U13 Girls vs. Haverhill

U13 Girls vs. Haverhill, Saturday 19th May 2012

The girls A team played away at Haverhill. Laura Winter and Lara Peck both represented the school at A team level for the first time. Again, they played opponents who were considerably older than themselves, 15 and 17, and so faced some serious opposition in this Division 1 match. In a superb game where both Felsted girls played superbly, both girls won all of their matches and the doubles to secure an excellent win.

The Girls B team saw a debut for Rebecca Earl, with the seasoned veteran, Georgina Back making up the pair. Both girls played strong, competitive tennis against Forrester’s girls in this Third Division match. Well done to both girls who demonstrated a determination to do their best, winning all but one of their matches and so gaining a convincing victory.

Well done to those who have played and please continue to support this opportunity for our elite tennis players to play. These matches have to be mainly outside of school and so understandably take extra commitment. It is getting very difficult to put out our strongest players out and so fixtures are needing to be cancelled which is clearly not what any of us want.

U13 Boys vs. Bishop’s Stortford College

U13 Boys vs. Bishop’s Stortford College, Thursday 17th May 2012
On Thursday, the Year 7 and 8 boys played Bishop’s Stortford. James Benbrook, Ethan Monks, Matt Morley-Jacob, Ollie Walker, Seb Lawrence, Sean McNamara, Joe Head, Harry Raffan, Jamie Metson, Mathew Gilham, Archie Lucas, Max Bailes enjoyed a comfortable 11-1 match win. There was some superb tennis played with the top 3 pairs really showing some impressive skill. Well done to the boys.

This weekend several teams will be playing in the latest matches within the Halsted League Division 1 and 2. Good luck to the many players participating in these competitions and thanks to their parents for supporting this effort to get the elite players playing more tennis.

U13 Girls vs Haileybury

U13 Girls vs. Haileybury, Wednesday 16th May 2012
The girls played Haileybury in what has become a traditional annual fixture. In the Year 8 team, Georgina Stevens, Lara Peck, Laura Winter (Capt), Emily Butler, Izzy Minks, Jade Kaya, Francesca Moore, Cosima Chisenhale-Marsh, Charlie Moore, Elicia Carrington, Megan Mankelow and Amy Tydeman were simply too strong winning all of their matches for a 12-0 win.

The Year 7 team played well and showed some promise for next year. Georgina Back, Rebecca Earl, Felicity Coulson, Jessica Mitchell, Chiara Rocker-Cook, Bella Westlake, Layah Mohindru, Isobel Scott-Bowden, Millie McFadzean, Bella Prior Kathryn Percy and Megan Abbas narrowly losing in a 5-6 and 1 drawn match competition. The sight of 12 courts full of enthusiastic and competitive tennis was superb!

Girls League Division 1 vs. Wickham Bishop’s

Girls League Division 1 vs. Wickham Bishop’s

This was the first match for the girls and again gave them the opportunity to play against a 15 and 17 year old, the only time in school that they play sport against older players. After a tiring hockey tournament, both girls played some excellent tennis with Izzy Minks losing her second match on a tie break after having match points and Georgina Stevens winning her second round match. Well done to both girls who showed why they are excellent all round sports girls and more than competent tennis players.

Halsted League 1st Division vs. Maldon

Halsted League 1st Division vs. Maldon, Saturday 12th May 2012

The boys again played against players at least two years older than themselves and unfortunately lost this fixture. Well done to Ethan Monks who again won his singles against a 16 year old player, dropping only 2 games. James Benbrook unfortunately suffered a knee injury which significantly hampered his ability to play. Seb Lawrence lost a very close match against a very frustrating player. Joe Head continues to show promise as the only Year 7 player in the team.

Year 8 Paralympic Tennis

On Tuesday 8th May Years 7 and 8 girls and our Tennis OTAs were privileged to watch a wheelchair tennis demonstration, given by four tennis players in wheelchairs. The pupils then had the opportunity to 'have a go'. Each pupil started with getting familiar with how to handle the chair and then had a rally with one of the wheelchair players. Some of the pupils commented on how hard it was to hit the ball, let alone trying to move their chair to position themselves so that a shot could be played!

A few of the pupils later fed back to the rest of the school in an assembly, saying that it was inspiring to witness how good these players are and how they are able to handle their chairs playing tennis with such apparent ease. They also reflected on how they should never give up and to always have a go at things even if they seem too difficult.