COUNTY CUP 9&U TEAM

The team were up against familiar opponents in Herts, Middlesex and Oxfordshire, with the format comprising six singles rubbers (3 boys, 3 girls), boys doubles, girls doubles and mixed doubles against each county. Everyone was on a big adrenaline ‘high’ for the early morning kick-off which followed an overnight hotel stay.

None more so than Josh and DJ who both had impressive opening match wins against Oxfordshire players before we enjoyed the first of many 3-set marathon encounters of

the day, as Calum triumphed over the talented #1 Bobby Hornby 7-4 3-7 7-5.

Millie managed to get the girls off the mark as well with a 7-4 7-5 win, then Annie’s close 3-set defeat and Maja’s 7-4 7-3 loss meant Bucks needed one more win out of the three doubles encounters to beat Oxfordshire. This was achieved with first Millie and Annie then Calum and Maja victorious in their matches.

It was a tougher against group favourites

Middlesex and though the Bucks players fought hard, they were ultimately defeated.

This left the final tie of the day against Herts. Things improved with two wins out of three for the boys but the girls unfortunately met some very strong performances from the Herts girls and lost their matches.

Agonizingly close losses in the doubles meant it was a third place finish for Bucks after a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Keep up to date at facebook.com/bucksLTA or Twitter@bucksLTA

Issue 25 / Winter 2014

EVERY SHOT ON TARGET

After five hot and humid days in July, Bucks Ladies made tennis history by winning the prestigious Aegon Summer County Cup AGAIN!

Defending their National Title, Bucks Ladies were the only unbeaten team at Group 1 County Week 2014, beating Warwickshire 6-3, sneaking past

both Cheshire & East of Scotland 5-4, including two awesome wins from a set and 4-1 down, winning 7-2 against Kent, with some fresh legs in the team and finally securing the trophy with a 5-1 result against their nemesis team, Herts on Friday.

To achieve their success in a competition that started way

back in 1895, Bucks edged seven 3 setters and took several close tiebreaks, topping the group stats for rubbers won 28 to 14 against.

“It was a fantastic team effort, with every member of the 10 man team playing at least one match” said Bucks Team Manager, Alison Longfield,

“Claire Webb, Helen Lawson and Jemima King all walked away with 12 out of 14 rubbers by the end of the week - a great performance. Defending our title was more than we originally expected, but incredibly we did it, helped by the two nail biting 5-4 wins mid week. I am so proud of all my players.”

WINNERS INSIDE

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 2014

THE MAGAZINE OF BUCKS TENNIS

TIEBREAKER

P3 P4

AEGON COUNTY CUP RESULTS

// 9&U TEAM

CALUM FAIREY / DJ MENTIPLY / JOSH OAKLEY / MAJA CHIN / MILLIE DAY / ANNIE TOWNSEND

// LADIES TEAM

HELEN ADAMS / JULIA BONE / ALEX CLARK / LAURA DEIGMAN / JEMIMA KING / HELEN LAWSON / CLAUDIA MARSALA / ALICE PATCH / GEORGIE SANDERS / CLAIRE WEBB

BUCKS LADIES WIN COUNTY CUP AGAIN!BUCKS LADIES WIN

COUNTY CUP AGAIN!

P6

CUP RESULTS CONTINUED INSIDE >>

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 20142 // TIEBREAKER

COUNTY CUP 10&U GIRLS

The girls travelled to North Oxford Tennis Club to play in the much anticipated Aegon County Cup qualifying group C. After the difficulty of having to adapt to both the astroturf and clay at the Lionel Cox some weeks before, the team were relieved to feel ‘at home’ on more familiar tarmac courts for the duration of the weekend.

The opening fixture against Berkshire proved to be an exciting contest which went to the final match, securing the team’s first rubber of the weekend.

Next up for the girls was a strong-looking Oxfordshire side, starting less promisingly with two losses, albeit hard fought ones, before Amelia put on an even more accomplished display than the one which saw her beat Zara Burney earlier in the day, beating Oxfordshire #3 Diana Mascenikova 4-2 4-0, easily the highlight of day 1 for Bucks!

The two doubles rubbers against Berkshire and Oxfordshire saw the same Bucks girls unfortunate to lose in both matches in

straight sets, meaning disappointment in terms the actual results, if not individual performances going into Sunday.

A warmer, sunnier day greeted the girls on arrival early Sunday morning but unfortunately there were straight losses to Middlesex.

Essex were the final singles opponents of the weekend and here there were mixed results. Natalie lost to Essex #2 Grace Leigh but Amelia confidently brushed aside Azra Ozerin 4-1 4-2 and Bethan went a set up against Essex #1 Iman Khan before losing a hard fought match.

So to the doubles. Natalie and Amelia

relaxed to form a great partnership in the remaining Middlesex rubber – the two of them showing a real understanding against Monique Gundrum and Chike Ike. Indeed it was just a key break in both sets that proved the difference in the girls’ 4-1 4-2 reverse.

Finally Bethan and Darcey took on Essex duo Iman Kahn and Kayleigh Hale, ultimately losing 4-1 4-0.

Defeated, but far from deflated, the Bucks girls took heart from their overall showing in North Oxford. They realised the experience will be invaluable for their tennis development; they’ve gained a real idea of the standard at the sharp end of junior competition, and now have the drive and motivation to really push on in the coming months as they become full yellow ball competitors.

>>

AEGON COUNTY CUP RESULTSCOUNTY CUP 10U BOYS

By James Goodchild (U10 Boys Captain)This year we travelled back to Bromley to compete in the qualifiers for the u10 County Cup. Hopes were high and we were up early on the Saturday with the team of Miles Groom, Josh Bright, James Pearson and Jack Shawyer raring to go.

Drawn in a group with Dorset and Kent our first match was against Dorset, we were full of confidence as they had a weaker team than last year. Alas things did not go as we hoped and we lost our opening matches in straight sets. It wasn’t the greatest start but the boys didn’t let their heads drop and remained positive.

Our next matches were singles vs. Kent which unfortunately began in the same fashion before Miles, who seemed to have shrugged off the disappointment of his first singles match, played some great tennis to overcome the Kent 1 in straight sets. This gave the

boys something to play for in the afternoon.

Josh and James took on the Dorset doubles pair and with some fantastic doubles play they beat them in straight sets. Miles and Jack played vs. Kent and eventually won in a tight match in the champ tie-break. This took us into an immediate shoot off doubles to see who would make it through to the playoffs, which unfortunately Kent won. This meant that we would be battling it out with Hampshire and IOW the next day for 5/6th place. The boys were understandably disappointed but kept their heads up and focussed on the positives of the day.

Sunday started a bit later for us as we were due on court at 10am. Miles started our match vs. Hampshire and IOW and produced his best tennis of the weekend beating their top player 4-2, 4-0. At the same time Josh was battling back from a set down to level the match with some great patient tennis and controlled

//////

// 10&U GIRLS TEAM

BETHAN MILES / NATALIE BELL / AMELIA HOWIE / DARCEY ROWLES

// VENUE

NORTH OXFORD TENNIS CLUB

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 2014 TIEBREAKER // 3

COUNTY CUP 12U GIRLS

We had a really great start on Saturday morning to qualifying at Frinton on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th June 2014 with Darcey, Hannah and Alexa wining their respective singles matches. Hannah had to dig deep in her 2nd set coming from 1-3 down to play her way back into the match taking the next 4 games to win the match. The doubles was played after the Essex singles matches and unfortunately Alexa and Rachel lost a very close 1st set on the tie-break 8-10 and could not produce the same form in the 1st set and eventually lost 2-4.

Essex was going to be a very tough match and so it proved to be with Darcey, Hannah and Alexa losing their respective

singles matches the score did not reflect the close games and length of some of the rallies, just could not convert on the game points and they all tried to change their game plans. The doubles was a similar story to the singles they had close games but just could not find that winning formula.

After their matches the girls went for a paddle in the sea the water was very cold. After which we all enjoyed our 99 ice creams.

Play on Sunday started at 8.30 am and our first match was against Middlesex and this also proved to be a very touch match and although Darcey, Hannah and Alexa had their chances in their respective singles matches they were not able to convert their chances and again the score

did not reflect all their hard work. The doubles as again played after our singles match against Berkshire and although Darcey and Rachel took a well deserved 3-1 lead they could not sustain their form and did not win another game.

Berkshire were now a chance for the team to put the disappointment of the morning match and Darcey produced her best form over the weekend to win a close match 5-3, 4-2. Alexa also produced a good performance to win her match 4-1, 4-1. Hannah worked hard in the 1st set but just could not convert. Changing her game plan in the 2nd set to hit more angles started to work but just could not convert to winning games. It all came down to the doubles and Hannah and Alexa gave it their all but eventually losing 2-4, 2-4, now it came down to a shoot out tie-break, they did not have a good start, but worked really hard to try and get back into it but lost 4-10.

I would like to say a big thank you to the Bucks U12 Girls team Darcey, Hannah, Alexa and Rachel for their commitment and support on and off court, never seen so many selfies taken!!!!!

AEGON COUNTY CUP RESULTS/// ///COUNTY CUP 12U BOYS

By Nigel WillardWe played at West Middx in the 12u county cup. Beat Berkshire and Oxon easily on the Saturday. Lost to Middx 1-3 Sunday morning. This was a very tight match and wiped the boys out physically and emotionally. They then played Essex and although mentally and physically spent took the match to a shootout. If we win the shootout we would qualify for the nationals.

The boys threw everything into the shootout …but lost 10-8. Saving 3 match points. A massive and overwhelming disappointment. Oxfordshire went through having beaten Middx.

I would like to pay tribute to all the players, including Ben Smith, who played through illness to beat Essex no 1, Dylan Smith who never stopped running; Matthew Blood for playing the best tennis I have seen him play and to Ethan Hague who was tireless is his support and enthusiasm even with limited playing opportunities. The players didn’t let anyone down and are a real credit to their parents and the county.

I would also like to thank the parents for their unceasing support. Finally a huge thanks to Mark Hunter and Cerys Hughes who on their day off came to support our team. The boys should hold their head high that they came within a whisker of the nationals.

aggression. This took the match to a champ tie-break and despite storming into a 5-0 lead he could quite convert losing 10- 7. Jack then came on for our last singles match and had an epic match against their no3. There was some really great play and some really close line calls. Jack managed to hold it all together and won in straight sets. This meant all we had to do was win our doubles. Miles and Josh started our dubs brightly but were outfoxed when their opponents pushed both back. Despite trying to play the right way they eventually lost in to close sets 5-3, 5-3. Unfortunately they let a call at the end of their first doubles effect them in their match shootout and ended up going down 10-5. This completed what was a tough weekend results wise for the boys finishing 6th. However all the boys agreed that they had learned some vital lessons and could take some real positives out of the weekend. Throughout the whole weekend there was some great team spirit and they never let their heads drop. It was a great experience for them and I’m sure they will learn from these lessons and become stronger players as a result.

My thanks to the boys for a great weekend and also to the parents for their continued support.

GIRLS 14U ARE WINNERS TOOBucks Girls won the Aegon 14U County Cup, taking them through to Nottingham for the National Finals!

In the Boys competition the team got through to the final. It was an extremely tough battle and sadly they couldn’t get past the finishing line. It was an exceptional team effort from our young team.

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 20144 // TIEBREAKER

TENNACE AT GXLTC INTER SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT Tennace celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 120 children aged from 4 (Reception) to 11 (year 6) from many local Schools Gayhurst, Gerrards Cross C of E, Chalfont St Peter Academy and Infant Schools, Denham Village, Maltmans Green, Thorpe House, Seer Green, St Joseph’s Catholic.

Each School entered three or four players per team in age-groups atYear1, year 2, year 3, year 4 and year 5 & 6 combined. The players were ranked in order of merit and the format was a knock-out draw with losing teams going into bonus draws.

Tennace Director and Head Professional Andy Scholfield organised and ran the event with the help of Tennace coaches Dan Shepherd and Tom Smith and many GXLTC Academy players (ex-competitiors in this event).

The Year 1 tournament had seven teams with Maltmans Green beating Gerrards Cross C of E 3-1 then Millie Shuttle and Anoushka Patel both won 10-9 against Ethan Tranter and Matthew Gabriel-Lewis from Gayhurst A at number 1 and 2 giving a 4-0 victory in the semi final. In the other half St Joseph’s (Callum Taafe, Marco Watson, Noah Gilmore and Casper Hayley) beat Gayhurst B before losing to Gerrards Cross C of E ‘A’ (Alex Thomas, Ollie Evans, Zac Hambury, and Rory Mangan). In the final GX C of E defeated Maltmans 4-0 but with Millie losing 10-9 to Ollie Evans at number two proving the crucial match.

Year 2 Chalfont St Peter Infant School beat Gerrards Cross C of E ‘A’ team 4-0 with Ben Viner putting in a great effort against Chalfont’s number 1 Dexter Dalston. Maltmans Green beat GXCofE ‘B’ team 4-o and clinched a

3-1 victory over a Mixed Gayhurst/Seer Green team 3-1. Maltmans represented by Alex Gola, Izzy Goutkin-Smith, Tiernan Gillard and Emma Servaes lost to Chalfont Infant school (Dexter Dalston, Aaron Gladman and Matthew Ziegal) 3-1 with Dexter clinching the match 10-8 against Emma Servaes.

Year 3 had eight teams competing and proved very competitive with very strong teams entered by Maltmans Green, Gayhurst and Thorpe House. Top seeds Maltmans Green A (Aneka Patel, Ella Carby, Acada Lue-Fong and Rebecca Nash-Steer) beat Gayhurst B and Maltmans Green C without the loss of a match to reach the final where they met Gayhurst A (Robbie Spittal, Max Mowle, Evan Thomas and Oscar Tranter) who had beaten Thorpe House 3-1 in the semi-final. Rebecca at number 4 got Maltmans off to a great start winning 10-5 against Oscar Tranter; Evan levelled the match with a close tussle against Acada 10-8. However Max hit huge serves to nullify Ella’s great defensive skills to give Gayhurst a 2-1 lead. This left the decider between Bucks County players Robbie and Aneka and after some glorious rallies Robbie won 10-8 to give victory for a third year in a row to Gayhurst 3-0.

Year 4 which was a round-robin event saw Chalfont St Peter academy level at 11-11 matches all against Gayhurst.

The shoot-outs up to 3 points gave victory to Gayhurst School (Jonty Hughes-Penny, Sonny Dalston, Edward Beavington, and Charlie Hewson) over Chalfont (Louis Basnayake, Sonny Dalston, Dominic Hobson and Sam

Derry who were unfortunately without the injured Charlie Goutkin-Smith).

Year 5&6 saw Gayhurst (Milo Connolly, Alex Lee, Seth Looney and Spencer Norways) victorious over St Joseph’s School (Manasi Kumar, William Evans, Sam Woodroff and

Tristan Payne) The day was completed

by a draw for Wimbledon Tickets donated by Andy

ScholfieldEvie-May Smith(Seer

Green) and Reuben Sidhu (Gayhurst) were

the lucky recipients !

www.Tennace.com

JARMILA GAJDOSOVA VISITS CHESHAM 1879

On Tuesday 17th June Chesham 1879 were very lucky to have a special guest at the club to help with our training.

Jarmila Gajdosova kindly gave up her time to come down and hit with our juniors as well as answer some questions from children and coaches. Jarmila came fresh of victory in Nottingham which secured her a wildcard into Wimbledon.

She peaked at 25 in the world and in the past regularly competed against the likes of Venus and Serena. She also is a Grand Slam Champion having won mixed doubles at the Oz Open. It was fantastic for the children to be able to spend some time with her.

Jarmila helped with our “Futures” development sessions and also played some points against our “Tour Squad” performance players. After this we all sat down for a Q&A session with her, in which she gave some very helpful advice to the kids and also answered many of our coaches questions. Overall it was a great day and hopefully she will have inspired some of our little ones to follow in her footsteps. We wish her good luck at Wimbledon and also with her future tennis career.”

For information about our Futures development programme or any aspects of our performance programme please email info@challenge-tennis.com

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 2014 TIEBREAKER // 5

LIONEL COX WEEKENDLIONEL COX 9U/10U TEAMS

The expansion of the Lionel Cox weekend this year to include under 9 players made for a busy but enjoyable weekend for players, parents and coaches, blessed by mostly still and sunny weather.

The Saturday saw the 9u boys rise to the challenge superbly and finish second, with the 10u boys coming 4th.

The girls 10u team had a new look to it, with only Bethan having played matches for Bucks before and after some tense matches, unfortunately lost, it came down to her to ensure Bucks did not get the wooden spoon, something she achieved with a fantastic 4-2 5-4 victory. Finally The 9u girls also had mixed fortunes, but pulled off a highly crediblre performance.

LIONEL COX 12U GIRLS

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May was a fantastic weekend, the sun was shining and we had no rain all weekend.

It started well when we played Bedfordshire winning 3-0, but the score was reversed in our next against Essex. Our final match on Saturday was against Norfolk, Alexa came through her match dropping just one game. Hannah and Darcey had much tighter matches with Hannah going down 2-4, 3-5 and Darcey 0-4,

4-5 (3-7) in the tiebreak. On Sunday our final

group match against Hertfordshire was tough and we lost our matches. Our play off match was now against Berkshire for 5th or 6th position.

Alexa played her match first and found the first set difficult with too many errors, but made a real improvement in keeping the ball in play and although lost the 2nd set 2-4 played much better.

Hannah then had a marathon match with

each set ending in tense tiebreaks but winning the crucial final one 10-8. But Darcey sadly lost her match after a very close first set.

It was a great team effort and the girls showed great commitment and team spirit.

LIONEL COX 12U BOYS

The Bucks county 12U boys team were in action at Queenswood School, for the 41st Lionel Cox event, featuring all the Eastern region counties with teams split into two groups of five.

The Bucks team was Dylan Smith (Milton Keynes) Matthew Blood

(Halton) Ethan Hague (Halton) and Lucca Vujasevic (WIN tennis).

Dylan reached the final where he met the no1 in the country. Dylan excelled himself

and worked so hard but was edged out. With Matthew and Ethan both losing it was the runner up slot for the 3rd year running, a magnificent achievement.

// 9U TEAM

CALUM FAIREY / DJ MENTIPLY / JOSH OAKLEY / ANNIE TOWNSEND / YI-TOONG YEE / MILLIE DAY

// 10U TEAM

MILES GROOM / JOSH BRIGHT / JAMES PEARSON / BETHAN MILES / NATALIE BELL / AMELIA HOWIE

L-R: Darcey Roe Alexa Wilson and Hannah Krasner

Halton’s youngest players turned out in force to compete in the Mini Tennis Club Championships with over 40 children taking part.

The 8&Under competition was eventually won by Evan Perkins in a marathon match against Ben McCrory. The Girls Final was won by Rhianna Wood with Molly Dobson runner-up.

In the 9&Under

boys event, the 2 group winners were Jude James andTyler Kerr-Miller while Annie Whale beat Kiera Foster in the girl’s competition.

The pictures show Mini Red Finalists Ben Mcrory, Evan Perkins, Molly Dobson and Rhianna Wood with Director of Tennis Mike James; The Mini Orange Finalists are Tyler Kerr-Miller, Jude James, Kiera Foster and Annie Whale.

HALTON MINI TENNIS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

High Wycombe LTC had three sessions of free coaching for the juniors during their Open Day morning, managed by popular coach Tom Scott. The sessions were much enjoyed in a friendly, lively atmosphere, attended in total by approximately fifteen juniors, most new to either the club or to tennis completely.

During the afternoon, eight people visited the club for the first time for free coaching sessions run by Tom and head coach Guy Britton and several signed up as full club members immediately.

Later, visitors and club members had the opportunity to practice with the ball machine and test their service speed with a speed gun. Visitors continued to enjoy the afternoon, mixing in with club members during the “free play” session.

The afternoon concluded with one of High Wycombe LTC’s ever-popular barbecues, as ever extremely well organised and enjoyed by all at the end of a successful (and sunny!) day. By Alan Gates

HIGH WYCOMBE OPEN DAY

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 20146 // TIEBREAKER

GERRARDS CROSS LTC CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPSIt was a fantastic day of great tennis matches in the glorious weather on the seven grass-courts at GXLTC Bull Lane on 12th July.

Tennace Coach Tom Smith became a double champion with a thrilling Men s singles victory over defending champion Dave Sellers. Tom won 7-5 6-3 in front of a large crowd of members; he then partnered ex GXLTC Academy Ambassador Conor McHale in a classic youth versus experience Mens doubles against Dave Sellers and the ever-green blond haired Peter Savage. Tom completed his double with a 6-4 7-5 triumph.

Two junior players became triple champions on the day. Wiehan Van Wyk defeated Henry Hunt 6-0 6-0 in the road to Wimbledon B event appropriately on one of

the clubs seven grass-courts ! Wiehan then beat Noah Riley (St Joseph’s School) 6-2 6-1 to win the under 12 singles and with Jack Carling (number 1 seeds) they won the boys doubles in a very entertaining match against Henry Hunt (St Mary’s) and Noah Riley.

William Evans also from St Joseph’s School

became triple champion in the under 10 Green tournaments. The under 10 Road to Wimbledon final saw Will’s more powerful play prove too much for the excellent consistency and defence from Jacob Mellows (Gerrards Cross C of E); 5-3 4-2 being the final score.

The Mens Vet singles

was won by Herve De Le Barre and Peter Savage and Stewart Taylor convincingly won the Mens Vet doubles against Johnny Elder and slice-king Peter Cook.

Freddy Crooks (John Hampden) caused a huge upset in the under 18 boys singles beating second seed James Cairns 6-2 3-6 6-1 in a three hour match. However Freddy partnering James was then upset in the doubles final by Dan Buckeldee (under 15 singles champion) and Alex Hattam despite being a set and a break up !

The Mini Tennis players at under 8 (Red) and under 9 (Orange) had a great morning of tennis with most

players enjoying their experience!

Olivia Scarles (Maltmans) became a ‘double’ champion in the girls under 12 event beating Manasi Kumar (St Joseph’s) 6-7 6-3 10-4 then teaming up with school doubles partner Sarah Ewart-Smith to beat Manasi and Zoe Peters.

Olivia Mason beat Aisling McCarthy in the under 15 singles 6-4 6-1 then teamed up with Carys Evans to beat Aisling and Laura Wilson in a closely fought two set match.

More tournaments are being staged through the summer, for details see www.Tennace.com/competition or contact andy@Tennace.com.

GERRARDS CROSS 8U A TEAM

The Gerrards Cross LTC, Bull Lane Red under 8 A Team won the County Division 1 with three brothers playing in the team.

Zac Orr-Ewing (8), Elijah Orr-Ewing (8) and Benji Orr-Ewing (5) beat Halton and Beaconsfield with the loss of only a couple of matches.

They were joined in the four player team by Tom Line (8). Each player competed in four matches against each of the other teams

The brothers attend Gayhurst School and regularly train and compete in tournaments. Tom attends Thorpe House School.

“They love playing tennis and are making very good progress ! Of course Benji has the benefit of learning from his brothers. Zac s

favourite player is Rafa, Elijah prefers Andy Murray and Benji is a Federer fan so there is a lot of competition in their family!” said Head Pro Andy Scholfield.

GERRARDS CROSS 8U B TEAM

The Gerrards Cross LTC Bull Lane Red under 8 B Team won the County Aegon Team Tennis Division 1B.

The achievement by an all girls team is believed to be an Aegon Team Tennis record since the competitions inception 10 years ago.

The Girls (pictured left to right: Aneka Patel, Ella Carby, Ashni Sangha, Amber Razzaq kneeling

Rebecca Nash-Steer) beat teams from Chesham Bois, Little Chalfont and Beaconsfield. Normally the

boys are stronger than girls teams or the winning teams are mixed.

The team lost no matches having played 12 opponents each. The girls are all in Year 3 at School so will move up to under 9 Orange next year. Congratulations also go to Team Captain Martin Carby.

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 2014 TIEBREAKER // 7

STOWE SENIOR GIRLS REACH NATION FINALSOur annual quest to succeed in this competition started back in November 2013. During this term we were drawn in around robin group with 3 other school. Undefeated we won the group which progressed us through to the knockout stages.

Our squad of Megan Duckett (captain), Sofia Purgina, Martina Fidanova, Fleur Congreve and Daisy Coffey found themselves in a draw of 32 in January. The girls performed at a high level to reach the last eight in the country earning them a place in the National Finals. Megan, Sofia and Martina were part of last year’s squad that also reached the finals.

The finals were held in Bolton in March, and the girls gave up their holiday to represent the school. Their first match was at 9am so a 3 hour journey to Bolton the night before

gave them time to settle and rest overnight.

An early breakfast followed by a trip to the practice court for 8am started day one. Our first opponents were Millfield School who are a tennis academy school, and we knew this was always going to be a tough first match. The format is two doubles matches and four singles matches. Sofia and Martina got us off to a great start winning their doubles 6-4. After Megan and Fleur’s doubles we were now tied at one all. The match could have gone either way in the singles but unfortunately

Millfield pulled off a 3-1 win. Worth a mention that Megan rated 9.1 only lost 6-4 to a girl rated four place higher at 7.1.

After lunch our opponents were Danum Academy. Fleur and Martina got Stowe off to a great start winning their doubles in a tie-break. Megan and Sofia then had a doubles win against the number one pair 6-4. By winning two out of the four singles Stowe won the match 4-2 so finished the day on a high.

The following morning saw a match against the number one seeds Peter Symonds College. Off to

a great start 5-3 up and 2 set points. Peter Symonds then upped their game and went 6-5 up and had 2 set points. This time Sofia and Martina dug deep and got the set back to 6-6. The tie-break was one way traffic for Stowe, dominating nearly every point and won the breaker 7-1. Despite some very close games and very aggressive tennis from both teams, Stowe were unable to win this encounter.

Head of Tennis John Skinner said he was immensely proud of all the girls who gave it their all, and was delighted that Stowe had finished one place higher than last year. He went on to say that he is sorry to lose four of the five girls who leave the school at the end of the summer term, but is excited with the prospect of building a new squad for next year.

NEW COACH FOR LUV TENNISJake Peake is the new and Strength and Conditioning coach for Luv Tennis. Jake has been coaching since he was 16 and after shadowing the head junior Strength and Conditioning coach at the National Tennis Centre, studied for a BSc Honours in Strength and Conditioning Science at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham where he achieved a 2.1 whilst competing for the University Tennis Team.

Contact: jake.peake@luvtennis.net; 07704945712

STANTONBURY MINI TENNIS MONTHStantonbury mini tennis month event went really well! There were over 40 people and the kids, parents and grandparents seemed to have a great time! Stantonbury showed the parents a range of activities to do with their children to improve coordination, with and without rackets and they all got stuck in. In fact, we think they’ve all decided that they’d rather play mini tennis as well! Stantonbury now plan to run a few free events like that each year. It was a lot of fun!

MORE SCHOOLS THAN EVER AT HALTON’S SEN FESTIVALSeventy school children from seven local Special Needs Schools - Alfriston, Wendover House, Penn School, Chiltern Gate, Heritage House, Stocklake and Maplewood School - had a fun day of tennis with Halton’s Inclusive Tennis Coaches.  Seven coach-led groups, covered the whole range of tennis skills, from

holding a racket to serving and finished off with a range of fun games and activities.  Alex Barnes, Halton’s Head Disability Coach said, “It was our best Tennis Festival to date - we were

exceptionally lucky with the weather and the children loved every minute of it. Everyone, including the coaches, were just brilliant.”

8 // TIEBREAKERSMALLS

ISSUE 26 / SUMMER 2014

TEAM EVENT AT RED CENTRAL VENUE

GREAT MISSENDEN LTC TOURNAMENT RAISES £5000+

Division 1A winners of the Red Central Venue

event held in May were Burnham A with hosts Wooburn Park winning Division 1B. 40 players from eight teams took part with several of the youngsters taking part in their first ever tournament.

VETS PAIR FLY THE FLAG FOR BUCKSA Vets pair from Milton Keynes TC were victorious in the Long Buckby Grass Court Tournament this summer. Tony Johnston and Martyn Durbidge entered the Northamptonshire competition, which has been running for over 100 years, and were delighted to bring the winners plate back to MKTC as the Club’s first trophy of the season!

MILTON KEYNES SCHOOL GAMES

It was a fantastic day at the Milton Keynes School Games on 19th June with eight schools taking part. Well run by School Games Organisers Nina Sweetland & Amber Ollier. Thanks for hosting by Milton Keynes Tennis Club. Winners were Two Mile Ash School who went through to the School Games County Finals on Thursday 3rd July at Aylesbury Tennis Club.Janice Roach, Regional Tennis Services Assistant

ROAD TO WIMBLEDON BUCKS COUNTY FINALS

Girls event winner and runner-up.

Chili Poulter (Beaconsfield Tennis Centre) and Alexa Wilson (Halton Tennis Centre) were Road to Wimbledon Bucks County Finals winners at Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre and are going to the National Finals at Wimbledon on 11-16 August 2014.

If you wish to discuss any issues relating to Bucks LTA please contact:

Chairman - Andrew Petherick on 07779579674 or andrew.petherick@LTA.org.uk or

Secretary - Mary Crowshaw on 01494 726931 or mscrowshaw@gmail.com

Regional Tennis Services Assistant - Janice Roach Tel: 01494 471238 Fax: 01494 449423 east@LTA.org.uk

LTA Regional Office, Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre Holmers Lane High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 4QA

This issue of TIEBREAKER was brought to you by Dominic Killinger and Patrick Thorne.

The next TIEBREAKER will be published in November, if you have any articles you wish to be included please send them to dom@tennis4kids.co.uk by 1st November 2014.

GET PUBLISHED!Make sure not to miss the next publication deadline for articles and photos on the 1st November 2014.

It is important that your article has the following: • no more than 200 words• full event name, participant’s

names and labelled photo files so that everybody gets attributed correctly

• high-resolution photos (set your digital camera to the ‘biggest’ setting)

Send your files to dom@tennis4kids.co.uk. We look forward to reading all about you. The TIEBREAKER Team

NEXT ISSUE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBERAT YOUR LOCAL CLUB

DANIEL IS FIRST RED 1Congratulations to our first RED 1 at Little Chalfont!

Here is Daniel Boxer shaking hands with our Head Coach Colin Williams and receiving his certificate.

To become a RED 1 Daniel has had to compete in over 60 matches and win 20 against RED 2 or 1 rated players.

Here’s hoping that he’s the first of many other RED players to reach this milestone.

Players of all standards participated in the Great Missenden LTC’s seventh Save the Children Tournament, raising over £4000.

Organised by Dr Ajit Kadirgamar and his regular team including his wife, Gita, Louise Fox, Vivian Bailey, Roger Stewart and Jeremy Rose- a morning of tennis produced some keen matches, and the

afternoon finals saw Lottie Haywood-Cook and Alex Hartley take a narrow victory over Ellie Muir and James Harley.

Since the opening of the new clubhouse and courts last June, the playing ‘traffic’ has increased considerably, and there has been a much greater use of all the facilities with more than 60 new members.

£1100 FOR MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT

The new clubhouse at Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club was put to good use on a glorious summer’s evening organised by Jill Stiel and Kate Miller in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support- also prompted by recent losses of valued club members Liz Pike, Warwick Cowan and John Paroussi.

Over £1100 was raised as members, sustained by a fish and chips supper, enjoyed a lively ‘Rhythm and Blues’ evening, led by club member Ronnie Teape(Keyboard) and a group of friends- James Gordon ( Bass), Howard Tibble(Drums),and Derek Timms(Guitar).

Tournament winners, Alex Hartley and Lottie Hayward-Cook, Gita Kadirgamar (m)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Buckinghamshire LTA. The association accepts no liability for the accuracy of information provided by contributors.

This issue can be viewed in full on the Bucks web site: lta.org.uk/In-Your-Area/ Buckinghamshire

Published by: Tennis4Kids

Designed by: YOTE Design.com