Highland tennis latest: Elgin women and mixed teams impress while Rothes men lead Division 2
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Elgin A mixed team continued their winning ways in the Galbraith Highlands tennis league with a 5-2 victory at Rothiemurchus.
First seeds Jasmin Taylor & Ross Jagger set the team up by taking their two rubbers in double quick time (6-2, 6-3 and 6-0, 6-2).
It was now down to their team-mates, Riana Oeschger and Ross Jagger, to hold on. not do anything silly as all that was required of them was to win one of their sets to keep the team’s 100 per cent record intact. The pair took the advice on board, duly winning the first set 6-3. Sadly, for the duo that was as good as it got, losing the next set 5-7 and the championship tiebreak (6-10).
Because of that lengthy affair, the chances of the remaining rubber being completed were slim. And so, it proved. A tight contest ensued. However the time limit was reached just as the four players were ready to begin the first set tiebreak.
The other two Division 1 teams lost out in their Monday evening match – both by a 5-4 margin.
The Speysiders’ second seeds, Maureen Turner and Mark Hearns, went down to both Nairn pairs.
It was up to Michelle Fraser and Bradley Scott to step up to the mark and win their outings. They duly beat the visitors’ second pair (6-2, 6-3) so it was all down to the final match.
A draw looked on the cards as Rothes took the first set 6-3. Things went a bit awry from that point. Eyes were taken off the ball and the second set was lost in the blink of an eye. The pair won the breaker but the damage was done.
A similar fate befell Elgin B. The Inverness top couple raced through their two rubbers, putting the team a hairbreadth away from tying it all up.
Elgin’s first seeds, Jenny Milne and Dave McPherson put their team on the scoreboard (7-5, 6-2) and it was then all about the performance of second placed Teresa Tait and Ewen Fraser. Unfortunately, the script did not go the way the Elgin team had hoped as they fell at the first hurdle (4-6). They regained their composure to level matters and then take the breaker.
In the women's leagues, Elgin A sit top of the First Division following their 6-1 win at home Inverness A. They have a sets percentage record of 93 which puts them above Rothiemurchus A who are on the same points total but are 11 per cent behind the Moravians.
June Buchan and Jasmin Taylor made short shrift of both visiting pairs (6-0, 6-4 and 6-0, 6-0). Teresa Tait and Riana Oeschger had a tougher time of it but managed to win the first rubber while their second match was cut short when the time limit was reached with only only one set played and it went to the Invernessians.
In the 2nd Division, Elgin B lead the way following their 7-3 derby win over the club’s third string.
Thirteen-year-old Millie Ralph is fast becoming the one to watch in the north tennis scene.
Millie competes all over Scotland, quite a commitment for mum Violet and dad Raymond. In league matches she has only been on the losing side once and that was a curtailed one-setter due to the rain.
Millie is also competing in the Galbraith’s singles league, getting off to a great start winning her first two matches.
The big news in Men's Division 1 is that Bellfield Park have lost their100 per cent record in sets won.
Three of the rubbers ended in pretty straightforward wins for the Inverness foursome. The 1v2 contest was where Elgin beat their opponents in a hard-fought match.
Henry Archibald and Thomas Elwick took the first set but required the tie breaker to decide matters. The visitors fought back to level with another tie break. And so onto the match breaker where it was nip-and-tuck right up to 8-8 when the Bellfield serve was broken. The Elgin pair capitalised on that mistake, taking the next point to win 10-8.
On the subject of Bellfield Park’s success story, the team have reached the last eight of the Scottish Cup. This is the first time a Highland club has reached this stage in the national event and the whole of north tennis wish them well in the next round against Glasgow club Newlands.
Their latest victory was against Dumfries when they recorded an impressive 9-0 victory.
Also in Division 1, Elgin B sit in second position despite losing at Grantown.
The 1v1 rubber involving Derek Grant and Mitchell McGrath took their opponents to a first set tie-break but although they put up a strong fight, they were unfortunate to lose out 10-8.
The pair seemed to lose focus after that, going down 6-2 in the second. Ewen Fraser and Ed Borrowman also lost out to the homesters' first pair but managed to win the 2v2 contest, 10-8 on the match tiebreaker.
Rothes A lead the way in Division 2 following a routine 8-0 home win against Elgin C. Adam Macleod and Mark Hearns, and Chris Robertson and Mark Hearns made up the Rothes team while Jim Meisner, Ewen Sullivan, Alan, McConnell, Grant Higgins make up the Elgin quartet.
Elgin have entered an all-girls team to the 14s league (Moray section). The foursome got off to a flying 12-0 win at home to Gordonstoun C, Millie Ralph, Amelie Anderson, Fiona Coull and Connie Simpson making up the winning team.
Elgin’s two teams in the 12-and-under league had mixed luck in their opening matches.
The A team were at Forres and netted a resounding 10-2 victory. Unlike most most clubs in the Highland area Elgin have a surfeit of girls. In addition to the four who took part in the 14s match, seven of the eight youngsters who played in the 12s teams were also girls.
Results: Borys Sulkowski lost to Donald Coull 4-5, 3-5; Jonathan Herbert lost to Zofia Andrasovska 0-4, 0-4; Caitlyn Prendy lost to Ellie Hommel 0-4, 0-4; Samuel Herbert beat Ava Reid 4-1, 4-0, Sulkowski and Herbert lost to Coull and Andrasovska 0-4, 1-4; Prendy and Herbert lost to Hommel and Reid 1-4, 4-5.
The B side travelled to Inverness to play Bellfield Park and lost 12-2.
Results: Calleigh McConnell lost 1-4, 1-4; Ellie Hommel lost 0-4, 1-4; Eilidh Anderson lost 1-4, 1-4; Crystal Fraser-Mackenzie lost 5-4, 1-4, 8-10; McConnell and Fraser-Mackenzie lost 0-4, 5-4; Hommel and Anderson lost 5-3, 1-4, 8-10.
In Division 2 Rothes came off worst in a closely contested encounter, losing 6-7 at Nairn.
Results: Ruairidh Scott lost 3-5, 2-4; Harris King won 4-0, 4-2; Charlie Duckers won 5-4, 4-2; Maisie Smith lost 0-4, 0-4. Scott and King won 4-5, 4-1, 11-9; Duckers and Smith lost 1-4, 3-5.
A tennis festival was organised by Moray Tennis Forum and held at Gordonstoun for S1 to S3 school pupils.
For most of the youngsters it was the first time they had played tennis but even for those who had, the morning was instructive and the feedback has been very positive.
The Forum has to thank Gordonstoun for hosting the festival and Derek Brown for running the activities.
