National Schools RT Doubles Championships 2017 Senior
Finalists for both the A & B Grade U18 competitions
Senior A Grade
Radley 1, Tonbridge, Wellington, Radley 2
3rd/4th Play-off
- Wellington bt Tonbridge 6/3
Final
- Radley 1 bt Radley 2 6/2 6/1
Grade A Winners - Radley
Radley 1 (Ollie Martyn-Hemphill & Freddie White) bt Radley 2 (Benedict Yorston & Ned Gordon) 6/2 6/1
Despite a limited number of low handicap pairs this year, there was some fiercely contested tennis. Radley 2 gave Radley 1 an early shock in the round-robin, leading 4-2 before just fading. Radley 1 then avoided scares with wins over both Wellington and Tonbridge.
Radley 2 then beat Wellington 6/3 after a few nerves from 5-0 up, but solid floor play from Yorston and excellent retrieving in the rallies from Gordon proved decisive. Wellington, though beat Tonbridge in a good contest by 6-3. Tonbridge then upset the applecart by beating Radley 6-4, who just managed to score enough games to gain 2nd place, and the final.
In the 3rd place play-off, Wellington (Vleck and Corbett) reasserted themselves over Tonbridge (Elmitt and Atherton) in a robust contest 8/5, while in the main final, Radley 1 had begun to find their form, with Martyn-Hemphill covering the back-court like an octopus and White firing bullets from the galleries. They began attacking the backhand corner behind Ned Gordon at net and, in truth, won comfortably 6/2 6/1 – as, indeed, their low handicaps should dictate.
SENIOR B Grade
Group A
Wellington 2, Eton, Seaford 1, Westminster, Oratory
Group B
Radley 3, Wellington 3, Seaford 2, Clifton, Bradfield
Play-offs
- Seaford 2 bt Westmisnter 5/3
- Bradfield bt Oratory 5/4
- Wellington 2 bt Wellington 3 5/0
Semi-Finals
- Eton bt Clifton 6/1
- Radley 3 bt Seaford 1 6/3
Final
- Radley 3 bt Eton 6/3
Radley 3 (George Eaton & Seb Hill) bt Eton (Cosmo Taylor & Louis Manson) 6/3
Ten teams (Radley, Wellington, Eton, Clifton, Seaford, Bradfield, Oratory, Westminster) contested this event, operating at handicaps of > ~55.
Westminster, Bradfield and Seaford were the minnows here, though picked up plenty of games and a few sets. Bradfield beat Seaford 2, while Seaford 1 (with a little more experience) managed three, and nearly four as a come-back from 0-5 down to Eton was stifled at the death to lose 5/6. They did finish second in their group, as Eton won their others with some ease. Oratory battled hard, with one win and nearly two as they just lost 4/6 to Wellington2.
Radley 2 and Clifton dominated the other group, with Radley just pipping Clifton for the winner’s spot as they recovered from 3-5 down to win 6/5.
Clifton, slightly surprisingly I feel, failed to reproduce this form and lost heavily to Eton (1/6) in the semi-final, while Radley 3 beat Seaford in a very watchable contest, 6/3. Radley carried this form into the final, an equally watchable contest by beating Eton 6/3. Seb Hill’s control and consistency, allied to George Eaton’s aggression, was just too much for Eton, who nevertheless showed real promise for such an inexperienced pair. Louis Manson’s Lawn tennis pedigree shone through, but despite some real flair from Cosmo Taylor, it was not quite enough.