HARD AND LAWN COURTS

Taranaki Daily News, 15 March 1935, Page 11

HARD AND LAWN COURTS

NORTH TARANAKI TITLES NICHOLLS, WAITARA, IN FORM. JUNIOR TENNIS OF MERIT. (By “Half-Volley.”) Attractive tennis characterised the opening rounds of the North Taranaki residential tennis championships on Sunday and, if the standard of play seen is to be taken as a criterion, the finals on Sunday week should provide some sparkling tennis. Nicholls’ Fine Stand. The most surprising feature of the day was, perhaps, the strong opposition offered Clifford-Jones by the Waitara player, Nicholls. Both were playing well and, although Clifford-Jones was suffering from the effects of a hard day against Wanganui, it will be recalled that half an hour previously Nicholls was responsible for carrying Hutton along against Leggat and Nash, against whom the Waitara pair. secured three games in the first set. Nicholls was all over the court in this game and had he been supported by a more experienced player the result might have been different. Against Clifford-Jones he did not let up and the New Plymouth champion had to give of his best to win the second set. Torrens and Christie. Playing in the second round Torrens and Christie went to three sets of hard tennis. Christie, who shone against Leggat in the first round, took the first set principally with mighty drives to the side lines. Torrens took the next 6-4. He 'appeared to be settling down to a steady forceful game, while on the other hand Christie made more mistakes than earlier in the day. The third set went to 8-6 and both men were obviously weary before Christie clinched the issue. Torrens was on the run a great deal during the final stages and Christie, smashing with accuracy, won at the net while honours were even in the long base-line rallies, A Marked Improvement. The second day produced a marked , improvement in the standard of play and some really fine tussles were seen. Of the. seeded players in the boys’ singles M. Donnelly, twice holder of the title, is the only one not eliminated. Miss M.' Lawrence, present doubles and singles title holder, reached the final by beating Miss A. Marsh in a fine game. Miss B. Marsh is the other finalist, having easily accounted for Miss P. MacLeod. Batten and Kershaw did well to stand up to the bombardment that Faris and Evans let loose. The latter owe their win to superior tactics as the opposition held their own in thfe hard driving rallies. , Championship Holders. The holders of the Taranaki junior hard court championship since the inception of the tournament have been:— Boys. 1932: Singles, M. Donnelly; doubles, R. W, Wilson and B. Barnitt. 1933: Singles, R. Wilson; doubles, R. Wilson and B. Barnitt. 1934: Singles, M. Donnelly; doubles, Donnelly and Nodder. . Girls, 1932: Singles: Miss A. Hammond; doubles. Misses A. Hammond and G. Morrison. 1933: Singles, Miss N. Garcia; doubles, Misses M. Broome and M. Lawrence. 1934: Singles, Miss M. Lawrence; doubles, Misses M. Broome and Lawrence. ' . Representative Match. - . The Taranaki representative team will play Waikato at Hamilton on Saturday and to facilitate this the Soffe Cup games have been postponed to March 23. The personnel of the Taranaki team will be the same as last week, although the order of play may be changed. Following the Match up. , ' The association could follow up the win, always according to financial dictates, in the employment of a coach next year, in the arrangement of more interprovincial matches and in more tournaments of a residential nature. Top club players can assist by coaching of the youthful members of each club. Even with the victory, there will be few who will not deny that Taranaki is not as strong an ’association as Wanganui. The way lies open to the association, by various means, of decreasing that gap. One possibility is the encouragement of tours by New Zealand or say, Wellington or Auckland champions of the game. Previous Results. Of the eight inter-provincial matches played between Wanganui and Taranaki, Wanganui has won six, one of which was abandoned, when Wanganui was in a commanding position, oh account of rain. Taranaki has played four Christie Cup matches but was successful in only one, Wanganui regaining the trophy the following year. The following .is a complete list of the matches since 1928:— 1928 Wanganui 13-11* 1929 Taranaki 14-10* , . 1930 Wanganui 18-6* 1931 Wanganui 18-6 1932 Wanganui 14-3*-t 1933 Wanganui 15-9 1934 Wanganui 20-4 1935 Taranaki 13-10 * Christie Cup match t abandoned on account of rain. Youthful Taranaki Team. The Wanganui team was in striking contrast with the youth of the Taranaki side. Of the team that represented Wanganui on Saturday Lampe, Barkman, Macfarlane, Mrs. Smith,. Mrs. Richardson and Miss Cox were in the team that lost the Christie Cup to Taranaki in 1929. On the other hand C. H. Strombom is the only member of the Taranaki team who played in that match. Boys and Girls’ Finals. The final games in the boys and girls’ events of the junior hard court tournament will be played on the Pukekura Park Club’s courts to-morrow, commer.'.-, ing at 9 a.m. (