell can match the slower finesse of Leech. No other Canterbury man has been able to so far. R. McCutcheon and W. Thom, seeded third and fourth respectively, and J. Martin, P. Angland or I. Stanton will stand in the way of a MitchellLeech final. Mitchell and Thom have the first doubles seeding, with McCutcheon and Martin second. Other pairs include Leech and Stanton and the “old firm” of M. C. Healey and W. J. Smith, still formidable for younger players.

The junior sections, held only for the second year, have no problem with entries and 70 players will compete in under-17, under-15 and under--13 sections.

Seedings are:— Under 17.—Boys’ singles (9). N. Pattinson, D. Findlay, G. Clifford. P. Buxton; doubles. Pattinson and Findlay, Clifford and Buxton. Girls’ singles: J. Banfield, E. Price. C. Ireland, G. Stanley; doubles, Banfield and Ireland, A. McGee and Stanley. Under 15.—Boys’ singles (IS): T. Mooney, K. Lewis, R. Adams, P. Mathewson; doubles, Mooney and D. Schroeder, R. Dillon and P. Mitchell, D. Mitchell and Mathewson, C. Tuck and R. Vresteeg. Girls’ singles (13): K. Davey, G. Ireland. A. Meates, S. More; doubles, Iredale and Moore, Davey and P. Bamford, M. Brosnahan and Meates, R. Smith and E. Dunne. Under 13.—Boys’ singles (17): R. Healey, P. Davey, B. Sanders, A. James; doubles, James and Sanders, Davey and N. Blackburn, Healey and I. Shinn. C. Harte and C. Mole. Girls 1 singles (8): P. Smitheram. S. Sparrow, P. Coffey. E. Meates: doubles, Smitheram and Meates, Sparrow and Gallagher.