2022 Club Championship Finals Day

The Finals took place on a beautiful September day in warm sunshine at the club’s Balksbury home.

A great deal of work had been done to ready the club and a kitchen team were ready to provide sustenance throughout the day.

Junior Finals were spread throughout the morning and early afternoon. All were contested keenly but in good spirit.

Event Winner Runner Up

Under 8 Lilliana Mawo Sebastian DeMarco

Under 9 Connie Soon Christine Harman

Under 10 Alice Martin Tabitha Hann

Under 12 Girls Meredith DeMarco Amelia Martin

Under 12 Boys Xander Martin Ryan Crewell

Under 14 Girls Karolina Miller Amelia Martin

Under 14 Boys Isaac Robinson Monty Johnson

Under 16 Girls Maria Sharova Karolina Miller

Under 16 Boys Hari Putt  Sam Putt

Under 14 Boy’s Doubles Isaac Robinson /Monty Johnson Xander Martin/Ryan Crewell

Under 16 Boy’s Doubles Hari Putt/Sam Putt Ned Barrett/Matteo Belver Hill

Under 18 Girl’s Doubles Karolina Miller/ Maria Sharova Holly Cann/Luciana Salazar Lewis

Trophies were awarded by special Guest of Honour Claire Coomer, a long term member and previous coach at ALTC, winner of seven singles titles, eleven doubles titles and twenty two mixed doubles titles at the club.

 A silence was held in respect and thanks for the long life of service of the Queen.

 Special Awards were made first;

 The Margaret Winnett Cup for most improved Mini went to Liliana Mawo.

The Wakeham Cup for most improved Junior went to Isaac Robinson.

The Coomer Award for most improved Saturday morning Junior went to MJ Kasperczuk

The Joan Reeve award for most Outstanding Club Junior was shared by Isaac Robinson and  Luciana Salazar-Lewis

The Ladies Doubles was awarded to Martha Folkes and Clair Thain and the Mixed Doubles to Flavia Zamfir and Kyrill Kennett who both reached their respective Finals but could not play as one of their opponents was injured.

The first Adult matches were the Singles. 

The Ladies Final saw Elena Clarke take on Flavia Zamfir and there were fabulous rallies from the back of the court, with both ladies striking the ball well. Flavia consistently exploited more of the court, however, and won through, 6-1, 6-1, to retain her Ladies Title.

The Men’s Final saw Gregor Corcoran determined to reverse last year’s close loss to Kyrill Kennett. It looked as though he would do it when his powerful accurate hitting on both wings saw him take a 7-5, 3-0 lead. Kyrill had to try something different. He slowed down his shots and gave them more air and managed to break Gregor’s consistency, winning the next six games to take the set 6-3.

 A championship tie break settled it, as it had last year. Kyrill played his more normal game now and powered his way through to a second tile win.

 The Men’s Veteran Singles pitted multiple veteran’s title holder Al Williams against club coach Martyn Isherwood. The first set saw a pattern of firm ball striking from Al and careful placement and superb volleying from Martyn. This allowed Martyn to take the set 6-3. In the second, Al redoubled his efforts and took five games in a row to take the second set 6-1.

 Martyn was not finished, however, and, rejuvenated, took an early lead in the deciding tie break and won it 10-5 to take the title.

 The last match of the day was the Men’s Doubles. This is always a crowd favourite and once again lived up to its billing. Past winners Andrew Winnett and Ant Brown were playing Singles champion Kyrill Kennett and Adrian Shapter.

The first set went Ant and Andrew’s way. They put their opponents on the back foot with attacking tennis and net dominance to take it 6-1.  The second set was, as in other finals, a completely different story as Kyrill and Adrian came up with impressively controlled power play to make everything that had looked easy for Ant and Andrew much more difficult. Kyrill and Adrian took the set 6-1 to reverse the first set.

The deciding tie break was the most competitive of the day and Ant and Andrew just edged it 12-10 after both teams had had opportunities to win. It was a great way to end a very successful day.

2022 Championship Finals Day - Sunday 11th September

You are very welcome to ALTC on this special day in our calendar.

We will start at 9am.Thereafter the timings on the match schedule are approximate so if you are playing please be here half an hour before your match time.

We will have presentations at approximately 1.30pm and at the end of play.

Our Guest of Honour this year is Claire Coomer, Hampshire County player and winner of multiple ALTC championship finals.

Bacon sandwiches and hot dogs will be available in the morning and tea and cakes in the afternoon.

Come and watch some great tennis in good company.

 ALTC Charity…Andover Foodbank

We would be very grateful for contributions…cash or goods.

Examples are…tinned soup, tinned fish, tinned meat, pasta sauce, packets of long grain rice and tinned fruit.

Many thanks,

Trevor Blake

Tennis Veterans fight it out in ALTC Club Championship

Round Robins for the Men’s Veteran Singles took place in glorious weather at the club’s Balksbury Home. Jeremy Hann, Rob King and Mark Williams were in a group of three.

 The first match put Rob against Mark. Rob plays and adventurous attacking game and had some success at the net but Mark hit his passing shots with power and accuracy and it was he who came out on top.

 Jeremy then played Mark and spent more time at the back of the court with occasional moves forward. This proved a winning tactic.

The final game saw Rob still full of bravery moving into the net. Jeremy had to use lobs as well as passing shots to engineer a win.

 Jeremy will play defending champion Al Williams in the Semi Final.

 The semi Finalist to come from the second group will play Number two seed Martyn Isherwood.

This was a group of four, with Tim Kelly, Reece Simpson, Richard Shipway and Dan De Marco.

Dan and Tim played an entertaining game but it was Dan who was the steadier shot maker and got the win.

 Reece and Richard played a long match with a tie break set going to each of them but a deciding Championship Tie break and the win going to Richard.

 In the next round, Dan played Reece. This was another close match with strong groundstrokes and sharp winners from Reece and calm thoughtful tactics from Dan. It was Dan who emerged the winner after two tie break sets.

 Reece conceded the next round, after playing five consecutive tie break sets.

 Dan cemented his position with a win over Richard who played some tremendous shots.

 Dan will play Martyn in the Second Semi Final.

2022 Adult Club Championships begin...

 The first Round Robin of the Club Championships took place last weekend - Ladies Doubles . The Ladies opted to play indoors so that they were out of the sun but the conditions were still hot and they did well to complete the event. Plenty of cooling breaks and lots of water helped. Short sets were played to speed up proceedings.

 The first round saw wins for Claire and Flavia against Martha and Clare 4-3, 4-1 and Sophie and Christine against Kriszti and Louise 4-1, 4-0.

 Second round matches saw determination come into play and both matches were hard fought. Kriszti and Louise covered the court well but were not quite as consistently accurate as Martha and Clare, who won 4-1, 4-2. Claire and Flavia met stern resistance from Sophie and Christine. After winning the first set 4-0, they were beaten 4-3 in the second and had to win a tie break to win the round.

 That meant two wins for Claire and Flavia and one for Sophie and Christine and Martha and Clare. With only two pairs going forward, the last round was crucial.

Claire and Flavia sealed their place with a win against Kriszti and Louise, 4-1, 4-0.

Martha and Clare will join them after they proved too powerful for Sophie and Christine on this occasion, winning 4-0, 4-2.

A place in the semi Final beckoned for the winner of this Mixed Round Robin played at Balksbury in great tennis weather, warm and light with a slight breeze and no glaring sun. 

In the first round Clare and Mark took on Martha and Gregor. This was a very competitive match with a lot of close fought games. Clare was striking the ball well and Mark was active at the net but it was Martha and Gregor who had a little more consistency and came out on top.  Kriszti and Ben won through against Lynne and Rob though it was not easy with Rob using his athleticism to prolong the rallies.

 In the Second round Martha and Gregor had too much power for Lynne and Rob but there were pleasing rallies and Lynne particularly enjoyed passing Gregor down the line. Kriszti and Ben had a close match with Clare and Mark. This time it was Clare and Mark who had a little more consistency and in spite of patches of really good tennis from Kriszti and Ben, Clare and Mark came out on top.

 Martha and Gregor were in the lead at this point with two wins, one each for Clare and Mark and Kriszti and Ben. The third round put Clare and Mark against Lynne and Rob. The determination of Clare and Mark saw them win this one to have two wins overall.  Martha and George played Kriszti and Ben. This match had moments of excellence when all four played well.  Kriszti raised her game and showed her potential with lovely ground strokes and sharp volleying.  Once again, Martha and Gregor had more consistency, however, and they made it three wins to ensure their place in a semi final.

The Margaret Winnett Trophy

Tournament winners - Keith and Isaac Robinson with Andrew Winnett

The Jubilee tournament at Andover Lawn Tennis Club was the inauguration of the Margaret Winnett Trophy, in memory of their late and much loved Chairman.

 This was a parent and child doubles competition. Three groups of five pairs played more than thirty matches in a round robin format and the weather cooperated holding off the rain until the tournament was over.

All matches were played with a sliding handicap which challenged one or two but had a levelling effect. Most games were close in score. Adults were only allowed one serve. The juniors coped well with the tennis and the scoring and would have made Margaret proud. Her two grandchildren, Eloise and Theo were among those playing with their parents.

 Three teams emerged from the round robins; Emma and Ned Barnett, Keith and Isaac Robinson and Martyn Isherwood and Amelia Martin. The three-way final meant two more games each for the finalists.

 Martyn and Amelia had a very close game with Keith and Isaac which could have gone either way. Amelia kept the rallies going with smooth court coverage and strong ground shots. Keith matched her and the vital points were won at the net, where Martyn and Isaac were dominant. A 4-3 win for Keith and Isaac set them up for possible victory.

 This they confirmed with a strong performance against Emma and Ned who had been focused and competitive all afternoon.

The Trophy and commemorative salvers were presented to  Keith and Isaac by Margaret’s son, Andrew Winnett.

Andover Duo Down Denmead

Our Andover U14 Boys duo of Isaac Robinson and Montgomery Johnston sealed an end of season win in style beating Denmead.

Monty made light work of his singles match winning convincingly 0-6, 0-6, while Isaac won 0-6 and 1-6 in similar fashion. The doubles was always about control and concentration where the duo didn't disappoint, winning 0-6 and 1-6 to leave South East Hampshire with 0-6 overall victory.

Thank you to Katrina and Ian Johnston for support and transport.

Andover Juniors conquer Colden Common

A competitive but sporting fixture at home saw Andover pair Isaac Robinson and Montgomery Johnston win 4-2 at Era Park. Isaac faced the Colden Common number 1 winning 6-1, 6-3, moving his opponent around the court and finishing points cleanly behind a solid serve. Monty pushed the Colden Common number 2 in a battling first set display, despite mounting an attacking fight back in the second, he eventually lost out to the more defensive visitor 5-7, 4-6.

The doubles decider served up a real treat for the home fans. Monty and Isaac overwhelmed their Colden Common counterparts, combining deep ground strokes with clean volleys at the net. The Andover duo showed plenty of potential as a pair and won the decider 6-1, 6-3 (match 4-2 overall). Well done boys!

Andover Team win close match

Andover C Team, competing in the Basingstoke Tennis League, returned to a winning result after two initial defeats in the 2022 summer campaign.

The winter league saw the C Team finish in second place so confidence was high going into the early matches. The subsequent defeats against Kingsclere and Beechdown B both on a score of 3-5 were disappointing.  Both matches were highly competitive, evenly matched and the losses were on small margins.

Jeremy Hann, Ben Mead, Martyn Isherwood and Mark Williams

The latest match was at Andover’s home venue at Balksbury, against Oakley B. Somewhat unusually for a summer fixture this was played on the indoor courts as the Mens’ B Team were playing another competitive club match in what is Andover’s busy competition schedule.

Andover’s first pair was Jeremy Hann and Mark Williams. The second pairing was Ben Mead and Martyn Isherwood who were partnering for the first time.

Mead and Isherwood started against Oakleys stronger pairing of the day. The Andover pair soon settled into their stride and with some adept volleying at the net pulled ahead 4 -1, but the experience and youth on the Oakley side saw them hold their nerve to pull back to 5-5.  The mixture of Mead’s powerful forehand from the baseline and Isherwood’s volleying worked well, but Andover’s more assertive style of play ultimately had a lower margin for error and despite good tennis the set was dropped 7-5.  The disappointment of the first set did not deter the Andover pair started the second set matching everything Oakley were doing. Oakley just proved to have a few more answers which enabled them to win the second set 6-4.

Hann and Williams had the easier start to the match. The second Oakley pairing proved to be less effective.  This allowed Hann and Williams to build up their game and confidence. They moved over the court well, with Hann hitting very refined shots from all points of the court and Williams picking off volleys at the net.  The Oakley pair remained deep by their baseline.  The Andover pair took the first set at 6-1.  The second set saw the Oakley pair coming forward to the net more than in the first which just tested the shot placement for Andover. Clearly a test that was passed with the first set dominance maintained and a 6-3 win. At the half way stage it was two games all.

Mead and Isherwood in their second match were able to flow with their assertive doubles strategy that did not quite see them through their first. The faster pace of ball delivered by Andover was too testing this time and the shorter rallies limited the number of unforced errors. A 6-1, 6-1 win in the second match for Mead and Isherwood was clearly resounding and possibly left them thinking what may have been if their matches were in the opposite order.

Hann and Williams had their greater test in the second. The direct play that had served well in the first match was now being questioned. The Oakley pair were methodical in there returning with some great touches of skill.  This was the same question asked of Mead and Isherwood in the first where the more assertive game brought in additional unforced errors. The result was, alas, the same with Andover dropping the first 6-4.  However the second set saw the Andover pair come back stronger. The serving of Hann continued with pace and consistency again working into Williams’ presence at the net. At the same time they were capitalising on the slower pace of servicing from Oakley which they had not done in the first set. The second set finished 6-3 to Andover which proved so important on the day.

Three matches in and the C’s have at last their first win of the summer – being on the right side of a 5-3 result!  June sees the two final matches of the Summer League being home to Hook and away to Beechdown C.  A further win from these fixtures is looking necessary and based on latest performance, should be achievable.

Richard Shipway (Captain)

Steep Learning Curve for Andover Duo

Andover U14 boys (Isaac Robinson and Leo Crewell) lost away fixture to Steep on Sunday 29th May.

In singles, Isaac played 2x 1hour sets against the Steep number one winning 7-5 3-6 (7-10 tie break). A match with long forehand and backhand rallies from the baseline and few errors. Leo fought hard against the Steep number two, reaching some hard fought deuces and showing nice touches, losing

6-1, 6-1 but gaining good match-play experience. The deciding doubles went to the home pair with targeted returns and winners, Andover losing 6-0, 6-1 and 2-1 overall. Well done boys!

A big thank you to Keith, Team Captain for the supporting the boys.

Play Your Way to Wimbledon 2022

The Club recently hosted our annual Play Your Way to Wimbledon Tournament (formerly known as the Road to Wimbledon Tournament).

Congratulations to our ‘Singles’ and ‘Doubles’ winners and runner-ups. All now progress to the County Finals with an opportunity to progress through to the National Finals held at The All England Club, Wimbledon.

Well done to all of the competitors, who played brilliantly throughout the tournament.

Plus, a big thank you to Joe (Head Coach) for organising and referring the event.

Girls Singles Players - Winner – Victoria. Runner-up - Karolina

Boys Singles Finalists - Winner – Isaac. Runner-up - Monty

Boys Doubles Finalists - Winners - Charlie & Jude. Runner-ups - Isaac and Monty

Captain, Jennie has a busy start to the Tennis season

he Andover Lawn Tennis Club’s Ladies team was keen to do well in their match at Portswood’s leafy garden courts in Southampton. The team are playing in Division 3B of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight League and had lost their first match at home against Winchester B.

The match was evenly balanced, with games closer than scores would suggest. Many Deuce games were played.

 First pair Flavia Zamfir and Jennie Pope beat the opposition first pair 6-1, 6-2 and the second pair 6-0, 6-0. Flavia is a Hampshire junior and her game gets better all the time. Her strong, accurate volleying was a major factor in their wins.

 Second pair Louise and Jenny worked hard, with Louise making several down the line winners. The deuce games went Portswood’s way, however and they lost 0-6, 2-6 against the first pair and 3-6, 2-6 against the seconds.

The value of those hard earned games was shown when, with rounds and sets equal, Andover gained the win on games won.

Juniors in action again in the LTA National League ...

A successful first home fixture of the season for Andover Boys U14 H&IOW Div. 2. Both Monty and Isaac won their singles matches. Isaac winning a competitive hard fought encounter against the Avondale No1 in a tie break. Monty winning in straight sets against the Avondale No.2, showing good composure and net-play. The Andover pair won both doubles sets in style proving too strong for the visitors. An overall score of 5-1 for the home team. Well done boys and a big thank to Keith for being team manager.

U16 Hants & IOW home fixture V's Active Aces. Charlie played the Active Aces number 1 winning 6-3, 6-4 combining strong serve and powerful ground strokes from the baseline. Ned played very well against the No.2 from Active, with the visitor having a significant age and experience advantage over the debutante. Result 0-6, 0-6. The Andover pair began the doubles encounter strongly with good returning from Charlie and disruptive lobbing from Ned. They eventually lost 3-6, and 0-6 in doubles and 2-6 overall to the experienced pair from Active Aces.


The Wingfield Tournament - the first tournament of 2022

On a day which started wet, members at Andover Lawn Tennis Club took part in the Wingfield Tournament at Balksbury.

 It looked as if the whole event would have to be played indoors but the weather improved and was near perfect for tennis outside by the time the final was played.

 The Wingfield is Andover’s oldest trophy and celebrates the invention of the modern game in 1874 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, oddly, in an hour glass shaped court…which was soon changed. It was promoted in a commercial kit and designed for play on croquet lawns by men and women.

 Fortunately we can all have access to Lawn Tennis now and an enjoyable afternoon was enjoyed by all, helped along by tea, coffee and cake.

Preliminary Round Robins were held and the top two pairs from each group were promoted to the semi-finals. All games were played on a sliding handicap system. This is a great leveller and all matches played were close.


In one semi-final, Ben Haley and Claire Thain narrowly defeated Adrian Shapter and Claire Reid.

In the other semi-final Reece Simpson and Louise Martin edged past John Snowden and Caroline Rowlands.

 

The Final was enjoyed by the spectators. There were close fought games but Reece’s consistency and power and Louise’s agility and determination saw them through.  This was a first win for both of them and the first time the tournament has been played for several years.

Before the Tournament started, Claire Reid, on behalf of the committee, presented Anne Brooks of the Andover Food Bank with a £250 cheque and Boxes of food. The food bank is the club’s nominated charity this year.

First fixtures of the Summer season for the Junior teams...

The first Junior fixtures of the season in the 2022 LTA National Junior League took place this weekend.

In the 12 and under category, Henry and Tristan played against Hale Gardens at a home fixture. The boys played well but on the day the opposition were the stronger team. Well done Henry and Tristan. Also, a big thank you to Mark for being Team Captain.

In the 16 and under category, Isaac and Hari travelled to Elite Tennis in Southampton.

The boys had a tough day on the artificial grass in the swirling wind. Despite a good early start in the doubles, first set going ahead 1-2 they succumbed to the home pair having played together since the age of 8 years old. Overall, some vital experience gained but a good effort from both boys. Thank you to Keith for being the Team Captain.

ALTC Ladies Team Enjoy a good Win at Balksbury

On a fine January day at Balksbury, the Andover Ladies Team took on Beechdown, one of the stronger Clubs in the Basingstoke League.

Claire reported that a fun afternoon’s tennis was had by all. The Andover team were in great spirits and with one win and two losses this season, were determined to get a good result.  

Flavia and Claire played a solid game, covering the court well and playing an attacking game which unsettled their opponents. Flavia’s accurate and powerful ground strokes won many points and Claire’s consistency also helped. They won 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1.

Rowena and Sophie were disappointed to lose the first match they played, but dug in, showing determination and will power to gain both sets in their second match.

They lost 5-7, 0-6 and won 6-4, 6-1.

This was a well-deserved 6-2 win overall and should mean they are safe in their Division.