East Glos fields two teams at Centenary Tennis Clubs tournaments
By David Barham, East Glos CTC coordinator
East Glos is proud to be a member of the Association of Centenary Tennis Clubs (CTC), comprising 98 clubs in 29 countries. East Glos members regularly take part in CTC tournaments. These events give clubs and members the chance to combine tennis and leisure.
On the weekend of 5th and 6th September, East Glos fielded two teams, travelling to the Winchester Racquets Club for the Anglo-Irish tournament and the Friendly Doubles tournament at the Carrickmines Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin.
Following the captains’ meeting and draw, a full day’s play quickly got underway at Winchester. As well as the hosts, East Glos faced the Cumberland Club, London, and the Fitzwilliam and Carrickmines Clubs from Dublin in a round-robin format.
Split into age categories, each pair played a 13-game rubber against each opposing club, with every game contributing to the team’s cumulative overall score. That meant every point mattered and every game would be significant.
Taking advantage of this format, Annalie Poccard and Marie Bell gave East Glos an early advantage in the ladies 40/45+ group, defeating the hosts 13-0. This was a standout performance, and they maintained a high level of play throughout the day.
On the men’s side, Mo Buescher and Steve Worsley summoned every bit of magic to rally from two narrow defeats to register a two-and-two scorecard, including a thrilling 7-6 victory, finally claiming the rubber in a dramatic clutch moment on a sudden-death deuce point.
A similar herculean effort in the 50/55+ group saw Tim Atkins and Andy Jones rebound from early setbacks. Playing together for the first time, this fledgling partnership steadily improved, displaying ever-increasing confidence, resolve and tenacity to also finish two-and-two for the day.
On the ladies’ side, Sarah Carter and Liz Cowan shone brightly throughout in a series of outstanding performances which complemented each other in a display of exemplary doubles play at its best.
As might be expected, the open age category produced some of the day’s highest-quality tennis. Explosive movement combined with dynamic shot-making created both an electrifying spectacle and a high benchmark, with serve-and-volley tennis punctuated by punishing rallies.
In the men’s section, Matt Bell and Sam Austin encountered some hard-hitting, high-calibre, and proficient opponents. Facing the full force of every shot thrown at them, they went toe-to-toe with each pair and secured invaluable points towards the team’s score.
For the ladies, Kathryn Hole and Elle Buescher also thrived in this turbocharged atmosphere. With resolve in protracted rallies and counterpunching at every opportunity, they secured perhaps the result of the day, with a 10-3 victory over the opposing Cumberland pair.
The CTC is more than tennis alone. In keeping with the tradition of goodwill and sporting fellowship, each tournament is followed
by a tournament dinner and presentation ceremony. Aware that East Glos had performed well and were in contention for the title, anticipation was palpable. This was heightened further when Annalie Poccard and Marie Bell, together with Sarah Carter and Liz Cowan, received awards as the best pairs in their respective categories.
When the drum roll and applause finally subsided, East Glos had secured second place behind Winchester Racquets Club. The winning margin? Just three points!
Inevitably, there is a tinge of disappointment when the deciding margin is so close. This was, however, an outstanding result from a phalanx of players returning strong performances across all the age groups, against some of the best clubs in England and Ireland.
Team captains Marie Bell and Steve Worsley were generous in their praise of the whole team, who contributed as a unit in this achievement. Both also gave special thanks to Liz Sim, whose tireless behind-the-scenes work made participation in this event possible.
The captains of our Dublin tournament team echoed this sentiment.
At the CTC Friendly Doubles tournament at the Carrickmines Tennis Club, East Glos was represented by Lisa Channing, Di Gregory, Paula and Ronan Hughes, Nigel Hollinshead, Nicki Harrington, Angie and Stuart Mico, Sally Miller, Lesley Anne Kenrick, Celia Lawson-Pegg, and Richard Pelling.
The event started with a welcome party on Friday evening. Although recent poor weather prevented all but a few games on their famous grass courts, the tournament was successfully completed.
This was a festival of tennis played with unbridled joy and carefree spirit, perhaps reflecting the location. East Glos delivered some strong performances that kept them in the hunt for the tournament trophy. The third-place finish, though, didn’t reflect the level of play the team delivered.
Spirits were not dampened, however, as the traditional post-tournament dinner was a banquet, offering a cascade of flavours. Celtic hospitality, like the wine, was served in abundance, creating an atmosphere of friendship synonymous with the spirit of the CTC.
In the context of this tournament, the connection between Cheltenham and Dublin paints a much broader canvas.
In the modern era of highly tuned athletes and huge media coverage, even recent tennis history is overlooked. Go back further, and it seems almost forgotten in the mists of time. Yet in the nineteenth century both cities were major destinations on the tournament circuit.
Both Cheltenham and Dublin can also claim Wimbledon champions. In the first two decades of the Wimbledon championships, five Irish players won titles.
Three had close connections to both the Dublin clubs, Fitzwilliam and Carrickmines. Willoughby Hamilton was singles champion in 1890, and Joshua Pim was singles champion in 1893 and 1894. Frank Stoker, the player most closely linked to Carrickmines, won the doubles title with Joshua Pim in 1890 and 1893.
From Cheltenham, perhaps two of the most famous players in the history of the game were the Renshaw twins, William and Ernest. William took the singles title for six straight years, still a record, from 1881 to 1886, and won again in 1889.
Ernest took the singles title in 1888. Together in doubles they were almost unbeatable and won the doubles championship five times between 1884 and 1889.
The third player, less well known but immortalised as the first woman to win the Wimbledon singles title, is Maud Watson. Although not originally from Cheltenham, both Maud and her sister Lillian, a proficient player in her own right, were periodically registered as residents of the town.
Maud won the first two ladies singles championships at Wimbledon in 1884 and 1885.
In those two years she also won the Irish singles championships, the doubles with her sister and the mixed with William Renshaw. Both the Renshaw brothers and Watson sisters represented the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Club.
All of the clubs within the Association of Centenary Tennis Clubs have a history dating back over one hundred years. Many clubs in the association are world-renowned and central to establishing their own national associations, as well as developing tennis as a truly global sport.
With two outstanding runner-up finishes in this year’s CTC program, our progress within the association has been faster than expected in our first three years of membership. It has certainly raised the club’s profile more widely. Well done to all!