5 - 7 March 2004

Venue: Hyde Tennis Club

It was a fun weekend which started on the Friday. There were 17 players taking part with Mandie Holloway, Liz Langran and Ann Ayling from The Hyde.

The first round matches went according to the seeding with the stronger players going through. Mandie was the only Hyde member to get through to the second round. She played in a controlled manner and never allowed Deidre Dooley into the match, winning 6-0 6-0.

In the second round Pam Tomalin, last year's finalist, played well against the experienced Sheilagh Owens, which enabled her to go through to the third round. The closest second round match was Chantelle Harding against Lucy Davies. After a long and hard fought first set Chantelle won it 6-5. As Lucy tired, Chantelle upped the pace and took the second set 6-2.

The first quarter final match was Pam Tomalin against Carolyn Armstrong-Smith. It produced the hardest fought match of the tournament. After a two hour epic both players were totally drained, but there was some exhilarating tennis. Pam eventually won 5-6 6-5 6-3. It was very exciting to watch. This gave Pam the dubious honour of a semi final against Penny Lumley.

The other quarter final, for the right to play Alex Garside, was won by Jacqui Watkins (Penny and Alex had a bye to the semi finals). Jacqui played very disciplined tennis, which did not allow the harder hitting of Chantelle to have any effect on the outcome of the game.

The semi finals were predictable, but also entertaining. Pam, who was beaten in two sets by Penny, definitely showed signs of the previous day’s endeavours. The other semi final between Alex Garside and Jacqui Watkins was unfortunately curtailed with a hand injury to Jacqui. She played well but Alex was too consistent.

The final was, as expected, Penny Lumley against Alex Garside. From the outset both players found their rhythm, and with incredible retrieving and athleticism, they produced world class tennis. Penny showed all the control of a world champion. The final score 6- 2, 6-0 did not reflect the calibre and competitiveness of the match.

The doubles plate was won by Mandie Holloway and Jane Sloan. They won all of their matches in the round robin with Liz Fisher and Deidre Dooley coming second.

The whole weekend was a wonderful success and we are very sad that the tournament will not be held at the Hyde next year. We must thank Derek FitzGerald Fine Art Ltd. for his sponsorship. Also, a big thank you to Clare Handford for organizing the weekend so successfully.

Suzie Chaffyn-Grove