Tennis wins to Elmwood

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34026, 15 December 1975, Page 19

Tennis wins to Elmwood

The jubilee year of the Elmwood Tennis Club ‘ might well be marked by J competition victories in i both the men’s and ' women’s senior grades, ( : < In the last round of matches on Saturday before h the Christmas-New Year 1 break, the two . Elmwood-' teams won vital top-of-the- ! table contests to establish • clear leads in their respective fields. The men’s team downed! ‘ its closest rival. United, by | < four matches to two, to es-p tablish a huge 24-point lead in the competition. And thei women's side beat the defending champion and competition leader, Avon- ; side, by the decisive margin t of five matches to one. Avonside was weakened ij bv the loss of its top player, I < Christine Newton, who wasp tn Wellington for the pro- J vincial championships. The! reshuffled team was unableto extend a full-strength; Elmwood combination. North Linwood’s top! player, Judith Phillips, was also playing in the Welling-j ton championships, and herteam was well beaten by United. But United’s task was made easier because of! the retirement of North Lin--wood’s youngest players,' Gayle Palmer and Eliza; Coffey, both of whom were! affected by the high tern--perature. The women players bore the full force of the rogue nor’ wester in the morning,! and many competitors found it difficult to control their! shots in the trying condi-1 tions. Serving was especially] difficult, and many well-int-j entioned lobs were blown on to adjacent courts. But one player in particular rose above the conditions. Marilyn Lawrence, playing at No. 1 for Elmwood for the first time, handled the cross-court gusts with consummate skill] — possibly because much of ; her tennis had been played tn Wellington. Her control of both back-; hand and forehand shots was outstanding, and her drop shots and drives gave her a clear advantage over her experienced opponent,! Diane McKinnel. Mrs Lawrence was making her last appearance for Elm-, wood this season — she ] will transfer to Whangarei; next month — and she! marked the occasion by winning every game against a determined but outclassed! opponent.j

Beckenham won on a count-back of sets against J Edgeware, after dropping!) both doubles. Sally Chap-] man, Ann Meates and Julie! I all won in straight; ■ sets for Beckenham to re- 1 | cover the advantage. | United made a bold bid to , become the first side to lower I Elmw ood's colours in the men’s - ; contest tills season. If John Taylor (United) had beaten Bill Thom (Elmwood) In the final singles, matches and sets would have been equal, and the contest would have been decided on I games. But Taylor was haunted all ! day by the double-fault "hor- ; tors'’ and Thom, who was more reliable on the volley and who was particularly good on high backhand returns, prevailed in three sets. In the feature match. Warren] Edgecumbe (Elmwood) beat] Ralph Webster (United) in two] sets —but not without some misgivings. Webster struck his first! ! serve swiftly and his mid-court' play was admirable. But Edge-] ieumbe’s sharpness of thought! and stroke saw him through some testing periods, and he! won on his merits. Gary Harris i Elmwood) en-l haneed his impressive singles | record with a clear-cut win! against Lindsay Walton, but Walton and his fellow junior. Hugh ! Robinson, played capably to maintain their unbeaten doubles ! record against the wily Elmwood pair, Edgecumbe and Lew Elliott. The other men’s matches were notable for the wins by the two bottom sides, Woolston and North Linwood, against Shirley and Edgeware respectively. Woolston won both doubles matches against Shirley, but there were a few moments of uncertainty before Gary Wilson | and Colin Hunt clinched their singles victories against David ' Haworth and John Hampton. Michael Mooney (Edgeware) gained an important singles win against North Linwood’s accomplished No. 1, Jim Martin, but his I fellow players were unable to follow Ills example, and all lost ] in two sets. ; Points are:— I Men: Elmwood 62. United 38, i Edgeware 33. Shirley 28, North ! Linwood 28, Woolston 27, Women: Elmwood 41. Avonside - 33, Beckenham 24, United 24, North Linwood 12, Edgeware 10. Results were:— SENIOR MEN Elmwood 4, United 2 W. Edgecumbe beat R. D. Webster, 6-2, 6-3; G. Harris beat L. Walton. 6-2. 6-1; W. Thom beat J. Taylor, 4-6. 6-3. 6-2; L. Elliott I lost to H. Robinson, 6-7, 3-6. Thom and Harris beat Webi ster and Taylor, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4; Edgecumbe and Elliott lost to Walton and Robinson, 4-6, 4-6. North Linwood 4, Edgeware 2 > J. Martin lost to M. Mooney, - 2-6, 3-6; S. Harley beat P. V. , Boatwood, 6-1, 7-5; T. Ralfe beat M. OTlahertv, 6-4, 7-5; B. Finch ‘beat P. Gibson, 6-3, 6-0. Martin and Harley beat Mooney and Gibson, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3; , Ralfe and Finch lost to Boat- > wood and O’Flaherty, 6-7. 7-6, 6-7. Woolston 4, Shirley 2 ' D. Neilson lost to P. Hampton, 114-6, 3-6; G. Wilson beat D. W. , Haworth. 7-5. 6-1; D. Hunt lost to B. Hibbert, 4-6. 6-3. 1-6; C. A. ’ Hunt beat J. Hampton, 6-3. 7-5. i Neilson and C. Hunt beat P. j Hampton and Hibbert. 0-6, 6-4, 6-4: Wilson and D. Hunt beat . Haworth and J. Hampton, 6-2, j 7-5. SENIOR WOMEN Elmwood S, Avonside 1 M. Lawrence beat D. McKinnel, 6-0. 6-0; A. McMaster beat A. Grant. 6-3, 6-1; A. Chambers lost I to J. Sloper, 4-6, 2-3 (retired); E. Smith beat A. Jacometti, 6-2, 6-4. Mesdames Lawrence and Cham- | bers beat Mesdames McKinnel and Jacometti, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; Misses McMaster and Smith beat Miss 1 Sloper and Mrs Grant, 6-3, 6-3. United 5, North Linwood 1

I S. Haig beat J. Wilson, 6-2, 6-1; I S. Keddell beat S. Lynn, 6-2, 6-3; L. Lewthwaite beat G. Palmer. 6-2, 1-0 (default,; P. Lewthwaite beat E. Coffey. 6-7 (default). Mesdames Haig and Keddell beat Misses Wilson and Lynn, 6-2. 6-3; Misses P. and L. Lewthwaite lost to Misses Coffey and Palmer. 5-7, 3-6. Beckenham 7 sets, Edgeware 6 sets S Chapman beat .1. Sim. 6-4. 6- A Meates beat J. Langford, 7- 6-3, -I. Verdeilen beat C. Pearce. 6-3. 6-3; A. Davidson lost to G. Iredale. 3-6. 4-6. Misses Chapman and Verdeilent lost to Miss Sim and Mrs Langford. 4-6, 4-6; Misses Meates and Davidson lost to Mrs Pearce and Miss Iredale, 1-6, 7-6, 3-6. SENIOR RESERVE St Ninians 6, Opawa 0; Edgeware 5, Woolston 1; Elmwood 5, St Martins 1; United 5. Beckenham 1; Shirley 5, Avonside 1. FIRST MIXED B GRADE i Wvcola Park 13, Edgeware 3; Spreydon ». Linwood Avenue 7. SECOND GRADE MEN Linwood Avenue 5. Bishopdale II 1: United 4. Elmwood 2; North Linwood 5. Burwood Park 1; South Christchurch 67 games, Spreydon 59 games. SECOND GRADE WOMEN North Beach 5, Waimairi 1; Shirley 4. Avonside 2; Beckenham ’ 4, Edgeware 2. PRESIDENT'S GRADE 1 Shirley I 6, Edgeware II 0, Edgeware 1 5, Shirley II 1.