Elgin Tennis Club youngster Calleigh McConnell helps North win Scottish Inter-County tournament to progress to British finals in Lincolnshire
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A Moray racquet star has rallied a north of Scotland effort to claim glory on the UK tennis scene.
Elgin Tennis Club youngster Calleigh McConnell was part of the five-strong North County 10-and-under team that topped their Scottish regional group.
The North squad is made up of players from the Highlands, Central, North East and Tayside areas.
Calleigh and her team-mates came through a tiebreak shootout against West of Scotland, then finished top of their section with victory over the South of Scotland.
She teamed up with Matilda Kasselstrand (Cults), Maisie Currie, Lily Metelski (Stonehaven), and Sasha Shearer (Rubislaw) in the north team.
The Elgin youngster will now travel to Boston, Lincolnshire with her squad for the next stage of the competition on the weekend of June 10-11 competing against four other British counties.
In the latest matches in the Galbraith Highlands leagues, the Elgin A women's team remain undefeated although their 100 per cent record of matches won has gone.
The Duff Avenue side made the long trip to Kingussie where they were held to a 4-4 draw. It was the proverbial game of two halves as first seeds Jasmin Taylor and June Buchan romped to 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-0 victories. Riana Oeschger and Teresa Tait found it tougher going though, losing out 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-3.
In last week’s Moray derby, Elgin B overcame the challenge from the Rothes quartet.
The Speysiders were forced to play this encounter minus two of their main players, captain Johanne Dunn and club chairwoman Michelle Fraser. The Elgin team included two up and coming juniors, Millie Ralph (partnered by Isla Dickinson) and Fiona Coull (paired with Joan Flett).
The visitors’ second couple, Jane Sim and Martina Munro, were up against it from the start, eventually going down 6-2, 6-3 and 6-0, 6-4.
Maureen Turner and Marjory Stronach proved a different kettle of fish as they got the better of Coull and Flett (6-2, 6-1) to open the door for a possible share of the points.
For this to happen, they had to win the 1v1 rubber in straight sets. Ralph and Dickinson put a stop to any such prospect when they successfully took the first set (6-3). Turner and Stronach fought back to level matters, but the damage had been done. The ensuing match tie break was a very competitive affair with the pairs matching each other point for point but Ralph made the difference when she hit a winner up the line to increase the lead for her team to three sets.
Other matches: Elgin C 4 Rothiemurchas and Aviemore B 4 (Hilary Dawson and Hilary Cromar won 6-0, 7-6; won 7-5, 7-5. Lorna Bain and Irene Stables lost 1-6, 2-6; lost 0-6, 1-6.
Gordonstoun 4 Forres B 5.
In the men's league, Elgin A had a very productive visit to Grantown recording an 8-1 victory.
They were up against it with the homesters’ first seeds. Henry Archibald and Tom Elwick took a while to get up to speed but eventually won a hard fought first set 7-5. The second set saw Elgin step up another gear as they powered their way to a 6-2 win.
Elgin’s second pair, Zen McClure and Mitchell McGrath, also found it tough going against the father and son combination of Billy and Andrew Mcleod, winning in three sets. The home second pair were no match for Elgin as they went down 1-6, 0-6 and 0-6, 1-6.
Meanwhile the B team were involved in a bottom-of-the-table clash with Kingussie, and a share of the spoils was the outcome.
Neither Elgin duo could get the better of the Badenoch first seeds although Dave McPherson and James Cresswell did push them hard only losing out 6-4, 5-7.
First to take on the visitors’ second string were Ed Borrowman and Ewen Fraser who struck gold with a 6-3, 6-1 scoreline. Up came McPherson and Cresswell again and they knew exactly what was required of them: win in two sets. This they duly did (6-3, 6-3).
In Division 3, Rothes B kept their title hopes intact as they romped to a 7-2 victory over fellow contenders Inverness B. Seventeen-year-olds Liam Anderson and Jack McConnachie strolled through their matches, winning 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-1. Neal Anderson and Ross Elder managed a win in two and a loss in three sets.
Other matches: Elgin C 1 Forres A 8 (Jim Meisner and William Walker lost to Gavin Ross and Lloyd Eastwood 2-6, 2-6; lost to Andy Williams and Gerald Winkler 2-6, 2-6. Alan McConnell and Ewan Sullivan lost 1-6, 2-6; lost 1-6, 6-2, 6-10.
Rothes C 5 Gordonstoun 5 (Neal Anderson and Martin Johnston won 6-1, 6-0; won 6-7, 6-2, 10-4. Gary Logan and Adam Thomas lost 6-2, 4-6, 6-10; lost 4-6, 3-6.
The race to win the mixed first division title was blown wide open on Monday evening when leaders Elgin A were defeated in Inverness. That result means Nairn, following their 8-0 home win over R&A, have closed the gap to just two points.
Elgin, with several squad members unavailable, had to call on a couple of B team players. The homesters first seeds, Sally Walker and Lewis Simpson, finished the evening undefeated but, sadly for the team, the couple dropped a set against the visiting second pair. Elgin went on to level (6-1) and then take the match tie break (10-1).
As so often happens, a short loss of concentration can lead to an unnecessary set loss. Walker and 16-year-old Simpson, at the end of the evening, put their team in front, 4-1. The drafted-in second pair, Riana Oeschger and Ewen Fraser, were unable to help their team mates, losing both their rubbers (4-6, 2-6 and 2-6, 0-6)
The big question now is, will that disastrous first set scoreline come back to haunt Elgin? In the event of a draw on points at the end of the season, the title will be decided on sets percentage and that is not at all helpful as second-placed Nairn lead on that criterion by three percentage points. A discomforting situation for Elgin maybe, but it does make for an exciting run-in.
Rothes A moved off the bottom of the Division 1 table following a crushing 8-0 win over Elgin B.
Teresa Tait and Mitchell McGrath lost to Michelle Fraser and Peter Scott 0-6, 3-6; lost to Maureen Turner and Bradley Scott 6-7, 2-6. Dave McPherson and Isla Dickinson lost 3-6, 3-6; lost 0-6, 6-7.
Elgin C 3 Forres A 6: Angela McWilliam and Grant Higgins lost to Sarah Henbrey and Andy Williams (4-6, 6-4, 7-10), beat Lynn Milburn and Owen Davidson Knight 6-1, 7-5. Joan Flett and Jim Meisner lost 4-6, 1-6; lost 1-6, 6-7
Rothes B 2 Inverness B 7: Martina Munro and Gary Logan lost 0-6, 3-6; lost 3-6, 3-6. Alannah Ayres lost 1-6, 0-6; won 6-7, 6-3, 10-7.
Results, 14s. Gordonstoun B 0 Elgin 12: Amelie Anderson won 6-0, 6-0; Fiona Coull won 6-0, 6-0; Zofia Andrasovska won 6-0, 6-0; Jessica Williamson won 6-0, 6-0. Anderson and Williamson won 6-0, 6-1; Andrasovska and Coull won 6-0, 6-0.
Rothes 5 Lossiemouth 8: Zach Burns beat Aneurin Byiers 6-4, 6-2; Antony Lewis lost to Will Smith 1-6, 1-6; Katie McConnachie lost to Marley Hughes 0-6, 0-6; Taylor Smith beat Ollie Cadwell 6-0, 6-4. Burns and Lewis lost to Byiers and W Smith 6-4, 2-6, 7-10. McConnachie and T Smith lost to Hughes and Cadwell 6-0, 6-4.
