LAWN TENNIS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXL, Issue 20283, 5 December 1935, Page 13

LAWN TENNIS

NOTES ON THE GAME (By "Match Point") SOUTH CANTERBURY RANKING LIST Men. 1— G. C. Reid. 2 N. T. Satterthwaite 3A. C. Barr. 4 I. Mathieson. SA. E. Sandral. 6 M. Souter. 7F. G. Lewis. 8— J. S. Satterthwaite. 9R. T. Shells. 10 — C. Durning. 11— P. S. Sinclair. 12— M. E. Crowley. 13— J. Milliken. F. G. Lewis defeated J. S. Satterthwaite, 6-4, 7-5. Women. 1— Miss N. Sullivan. 2 Mrs R. Lewis. 3 Mrs Cotter. 4 Miss M. Callaghan. 5 Miss D. Shirtcliff. 6 Miss B. Sutherland. 7 Miss J. Eaton. 8 — Mrs A. E. Sandral. 9 Miss D. Patchett. 10— Miss D. Andrews. 11— Miss M. Jefferson. POSITION OF TEAMS B Grade Played Won Sets Gaines Tim«iU . . 22 27 233 'Geraldine . 1 1 14 122 Wai-iti 11. . 2 1 14 172 * Wai-iti I. . 1 1 9 103 ♦St. Mary’s .11 8 88 Baptist . . 2 1 11 178 Aorangi . . 2- 9 168 ♦St. John’s 1 4 74 * One round unplayed owing to weather. When short skirts were in vogue, women players had a businesslike and “chic” appearance on the courts. With the return of the long skirts, too few women have been sensible enough to retain the short skirt or pleated shorts. But can men criticise them? Only three men appeared in abbreviated trousers last season. We are all slaves of fashion. The third round of the A grade competition will be played at Maori Park on Saturday, the draw being Aorangi I. v. Highfield, Wai-iti v. Aorangi 11., Timaru v. St. John’s. Timaru, Aorangi I. and Wai-iti are the three top teams in the grade in order. They should all win their respective matches. With the recent spell of warm weather, the courts at Maori Park are looking in first class condition, and with the annual tournament close at hand, playing conditions should be excellent. Timaru entrenched themselves at the top of the B grade competition by another decisive win from Wai-iti 11. Turnbull, Watson and Roberts all had easy victories, and W. Heads, of Waiiti, gained the only wtn in this section from W. Abraham. J. Turnbull, a steady left-hander, will trouble any player he meets in this competition. The Timaru women also are a wellbalanced side. Miss Jefferson found opposition from Miss Drennan, but the Timaru player showed a greater understanding of courteraft and served with consistency. Miss Campbell had a runaway victory against an opponent who was short of experience on the grass. The Timaru women show to advantage in doubles because of their harder hitting and initiative at the net. Wai-iti I. have had one win in: this grade, and although severely defeated, they will give a good account of themselves against the other teams. It is five seasons since Geraldine last played in local grade matches, and their reappearance and defeat jf last year’s winners, Aorangi, left no doubt about their strength. However, they will find a more solid proposition in the Timaru side and the winners between these two teams will head the competition. Playing on grass did not affect the standard of Geraldine and they looked winners all the way. Geraldine’s first man, Stringer, had his game in the bag when leading 7-3, but Sexton began to play sound tennis, and returned the spin drives to the corners and took points at the net and eventually ran out winner by the odd game. Scott was also down 8-3 and disputed matters for another three games, but Burdon showed more match experience a f the necessary stage. Geraldine women are a hard hitting quartette and should do well in the grade. The Baptist v. St. Mary’s match resulted in a win for Baptist by a margin of 12 games, the sets being equal. The St. Mary’s team has lost several of the players who went to make them a very strong combination last year, and players of both teams lack experience on the grass courts.

The second challenge for the Ross Shield was played on the Wai-iti courts on Saturday, the challengers being Aorangi, who won by two games. The first nine games played gave Aorangi a lead of 7 matches to 2, but Wai-iti gradually reduced the margin until Aorangi led by only 8 matches to 6, with two mixed doubles still to play. Even at this stage of the game Wai-iti'had a sporting chance had they won their games by a slightly greater margin. However, a win in the woman's doubles to Aorangi 7-love, and a win in the mixed by the same margin was too great a handicap to overcome. Bair and N. T. Satterthwaite staged an interesting singles, in which both players were well matched, but Barr ran out the winner by 2 games. F. Lewis unexpectedly defeated M. Souter, but the Aorangi man deserved the win as ,ie has greatly improved during the last two seasons, and should gain his place in the representative ride this year. L. Ball had a lead of 7-3 at one stage of his single, only to see it disappear to 8-all. However, by steady play in his final game, he notched a win for Waiiti. P. S. Sinclair and M. Moore fought out a match on even terms, and had not Sinclair injured hi 3 foot in the fourteenth game, the result might have been reversed. Mrs Madoc, the only Aorangi player to lose her single, could not adjust herself to Miss Fraser's steady baseline play, and in the mixed doubles, when Satterthwaite and Mrs Madoc went down to Barr and Miss Fraser, Barr, by his excellent bail coutrol, put all the returns hard down to Mrs Madoc. The Wai-iti players showed better understanding in the mixed doubles section, and nearly repeated the result of the match between these two teams three years ago, when Aorangi actually had a lead of 8 sets to 3, and then lost the match by a margin of three games. It is to be hoped that challenges for the Ross Shield will continue to come in as they are having the effect of taking A grade players round to club courts, while for the last five seasons no such matches have been engaged in to any extent. • • • • The annua] tournament of the Association commences on Wednesday, January 1. Cluj secretaries should see that players patronise this event, as it is the only method that the Association has of providing itself with working

expenses for the year’s activities. It is. to be hoped that the junior events vill again be well patronised, as the young players will find the experience of great benefit to their play. • • » * The match committee of the Lawn Tennis Association is A ,E. Sandral, J. S. Satterthwaite and S. H. Sullivan, and all enquiries pertaining to ranking list rules should be referred to them.

TEAMS FOR SATURDAY Aorangi C (v. Timaru, at Timaru)— V. Oakey, G. B. Gresham, L. Mclntyre, A. Steward, Mrs Oakey, Mrs Almond, Mrs Todd, Miss N. Clements. Aorangi (v. Geraldine, at Geraldine) —H. Clark, C. Scott, B. Mangos, A. N. Oakey, Misses C. Robertson, N. Lloyd, A. MeCallum, Mrs Dossor.