TENNIS BOYS

1st Vi

Squad

The boys started their season early with the National Premier League winter competition. This always proves to be a fantastic standard of tennis with the best clubs and players represented in this event. It also brings another element of development for the boys as they pit their wits against adult opposition. Following a number of matches against universities and clubs, the boys just missed out on a place in the national play-offs.

The team, led by Captain Harry S, who also led the team as the top seed, started brightly with impressive wins against Rugby and Uppingham. All six players contributed to the overall result, which is always a pleasing sight.

The boys also faced Rugby in the second round of the National Qualifying, having received a bye in the first round. This proved to be an excellent display of both singles and doubles with the boys coming out on top in all matches! Harry and Caspar G playing at one and two, won their singles 6-0 6-2 and 6-0 6-0 so got the team off to a great start. This was backed up by Nat S and Cameron W, who also had convincing wins: 6-0, 6-3 and 6-1 6-1. Harry and Caspar then teamed up for doubles and steam-rolled the Rugby first pair before Nat and Rory F took down the Rugby second pair in a slightly closer match.

The National Qualifying Semi-Final was a fantastic match against a strong and familiar Trent team. The lads prepared well for this match, knowing the opposition on paper would be the favourites. This proved to be the case, although the boys gave a great showing of themselves and battled hard. Harry and Caspar got the team off to a great start defeating their first pair in what was probably the best performance they have played in the famous Repton maroon. With the second pair going the way of Trent, the singles was be tough. Harry competed well in his singles but came off court second-best against his nationallyranked opponent, and then was a similar result for Caspar. Nat and Rory were our real chances in the singles but Trent’s number three and four looked more confident in this competitive environment and it was a big learning curve for the boys. The final result of 2-10 would see Trent progress through to the National Finals.

The boys were able to put this result behind them as they headed to Eton to represent the School in the annual Independent Schools Championships.

A fantastic run of form allowed the boys to progress through three rounds of matches, defeating Whitgift, Sevenoaks and Winchester. This meant the team had made it through to the Semi-Finals and were up against the number one-ranked team in the nation, Reeds. I’ve never been prouder of this team than I was throughout the Semi-Final. To fight toe to toe with this calibre of opposition was such a rewarding thing to see. After a long battle, the match would came down to a doubles shootout with Reeds eventually coming out on top against Harry and Caspar.