Parun top tennis seed

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32801, 29 December 1971, Page 14

Parun top tennis seed

The top New Zealander, O. Parun, who had great success overseas this year, has been seeded first in the men’s singles for the Canterbury tennis championships which will be held at Wilding Park from tomorrow until Sunday.

The field has 25 entries, including a number of strong United States men who are playing the New Zealand circuit. In the women’s singles field of 15, Miss M. Pryde, another Wellingtoiiian, and the top New Zealand woman, has been given the No. I position. Second to Parun is another member of the Davis Cup side, J. G. Simpson, of North Shore, who has beaten Parun once in New Zealand this season but who lost to him in the final of the Wellington championships.

The next two platings have gone to the Americans, S. Faulk and J. Fort, who were semi-finalists in Wellington. The 22-year-old Fort has since beaten Simpson in the South Canterbury cham-

pionships at Timaru this week. Also among the seedings, at eighth, is a former thirdranked Canadian, now living in Wellington, A. Puddicombe, who distinguished himself by beating A. Parun, another member of the New Zealand cup team, at Timaru. The leading; Canterbury man, R. N. Hawkes, has sixth sedding, and the province’s leading woman, Miss R. Legge, is .second to Miss Pryde. Two of the well-performed Americans in the country at present, R. Knight and W. Brown, are unable to play in the Canterbury titles because they have been committed to the South Island championships at Nelson at the same time.

However, it is still considered possible that other overseas players may arrive for the championships and places are available in the draw for late entries. The seedings are:—

Men’s singles.—O. Parun (Wellington) 1, J. G. Simpson (North Shore) 2, S. Faulk (United States) 3. J. Fort (United States) 4, A. Neely 1 . (United States) 5, R. N. Hawkes (Canterbury) 6, R. Dowdeswell (Rhodesia) 7. A. Puddicombe (Wellington) 8.

Women’s singles.—Miss M.

Pryde (Wellington) 1, Miss R. Legge (Canterbury) 2, Miss B. Vercoe (Auckland) 3, Mies M. Struthers (United States) 4. Miss C. L. Chang (Taiwan) 5. Miss S. Blakely (Otago) 6. Miss J. Amer (Auckland) 7, Mrs C. Armitage (Canterbury) 8. Men’s doubles.—Panin and Simpson 1, Neely and Faulk 2. Hawkes and* Puddicombe 3. Fort and B. Bailey (United States) 4. Women’s doubles. Misses Pryde and Vercoe 1, Misses Struthers and Chang 2, Misses Legge and Amer 3, Mrs ArnHtage and Miss Blakely 4. Mixed doubles. —Dowdeswell and Miss Vercoe 1, Hawkes and Miss Amer 2, Fort and Miss Struthers 3, Neely and Miss Pryde 4.