Canterbury, Hutt Valley Meet In Vital Tennis Match

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32233, 27 February 1970, Page 15

Canterbury, Hutt Valley Meet In Vital Tennis Match

One of the keenest representative tennis contests of the season, at least among the men, will be played at Mitchell Park, Lower Hutt, on Sunday between Canterbury and Hutt Valley.

The meeting is highly significant for both teams because each will challenge Auckland for the Wilding Shield. They look comparable in standard, so success will mean a psychological stimulus for one of them.

Canterbury has two repre sentative fixtures this week end. Before its match witl Hutt Valley, it will pla; Wellington tomorrow in tin annual contest for the Dunlo) Cup—a most convenien arrangement from the point o travelling, expense. an< heavy commitments at thi: time of the season. The teams for both meet ings have been announced b; the selectors (Messrs J. An derson and J. Dickie and Mr: P. Leopold) as follows: Men —J. W. Mitchell. C. G Judge. J. Martin. W. Thom Women.—Misses J. Hab good. R. Dillon. G. Hamptor and D. McKinnel. ONLY ONE DEFEAT The men s side is the besl that Canterbury can mustei and it has already won its Wilding Shield fixtures witb Nelson and South Canterbury with the loss of only one match to South Canterbury, when Judge was beaten by the former Davis Cup player J B. Souter. But the women’s section is without the top player. Miss R. Legge, who has gone over

e- seas, and Miss S. Field, wh k- is still recovering from a: th arm injury. ly: Wellington this year is no le expected to provide -stiff o[ >p position because it has bee: nt considerably weakened, espt of daily among the men. It los id its Wildirg Shield match is fortnight ago to Hutt Valley 3-8, and since then D. A it-: Parun has followed hi >y brother. O. Parun, overseas n- and F. Scarlett has retire, rs from representative tennis This leaves D. B. Hawkes, th, j former Canterbury player. W n ‘l Edgecumbe, and the team’ b ' reserve, M. Nicol. •n BID FOR RANKINGS The top singles betweei Mitchell and Hawkes will b< st an important one becausi ■r each is trying to regain hi: ts place on the national rankini h list. ■y The Canterbury womei le may be pressed, but Welling y. ton also was unable to win it iy zone of the Nunneley Caske r.this season. Canterbury was narrow!; is beaten. 9-7, for the Dunlo) ss Cup in 1968 when Wellingtoi r- had its best team, includini

0. Parun, R. N. Hawkes and Souter, and last year it won for the first time in five years, 9-7.. It should be able to hold it. Hutt Valley, however, both its men and its women having ho gained the right to challenge in for shield and casket, will be a different proposition. ot The Canterbury and Hutt ,p-| Valley men also played last eniyear before they challenged >e- for the shield. Canterbury ist then won three of the four a singles and lost both doubles. •y. but whereas Hutt Valley took A. Auckland to 5-7 in its shield iis challenge. Canterbury was j is, beaten. 11-1. ’ s d RAE AGAIN MISSING ie ’( K. Woolcott, R. Rae, B. y Shute and W. Wyatt were the [’s Hutt shield team which beat Wellington, 8-3, and Poverty Bay, 9-3. All except Rae met I Canterbury last season, b.ut . n Rae again will be missing; >e he has departed on tour. se The Canterbury women, inis eluding Misses Habgood. Dilig lon and Hampton, lost all four singles and one doubles: m last season to Hutt Valley, g- which won the whole contest ts by 10 matches to 6, and they et may be overshadowed again by a side led by Miss C. Mcly Lauchlan. >pi Waikato is the zone 1 chai>n lenger for both shield and ig; casket on March 7 and 8,

although the women last week-end had a precarious success over North Shore, by 131 games to 129. The Hutt Valley teams will challenge on March 14 and 15, and Canterbury, for the shield, and Otago, for the casket, will play on March 21 and 22. The strong Otago women, Misses S. Collins and S. Blakely, Mesdames M. Rennie and L. Wilson, who have not lost a match against Nelson or Canterbury, must be given a good chance of taking the trophy after being beaten, 7-5, last year.