Portsmouth Summer Tennis League season titles decided as Winter League season begins with a damp squib

By Alan Best
Published 6th Oct 2022, 11:00 BST
Fishbourne v Rowlands Castle (from left): Debbie Jupe, Gemma Marchant, Faye Jones, Lynne Foster, Liz Marenghi, Jane Mellor, Dawn WearsFishbourne v Rowlands Castle (from left): Debbie Jupe, Gemma Marchant, Faye Jones, Lynne Foster, Liz Marenghi, Jane Mellor, Dawn Wears
Fishbourne v Rowlands Castle (from left): Debbie Jupe, Gemma Marchant, Faye Jones, Lynne Foster, Liz Marenghi, Jane Mellor, Dawn Wears
The new Portsmouth & District Winter Tennis League season got off to a proverbial damp squib, with Sunday’s programme being completely washed out.

But there was plenty of action elsewhere.

Four divisions from the winter competition remained to be completed, with two being resolved off court.

Ventnor and Active Academy were unable to complete their outstanding fixtures in Ladies 2, and so Ryde Mead were crowned champions.

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Abshott v Avenue 3 (from left): Nacho Messa, Ros Aarmyrc, Steph Martin, Russell Lewis, Paul Whittenham, Alison Clarke, Ella Tusler, George KnightAbshott v Avenue 3 (from left): Nacho Messa, Ros Aarmyrc, Steph Martin, Russell Lewis, Paul Whittenham, Alison Clarke, Ella Tusler, George Knight
Abshott v Avenue 3 (from left): Nacho Messa, Ros Aarmyrc, Steph Martin, Russell Lewis, Paul Whittenham, Alison Clarke, Ella Tusler, George Knight

Ventnor’s men were awarded victory over Lee 3, giving them the Division 2 title.

Mixed 2 remains to be resolved, but one further divisional title, Ladies 3, was decided on court.

And what a decider it was! Rowlands Castle visited Fishbourne needing two rubbers to snatch the title from leaders Stubbington. For their part, Fishbourne needed three rubbers to take the runners up position.

Castle started in style, winning the first set in both the opening rubbers. But Fishbourne levelled in both before winning two match tie breaks. Advantage Fishbourne!

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Determined to keep their title hope alive, Dawn Wears and Jane Mellor fought out two 7-6 sets to take the 1’s v 1’s rubber.

Lynne Foster and Liz Marenghi kept Castle in it, taking the first set off Kate Gurl and Gemma Marchant. But the latter pair fought back to level.

The championship was to rest on a match tie break. Tensions rose as the score reached 8-8, where a mistake from Castle and a clean winner for Fishbourne meant Stubbington were champions.

The Winter League ladies competition started with a top flight contest between Lee and Ryde Lawn.

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The opening rubbers were shared, with Ryde taking a set advantage - their second pair, Suree Russell and Andrea Waugh, taking a set of Lee’s top duo.

But both Lee couples - Gill Wallis/ Kate Russell and Fiona Dubber/ Megan Cremer - won the reverse rubbers, enabling them to claim overall victory.

In Ladies 3, Ventnor recorded a 4-0 win over a Chichester 2nds team which

was perhaps weaker than usual as some of their players were enjoying a week at the fabulous La Manga Tennis Centre with your correspondent in Spain!

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The opening matches in Mixed 3 saw Alverstoke travel to Ryde Lawn 2nds and return with a notable victory. Tara Creasy and Tony Norish notched a double, backed by Sue Western and James Warren.

Abshott CC and Avenue 3 shared the rubbers 2-2, Abshott claiming the winning draw points thanks to their second pair, Steph Martin and Nacho Messa, taking a set off Avenue’s top pair Ella Tusler and Paul Whittenham.