Tough Match for Totally Tennis 10U Team Against Portsmouth

The Totally Tennis 10 and under team have moved to second place in the Mixed Division 1 of the Team Tennis Hampshire & IOW 2018 league, just behind Winchester Racquets and Fitness, after losing their away match against Portsmouth Tennis Academy (PTA) last weekend.

The team of Hayden Cummings, Dylan Cooper Kirby, Guhan Chendhilkumar and Charlie Mackenzie travelled to Portsmouth with coaches Jamie Jordan and Jordan Frederick to compete in the fixture that took place on Sunday. In the singles Cummings was the only player to win his match beating Savva Sujetov 4-2, 5-3 so the scoreline was 3-1 to the home team going into the doubles.

Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan in the doubles either with the pairing of Cummings/Cooper Kirby losing against Sujetov/William Harrison 5-3, 4-2 and Chendhilkumar/Mackenzie being beaten by Meru Shrivastva/Zachary Cocker 4-1, 4-2. The final score was 10-2 to PTA and with Winchester beating David Lloyd Southampton A 12-0 in their fixture on Sunday they have moved to the top of the table.

Jamie said, “I thought the team played very well but unfortunately couldn’t get the win but we are all very proud of them.”

The Totally Tennis team now have one more away match to play this season on Sunday 17th June against Winchester. There’s everything to play for as all three teams at the top (Winchester, TT and PTA) level on 4 points each, but it’s going to be a tough match and Winchester have a game in hand. Good Luck boys 😉

Photo credit: www.instagram.com/jamiejordantennis/

 

 

Totally Tennis 10 & Under Team Top The Tennis Hampshire & IOW 2018 League

The Totally Tennis 10 and under team are sitting at the top of Division 1 of the Team Tennis Hampshire & IOW 2018 league after winning both their first two home fixtures 12 – 0 against David Lloyd Southampton A and Kingsley.

In the first fixture the team of Hayden Cummings, Dylan Cooper Kirby and twin brothers Gevin and Guhan Chendhilkumar won all their singles matches; Cummings beat Karol Rzegocki 4-2, 4-0, Cooper Kirby beat Noah Flynn 4-2, 4-1 and Gevin and Guhan both won their matches 4-0, 4-0 against Alexander Roots and Evie Jaynes respectively. In the doubles Cummings/Cooper Kirby beat Rzegocki/Flynn 4-1, 4-2 and the twins didn’t lose a single game defeating Roots/Jaynes 4-0, 4-0.

In the Kingsley fixture, Cummings, Cooper Kirby and Guhan all won their singles matches with 4-0, 4-0 shorelines against Toby Rowe, Edward Goddard and Matthew Craig respectively. Gevin won his match against Jamie Craig 4-0, 4-1 to give the team a 4-0 lead going into the doubles. Cummings/Cooper Kirby then beat Rowe/Goddard 4-1, 4-0 and the Chendhilkumar brother beat the Craigs 4-0, 4-1 to give the team another fallout victory and retain there place at the top of the league.

The team have now played both their home fixtures and face two tough away matches against Portsmouth Tennis Academy (Sunday 20th May) and Winchester Racquets and Fitness (Sunday 17th June) to complete the series.

Congratulations boys and good luck in your next matches 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Profile: John Heather

JOHN HEATHER

Squad:  50+

How old were you when you first started tennis?

Eighteen

How were you introduced to the sport?

I can’t remember

What made you come to Totally Tennis?

The coaching

Who is your favourite professional tennis player?

Roger Federer

What do you like most about the sport?

Great social interaction and exercise

What do you consider to be your best shot?

Forehand

How often do you play?

2 – 3 times per week

Do you play any other sport?

Dancing

What’s your greatest achievement in tennis so far?

Reaching the mixed doubles final in St Marybourne

Team Tennis Schools Senior Students Finals 2017

Basingstoke’s Queen Mary’s College (QMC) Mixed team travelled with PE teacher and tennis team manager Sarah Goldson to USN Bolton Arena last weekend to compete in the Team Tennis Schools Senior Students Finals 2017.

The QMC team (pictured below) of  Saul Irwin, Jordan Mosquera, Andrew Dingwall, Dessi Bratinova and Luke Watts played in Group B along with teams from Millfield School, Strathallan School and Canon Slade School (LL). On the first day QMC, who were second seeds, were beaten by Canon Slade School 6-2 with only Mosquera/Watts winning one of their matches 6-3 followed by a 8-0 whitewash courtesy of Millfield School on in their first fixture on day two. The bad luck continued in their final match as they suffered another 8-0 defeat against Strathallan School which meant the team finished in a disappointing fourth place overall.

Goldson said, “It was quite a tough couple of days for the mixed team but I think it was a good experience for them all and a lesson in consistency.” she added, “Whilst our results were not what we wanted, the team did not feel that the standard needed was out of reach with more experience/practice, especially given we gave the eventual winners a good match in spite of the scoreline.

“We hope to qualify again next year and give a stronger performance.“

Millfield School then beat top seeds and Group A winners Ellesmere College in the final 6-2 to claim this year’s Senior Mixed team crown. The school than also claimed the Senior Girls title after defeating Ellesmere College again in the final. The Boys event was won by defending champion’s Truro and Penrith College, becoming the first Boys team to ever successfully defend the Senior Students title.

The Senior Students Competition started in October 2016 with events for Boys, Girls and Mixed teams. Each player must has a maximum rating of 7.1 at entry stage and in Years 11, 12 or 13 at their school or college. The QMC Mixed Team of Steph Catlin, Ben Jubin, Jack Nicholson and Aimee Paterson won the National Title back in 2010.

Photo provided by www.lta.org.uk

Adults News

Due to popular request Totally Tennis have introduced a NEW ADULT SOCIAL MATCHPLAY session on the last Sunday of every month. The first one is on Sunday 27th September from 2- 4pm and will cost £10 per player.  Come along and join in the fun and help us make it a success!

Don’t forget it’s also the MacMillan Worlds Biggest Coffee Ladies Morning this Friday from 10am onwards. Join us for coffee and cakes and help raise money for this great cause.

World Tennis News: US Open Preview

The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open starts tomorrow and will finish on Sunday 13th September. British number one and World Number three Andy Murray is third seed. Murray, who won the event held at Flushing Meadows in New York in 2012 is joined in the draw by British teammates Aljaz Bedene, James Ward, Heather Watson and Laura Robson.

World number one Novak Djokovic is top seed and will face Joao Souza, Roger Federer is second seed after his Cincinnati Masters title and plays Leonardo Mayer and Murray will play Australian Nick Kyrgios in the first round. Defending champion Marin Čilić is ninth seed and will face an as yet unnamed qualifier

In the women’s draw top seed and defending champion Serena Williams is looking to win her seventh US Open title and her progression through the draw will see her potentially face sister Venus and rival Maria Sharapova. Her first round match will be against Vitalia Diatchenko from Russia. British number one Watson faces Lauren Davis from the USA in her first match and Robson will play Russia’s Elena Vesnina.

The Bryan Brothers, Mike and Bob won their fifth US Open men’s doubles title at last year’s tournament. Women’s doubles defending champions are Ekaterina Makarova and partner Elena Vesnina and the Mixed Pair who won in 2014 were Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares. Doubles draws will be announced after 31st August.

For all the information and news from this years US Open visit the official website www.usopen.org

Photos used courtesy of www.usopen.org

Rushbrook Results

Brothers Jack and Harry Rushbrook both competed at the latest Grade 5 Greenacre Mixed County tournament held at the Greenacre Health and Fitness Club in Newbury.

On Saturday, younger brother Harry competed in the 8 & under event playing in the round robin format with the top two players from each box going through to the semi-final stage. He won three of his four matches in his group, beating Ethan Ramsay 10-4, Elliott Darby 10-1 and Harriet Ellis 10-6 but lost to Casey Drake 10-4. This put him level with Ellis and Drake on three matches each and so the semi-final places were decided on points difference and unfortunately Harry lost going through by one point! In a ratings only match Harry defeated Matthew Seaton 10-7

Harry’s coach Ali Olrog said “I’m very happy with how Harry is progressing and this is showing in his tournament results and match performances. He is working very hard in lessons and is well on his way to being a Red 1. Keep up the good work!”

The following day Jack was in action in the 10 & under event playing in the compass draw format. After a bye in the quarter-finals he progressed to the semis were he was beaten by Thomas Passmore 4-1 and he then beat Briony Kingswood 4-2 in the third/fourth playoff match to finish third overall.  In his ratings only match he beat Jack Craik 4-2

Jamie Jordan who coaches Jack said “Jack trains very hard and is now starting to see all his work play off. He needs to keep this up in order to keep achieving good results in tournaments.”

QMC Boys A Team Through To Knock Out Stages

The consistently strong Queen Marys College Boys A Team of Loic Armstrong, Nick Dingwall, Adam Hood and Luke Watts won their final group match away against Rikkyo in the Senior Students competition. In the singles, the boys kept a clean sheet with Armstrong, Dingwall and Watts all winning 6-0 and Hood defeating his opponent 7-5. The run of good form continued in the doubles with Armstong/Dingwall winning 6-0 and Hood/Watts won their match 6-1.

The Victorious Boys A Team (L to R) Adam Hood, Luke Watts, Nick Dingwall and Loic Armstrong

The Boys A team are therefore undefeated in the group stages and go through to knock out stages where they will face local rivals Peter Symonds College from Winchester away on 21st January.

QMC PE teacher and tennis team manager Sarah Goldson said, “It was great to see the boys come through the group stages again for the sixth year in a row. However the Rikkyo team were not as strong as they normally are and we are aware there are significantly tougher challenges ahead, starting with the first match against Peter Symonds in the New Year!”

In the girls competition, the Rikkyo girls team were significantly stronger than the boys and with one win out of four in the singles and two losses in the doubles meant a 10-2 loss overall for the QMC girls. Holly Groves was the only singles winner with a 6-2 victory and Beth Lowe lost 6-2, Sarah Winkle lost 6-4 and Georgia Hunt lost 6-0. In the Doubles Lowe/Groves lost 6-3 and Hunt/Winkle lost 6-2.

Goldson said, “Despite the defeat against Rikkyo the girls are playing increasingly more consistently and will be joined by the colleges top seed Kelsey Mosquera in the next competition, the Aberdare Cup which starts in February/March.”

(L to R) Holly Groves, Sarah Winkle and Georgia Hunt

In the final girls match in the group, the team played St Swithuns away and with only three girls available Kelsey Mosquera played in the fourth spot although her results did not count as her rating is too high to play in this competition. The scoreline finished 8-4 to St Swithuns.

(l to R) Lowe, Mosquera, Groves and Winkle

Goldson said, “In the Boys B team group, the final match in the group was conceeded by Worthing College due to a lack of players, the QMC B Team finished second in the group, their best result for some years.The Mixed team as anticipated did not go through due to their result against St George’s which proved to be the decisive match.”

She added “With the Boys A team securing a place in the knock out stages, this will be the sixth year the College have been represented in this stage. In the New Year as well as the next stage of this competition, next term also sees the start of the Aberdare and Glanvil National Cup in which we have entered two boys teams and one girls team.“

Adult Tennis Summer League Update: Mens A Team Promoted to Divison 1.

Totally Tennis Men’s A team won the Division 2 title in the Basingstoke and District Tennis summer league and will be promoted to play in Division one next summer. The team of Simon James/Tim Rice and Ali Olrog/Ben Jubin beat Andover B with an impressive 8-0 and the team also beat Beechdown A and Odiham with 8-0 score lines. The team keep a season clean sheet winning all seven matches played with a season total of 14 points (52 games won and only losing 4).

(L to R) Simon James and Ben Jubin were part of the victorious Men’s A team who gained promotion to Division 1. 

The two Hampshire Court teams completely dominated Division 4 both finishing on 16 points overall but the B team took top honours with more games won. Totally Tennis Men’s B were a respectable fourth overall with 9 points, winning four matches, drawing two and losing three. The Totally Tennis Ladies A team finished in sixth place in Division two with a total of 5 points. They won one match with the team of Emma Barnes/Sharon De Botte and Hilary Oliver/Stephanie Hart beating Sherborne 8-0 and they drew three and lost three overall. Mortimer A were the division winners with 11 points.

In the Mixed, Totally Tennis A also finished in fourth place overall with 7 points, winning three matches, drawing one and losing three. Tim Rice/Emma Barnes and Rex Groves/Stephanie Hart completed their season with an 8-0 win against Overton B and a 6-2 result at Beechdown B. Aldermaston A won the Division with a total of 13 points. Totally Tennis B team were sixth with 6 points after winning two, drawing two and losing three matches.

Head Coach James McIntosh said “Congratulations to the Mens A team for a fantastic summer season and a well deserved promotion to the top division next summer. It’s great to have so many of our players competing in the local leagues and good luck to everyone in the current Winter leagues.”

There are plenty of opportunities for adults to play at Totally Tennis and then have the opportunity to represent the club in the local tennis league in the summer and winter seasons. For more information about the Adult Tennis programme at  please visit our new look website www.totallytennis.co.uk, telephone the office on 01256 358818 or e-mail tt@totallytennis.co.uk.

QMC On Track For Bolton Finals

The Queen Marys College (QMC) Boys A team have won their latest fixture and are now just one match away from the National Finals in the Senior Students Competition to be held at Bolton Arena next month. The team of Loic Armstrong, Nick Dingwall, Ali Olrog and Adam Hood beat Whitgift School from Surrey 10-2 in the home fixture contested at Totally Tennis’ indoor centre, to secure their place in the last sixteen.

The victorious QMC Boys A team (L to R) Hood, Olrog, Dingwall and Armstrong 

In the singles, the team won three of their four matches to lead 6-2 (3-1) going into the doubles. Armstrong won 6-4, Dingwall 6-4, Olrog 6-0 and Hood lost 6-0. In doubles the boys won both matches to give the team the overall win and fast track them into the final knock out round with Armstrong/Hood winning 6-2 and Dingwall/Olrog 6-4.

QMC PE teacher and tennis team manager Sarah Goldson said “This was a great win by the QMC team, the match could have easily swung the other way in the singles with Nick and Loic’s opponents getting many balls back but their patience and greater consistency paid off allowing us to take a 3-1 lead going into the doubles.”

“Our first pairing of Loic and Adam played really well together making many decisive interceptions at the net and in the other pairing, excellent serving from Ali and some an early break of serve enabled them to serve out the match 6-4.”

The team will now travel to play in an away fixture against either Bede’s School from Sussex or Kent’s Tonbridge School which will be decided when the two play each other in their fixture which was postponed due to inclement weather.

Goldson added “This is a great run by the QMC team and with our top three singles players still unbeaten we are confident going into our final knock out match but know we have to be in top form to secure a place at the Finals in Bolton.  We await to see our opposition – Bedes or Tonbridge School – either way the match will be away.”

The Mixed team are also through to the final rounds of the knock out stage after they won their group with a last win at the end of last year when the team of Nick Dingwall/Laura Jones and Ali Olrog/Beth Lowe beat Rikkyo School in a shot out 10-6 after the match finished in a tie. This final victory added to previous wins against Bede’s School and Lancing College and the team then benefitted from a bye in the first knock out round.

Goldson said at the time of the Rikkyo match “With the match tied it went to a shoot out which Beth and Nick won 10-6.  This was a tightly contested match with QMC not at their best in this match but we managed to come through to have an unbeaten run in the group and qualify for the knock out stages which is brilliant.”

The team now face local rivals Peter Symonds College from Winchester in a tough home fixture at the end of February that will determined who will represent the county in Bolton at the National Finals.