Tennis Progress By Default

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32220, 12 February 1970, Page 15

Tennis Progress By Default

(By Our Tennis Reporter) t Wilding Shield and ? Nunneley Casket inter- d provincial tennis matches j? will be played this week--end throughout New r Zealand hut the women t of the Canterbury Casket:'' side have already won their fixture because n Marlborough has advised a by telegram that it will * default. I la i This takes Canterbury into; p I the zone 3 final with either) c Otago or Nelson, which will 11 ,meet at Nelson this week/ end. Otago, which last sea-; J son narrowly missed winning,!; I the trophy in ita challenge to, A Auckland, is almost certain toj t beat Nelson. I tl The Canterbury men—J. W. r Mitchell. C. G. Judge. J. Mar- C (tin and W. Thom—will play r

their Wilding Shield contest: against Nelson at Wilding i Park this Saturday and Sun-, day, while South Canterbury) and Otago play the other zone 3 match. After that, the situation ) may become confused. Canterbury has arranged to play its annual representative fix- I ture with Otago, for teams of. i six men and six women, thej next week-end. February 21; and 22, and if the Otago men;: and Otago women win their: l trophy matches, this will fit I in nicely with the zone fin- i als, which have to be completed by February 23. and : can be part of the represen- i tative match. 1 However. South Canter- I bury, which beat Marlbo-lf rough, 8-4. in the first round ; in November, has a strong; Wilding Shield team, at the; top at least, with J. B. Souter. 1 the formerly nationally-! I ranked Davis Cup player, and ’ i G A. Davidson, once top- i ranked in Canterbury. < I

At a quadrangular tourna-i| ment in Dunedin in Decent-! I I her, Otago beat South Canfer-] i bury comfortably enough in al: full representative match.; but South Canterbury did not), have Davidson; Souter won), both his singles and doubles.:; If South Canterbury does;' beat Otago, the composition ! , ■ of the men’s section of the/ team to play Otago might; have to be changed or a date] | other than next week-end) found for a Canterbury-] South Canterbury shield;; match. The programme at this] 1 time of the season always be-/ comes tight and Canterbury 1 has a Dunlop Cup represen-l 1 tative match with Welling-’ 1 ton on February 28 and an] , annual contest with Huth Vai- ' , ley on March 1. ; Whatever emerges from/ 'this, it is likely that Canter- i ibury will be the zone winner;! in the Wilding Shield and'i Otago in the Casket if its I team is still chosen from :

players such as Miss S. Collins. Miss S. Blakely, Mrs M. Rennie, Miss S. Armstrong and Miss S. Stirling. The same Canterbury players named against Otago this year—Misses R. Dillon, J. Habgood, G. Hampton and S. Field—were beaten 10-2 last season by the three first named Otago players and Mrs L. Wilson, who has not played for Otago this season. The Canterbury men’s team should not be troubled by Nelson this week-end and should also have the measure of either South Canterbury or Otago, especially with the return of Judge, still good enough to reach the semifinals of the national doubles' this year. Thom, playing well this! season has also regained a place after two seasons and this is appropriate because he and Judge were often the backbone of Canterbury teams several seasons ago.