British Handicap 2016 Report and Photos
BRITISH LADIES’ HANDICAP SINGLES AND DOUBLES TOURNAMENTS
Friday 11th to Sunday 13th November 2016
held at
Hardwick House and the Oratory
Supported by an Anonymous Donor
held at
Hardwick House and the Oratory
Supported by an Anonymous Donor
Click here for British Handicap 2016 Results
Evie Fleming, winner Div 1 Singles with Juliette Lambert Chairman of Oratory tennis club
Div 1 Singles Winner Evie Fleming
Div 2 Doubles winners Audrey Perie & Jeannette Guardia
Linda Sheraton-Davis, Georgie Willis, Liz Leach, Lorrayne Gracie before the Div 1 Doubles final
Rebecca Kashti, Sarah Whittaker, Sarah Brownlee and Georgie Willis before the dinner
Sheilagh Owens, Clare Bucknell and Katie Leppard supporting at Hardwick
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Div 2 Singles winner, a former LRTA bursary girl, receives her prizes from Juliette Lambert
Georgiana Seigneur Div 1 Singles runner up
Charlotte Barker, Amanda Murphy, Jeannette Guardia, Audrey Perie before the Div 2 Doubles final
Pam Tomalin, Gabrielle Smart and the Div 2 Singles winner before the dinner
Dinner in the Oratory Black Room
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Lorrayne Gracie & Liz Leach winners of the Div 1 Doubles
Liz Leach and Georgiana Seigneur Div 1 semi-finalists
The players before the Div 2 Final
Lucy Hutchinson and Katy Weston tournament organisers
Bernadette Bidouze speaking on behalf of the French contestants
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Through glorious autumn colours and sunshine, the players in the first groups on court in the 2016 tournament made their way through the lanes to Hardwick (for Division 1) and The Oratory (for Division II) on Friday, 11th November. Those arriving the next day faced rain and mist - but all had warm welcomes awaiting them!
That said, the temperature was cold, cold, cold inside Hardwick, with a lot of huddling in front of the fire; luckily there were useful dark red velour throws to keep legs warm. On court, one player kept on her royal blue beanie hat the whole time (plus goggles!), and another had to put her long-sleeved top back on during her match, which was, she said, the first time ever she got colder during a game rather than warmer…
There were 32 players, including two players from France, with Bernie (who is currently walking with a crutch - we hope she’ll be back on court ‘armed’ with a new knee before 2017 is too old) as their driver, manager and coach; there was also an Australian accent to be heard! The age range was about 60 years: there’s no age cap, even if Div II has a handicap one!
Spoiler alert: spectators were treated three times to triumphant renderings of La Marseillaise: the words of which celebrate the abundant spilling of enemy blood. This certainly livened things up as the French players progressed.
Division II Singles
In the Friday afternoon group Di Wilson was soon seeing the ball well and hitting it cleanly. She won all her matches and the group. Diane Binnie had a nip and tuck match against Sarah McGivern, which Diane won 6/4 to go through as runner up.
Saturday morning’s rain clearly didn’t bother Annabel Wyatt, who was top of her group, winning all three of her matches. Jeannette Guardia carried the flag for the French, going through as runner up, despite losing a close match (5/6) to (the almost French) Gabrielle Smart.
The next group saw many games go to 40/40, with the last match between Elaine Wright and Lucy Davies going to 5/5, 40/40, only for Elaine’s serve to bounce in a cruel, irregular way so that she won the match and the group. Lucy came third, a whisker behind Carolyn Armstrong-Smith.
The last group, (which had the youngest average age!) was won by the youngest player, Hannah Lucey, who won all her matches, with Katy Doy, who improved with every game, the runner up.
Katy continued to improve, beating Elaine in the first quarter final 6/2. Then Annabel faced Diane. A purple patch of serving took her to 5/3. Diane fought back to 5/5, but at 40/40 Annabel served an ace to take the match.
It was then England v France, with Di taking on Jeannette. There was some fiendish French serving, but a combination of cornerwork and outrageous returns led Di to victory 6/2.
The last quarter final saw Carolyn face a big handicap against Hannah, which proved too much and Hannah won through 6/1.
The first semi was Annabel against the ever-improving Katy. The cunning serves which had been such a part of Annabel’s earlier matches couldn’t carry her through this one and Katy won 6/2. Then Di and Hannah battled it out for the other place in the final. Six games went to 40/40 in this close match, which Hannah won 6/3.
It was good to see two of the younger players in the final as Katy faced Hannah, and they produced a good match, with Hannah playing into the corners and slipping the ball down the side wall, and Katy targeting the dedans to good effect. It was neck and neck to 3/3, then a couple of games went to 40/40, Hannah lost both, but not her composure, and she came back from 3/5 down to win a splendid final 6/5.
Division II Doubles
In the first match the French combo of Audrey Perie and Jeannette beat Lucy Davies and Barbara Bush, celebrating by singing a burst of La Marseillaise! There was then a close battle between the Seacourt pairing of Rosie Law and Di Wilson against Gabrielle and Hannah, which the latter won, getting the last point at 5/5, 40/40. Next it was Prested (Annabel & Elaine) against Charlotte Barker & Amanda Murphy (she of the Australian accent!). Although the former fought back from 1/5 down, the latter pair managed to hold it together and won 6/4.
The next doubles, the first semi-final, was first thing on Sunday morning - and what a match!! It was the French against Katy (sporting a Remembrance Day poppy) and Di. The French were 4/2 up but then found themselves 4/5 down, then Di hit the grille to get to 40/40 and Katy played it cool at chase worse than 2 to manage chase off. But soon it was 5/5, the French held their nerve, won the next game and the match and produced another burst of La Marseillaise! The second semi was Gabrielle & Hannah against Charlotte & Amanda. There were some excellent rests and great shots, with the latter winning 6/4.
The final was the French v the Commonwealth, with Audrey and Jeannette playing Charlotte and Amanda. All played good tennis: it was a match of placing rather than power, good rests and some 40/40s, with the French winning 6/3 and treating the dedans to all the verses of La Marseillaise!! Luckily the rather bloody sentiments of the French national anthem were not carried out on the losing pair, who were allowed to live to fight again another day.
Division 1 Singles
On the Friday afternoon a group of three started the ball rolling at Hardwick. We saw some excellent tennis from Candida Nicholls, on her home court, Clare Bucknell from Oxford, and Lorrayne Gracie, from Radley, a relative newcomer to the game and the LRTA but someone who is clearly very talented and we look forward to seeing much more of her. Each won one game and lost one, but Candida emerged as the winner having lost the fewest games, with Lorrayne as runner up.
In the second group on Saturday morning Georgie Willis was defending her 2016 title and won both her games, so went through as group winner to the knock-out stages. Georgiana Seigneur was making a very welcome return to the game and played increasingly well through the tournament, hitting the ball well with well-placed ground strokes. Fiona Fountain, on her home court, fared less well; she played with amazing stamina despite suffering from a bad cold – we recommended a strong whisky mac before playing later in the day in the doubles. It worked!
Next on court, was another formidable group. Katie Leppard, another Hardwick member, used her rail-road serve to great advantage and won the group. Linda Sheraton-Davies only lost one of her matches (to Katie) and played a very steady game and was runner-up. Izzy Candy (one of our bursary girls) played well but, as the lowest handicapped player in the tournament, had to face a punishing handicap difference. She pushed the ball well into the corners but was outfoxed by the winner of the group.
In the final round robin group, Liz Leach won through in grand style hitting the ball with great authority. Evie Fleming came through as runner-up. Sadly Amy Pye (another bursary girl) had to withdraw for family reasons but Sarah Whittaker nobly took her place – the first time she has played singles for some time after hip surgery.
In the four quarter-finals, Evie Fleming played a good solid game against Katie Leppard, who did not play her best and lost 6/2 to Evie. Georgie Willis used all her experience and skill to make short work of relative newcomer (18 months on court) Lorrayne Gracie, winning 6/0. Candida Nicholls put up a good fight against Georgiana Seigneur in a closely-fought match, but a final railroad serve from Georgiana gave her the match 6/3. Liz Leach also had a tough match against Linda Sheraton-Davis, and showed it with some heavy puffing after long rests, but error-free play gave Liz the match 6/3.
In the semis, Georgie met Evie, giving her a big number of points, but romping ahead to 3/0. However, as Evie settled and began to fight back, the handicap difference was too great for Georgie to conquer, so Evie went through 6/4. In the second semi-final, Georgiana met Liz in a very close and exciting game. Liz got 4-2 up, then Georgiana – who got better and better as the match progressed – evened it up to 4 all. Liz pulled out the stops, serving and volleying fiercely to make it 5/4, but then ran out of energy as by then it was 1.30pm and neither had eaten since breakfast. Georgiana evened up again, and then served like a demon in the deciding game to take the match 6/5.
Division 1 Doubles
Eight pairs contested the first round of the doubles. Amongst them, was Chantelle Harding - it was lovely to see Chant back on court again after her knee operation, though alas she and partner Sarah Brownlee lost to Clare Bucknell and Katie Leppard. Clare and Katie met Georgie Willis and Linda Sheraton Davis in a semi final match with good rests and hard hitting by all players, with a 6/2 victory for Georgie and Linda who employed better tactics with Linda defending the galleries. In the other semi-final, newcomer Lorrayne Gracie also did good work in defending the galleries with her partner Liz Leach defending at the back in a superb all-round match against Fiona Fountain and Candida Nicholls, where the score of 6/2 to Lorrayne and Liz did not do justice to all four’s athleticism and accuracy.
Division 1 Singles Final
The well matched pair of Georgiana Seigneur and Evie Fleming fought a great match, with tight chases laid and won. Evie took the first three games, then Georgiana stepped up and took the next three. The following game went to 40/40, Evie then won the next point and the next games to win an excellent final 6/3, and with it the trophy. Last year she won Division II Singles and this year Division 1 – what a great achievement!
Division I Doubles Final
Georgie & Linda faced Lorrayne & Liz in a hard and fast match, with excellent volleying from all. Linda gallantly guarded the galleries and Georgie covered the rest of the court with endless energy but their opponents kept up the pressure; Lorrayne volleyed anything that came within range and Liz’s ground strokes were low and accurate. After a good match, Lorrayne & Liz won the title 6/2.
It was most gratifying to see two of the LRTA bursary girls get through to the knock-out stages, Evie and Hannah, and to win the Division 1 and Division 2 Singles respectively - and the prizes were presented by Jules Lambert, herself a bursary girl and who now runs the bursary scheme for the LRTA. Jules presented the prizes as Chairman of the Oratory Real Tennis club.
Thanks must go to the markers Marc Seigneur at The Oratory, who marked in French as well as English when necessary, to the delight of the French players, and Andy Chinneck, who marked all the Hardwick matches. They both did marathon sessions of marking with great patience and aplomb.
Very many thanks are due to Hardwick and The Oratory for making us so welcome, and The Oratory who put on a delicious dinner (even if we were a little concerned by the notice near the dining area which read ‘Headmasters’ detention 7pm’!).
And none of this happy weekend would have happened without the sterling organisational skills and endless patience of Katy Weston who, as ever, did a marvellous job running it all, including providing the lunches etc and arranging accommodation where necessary. She was more than ably supported by Lucy Hutchinson who provided enormous help and advice in setting up and running the tournament. A real team effort! And finally thanks must also go to Tim Tomalin, the LRTA’s newest Social Member, who made sure the Hardwick court and dedans were set up for the Tournament.
Reporting by Katy Weston, Lucy Hutchinson and Linda Sheraton-Davis (Ed: Linda Fairbrother)
That said, the temperature was cold, cold, cold inside Hardwick, with a lot of huddling in front of the fire; luckily there were useful dark red velour throws to keep legs warm. On court, one player kept on her royal blue beanie hat the whole time (plus goggles!), and another had to put her long-sleeved top back on during her match, which was, she said, the first time ever she got colder during a game rather than warmer…
There were 32 players, including two players from France, with Bernie (who is currently walking with a crutch - we hope she’ll be back on court ‘armed’ with a new knee before 2017 is too old) as their driver, manager and coach; there was also an Australian accent to be heard! The age range was about 60 years: there’s no age cap, even if Div II has a handicap one!
Spoiler alert: spectators were treated three times to triumphant renderings of La Marseillaise: the words of which celebrate the abundant spilling of enemy blood. This certainly livened things up as the French players progressed.
Division II Singles
In the Friday afternoon group Di Wilson was soon seeing the ball well and hitting it cleanly. She won all her matches and the group. Diane Binnie had a nip and tuck match against Sarah McGivern, which Diane won 6/4 to go through as runner up.
Saturday morning’s rain clearly didn’t bother Annabel Wyatt, who was top of her group, winning all three of her matches. Jeannette Guardia carried the flag for the French, going through as runner up, despite losing a close match (5/6) to (the almost French) Gabrielle Smart.
The next group saw many games go to 40/40, with the last match between Elaine Wright and Lucy Davies going to 5/5, 40/40, only for Elaine’s serve to bounce in a cruel, irregular way so that she won the match and the group. Lucy came third, a whisker behind Carolyn Armstrong-Smith.
The last group, (which had the youngest average age!) was won by the youngest player, Hannah Lucey, who won all her matches, with Katy Doy, who improved with every game, the runner up.
Katy continued to improve, beating Elaine in the first quarter final 6/2. Then Annabel faced Diane. A purple patch of serving took her to 5/3. Diane fought back to 5/5, but at 40/40 Annabel served an ace to take the match.
It was then England v France, with Di taking on Jeannette. There was some fiendish French serving, but a combination of cornerwork and outrageous returns led Di to victory 6/2.
The last quarter final saw Carolyn face a big handicap against Hannah, which proved too much and Hannah won through 6/1.
The first semi was Annabel against the ever-improving Katy. The cunning serves which had been such a part of Annabel’s earlier matches couldn’t carry her through this one and Katy won 6/2. Then Di and Hannah battled it out for the other place in the final. Six games went to 40/40 in this close match, which Hannah won 6/3.
It was good to see two of the younger players in the final as Katy faced Hannah, and they produced a good match, with Hannah playing into the corners and slipping the ball down the side wall, and Katy targeting the dedans to good effect. It was neck and neck to 3/3, then a couple of games went to 40/40, Hannah lost both, but not her composure, and she came back from 3/5 down to win a splendid final 6/5.
Division II Doubles
In the first match the French combo of Audrey Perie and Jeannette beat Lucy Davies and Barbara Bush, celebrating by singing a burst of La Marseillaise! There was then a close battle between the Seacourt pairing of Rosie Law and Di Wilson against Gabrielle and Hannah, which the latter won, getting the last point at 5/5, 40/40. Next it was Prested (Annabel & Elaine) against Charlotte Barker & Amanda Murphy (she of the Australian accent!). Although the former fought back from 1/5 down, the latter pair managed to hold it together and won 6/4.
The next doubles, the first semi-final, was first thing on Sunday morning - and what a match!! It was the French against Katy (sporting a Remembrance Day poppy) and Di. The French were 4/2 up but then found themselves 4/5 down, then Di hit the grille to get to 40/40 and Katy played it cool at chase worse than 2 to manage chase off. But soon it was 5/5, the French held their nerve, won the next game and the match and produced another burst of La Marseillaise! The second semi was Gabrielle & Hannah against Charlotte & Amanda. There were some excellent rests and great shots, with the latter winning 6/4.
The final was the French v the Commonwealth, with Audrey and Jeannette playing Charlotte and Amanda. All played good tennis: it was a match of placing rather than power, good rests and some 40/40s, with the French winning 6/3 and treating the dedans to all the verses of La Marseillaise!! Luckily the rather bloody sentiments of the French national anthem were not carried out on the losing pair, who were allowed to live to fight again another day.
Division 1 Singles
On the Friday afternoon a group of three started the ball rolling at Hardwick. We saw some excellent tennis from Candida Nicholls, on her home court, Clare Bucknell from Oxford, and Lorrayne Gracie, from Radley, a relative newcomer to the game and the LRTA but someone who is clearly very talented and we look forward to seeing much more of her. Each won one game and lost one, but Candida emerged as the winner having lost the fewest games, with Lorrayne as runner up.
In the second group on Saturday morning Georgie Willis was defending her 2016 title and won both her games, so went through as group winner to the knock-out stages. Georgiana Seigneur was making a very welcome return to the game and played increasingly well through the tournament, hitting the ball well with well-placed ground strokes. Fiona Fountain, on her home court, fared less well; she played with amazing stamina despite suffering from a bad cold – we recommended a strong whisky mac before playing later in the day in the doubles. It worked!
Next on court, was another formidable group. Katie Leppard, another Hardwick member, used her rail-road serve to great advantage and won the group. Linda Sheraton-Davies only lost one of her matches (to Katie) and played a very steady game and was runner-up. Izzy Candy (one of our bursary girls) played well but, as the lowest handicapped player in the tournament, had to face a punishing handicap difference. She pushed the ball well into the corners but was outfoxed by the winner of the group.
In the final round robin group, Liz Leach won through in grand style hitting the ball with great authority. Evie Fleming came through as runner-up. Sadly Amy Pye (another bursary girl) had to withdraw for family reasons but Sarah Whittaker nobly took her place – the first time she has played singles for some time after hip surgery.
In the four quarter-finals, Evie Fleming played a good solid game against Katie Leppard, who did not play her best and lost 6/2 to Evie. Georgie Willis used all her experience and skill to make short work of relative newcomer (18 months on court) Lorrayne Gracie, winning 6/0. Candida Nicholls put up a good fight against Georgiana Seigneur in a closely-fought match, but a final railroad serve from Georgiana gave her the match 6/3. Liz Leach also had a tough match against Linda Sheraton-Davis, and showed it with some heavy puffing after long rests, but error-free play gave Liz the match 6/3.
In the semis, Georgie met Evie, giving her a big number of points, but romping ahead to 3/0. However, as Evie settled and began to fight back, the handicap difference was too great for Georgie to conquer, so Evie went through 6/4. In the second semi-final, Georgiana met Liz in a very close and exciting game. Liz got 4-2 up, then Georgiana – who got better and better as the match progressed – evened it up to 4 all. Liz pulled out the stops, serving and volleying fiercely to make it 5/4, but then ran out of energy as by then it was 1.30pm and neither had eaten since breakfast. Georgiana evened up again, and then served like a demon in the deciding game to take the match 6/5.
Division 1 Doubles
Eight pairs contested the first round of the doubles. Amongst them, was Chantelle Harding - it was lovely to see Chant back on court again after her knee operation, though alas she and partner Sarah Brownlee lost to Clare Bucknell and Katie Leppard. Clare and Katie met Georgie Willis and Linda Sheraton Davis in a semi final match with good rests and hard hitting by all players, with a 6/2 victory for Georgie and Linda who employed better tactics with Linda defending the galleries. In the other semi-final, newcomer Lorrayne Gracie also did good work in defending the galleries with her partner Liz Leach defending at the back in a superb all-round match against Fiona Fountain and Candida Nicholls, where the score of 6/2 to Lorrayne and Liz did not do justice to all four’s athleticism and accuracy.
Division 1 Singles Final
The well matched pair of Georgiana Seigneur and Evie Fleming fought a great match, with tight chases laid and won. Evie took the first three games, then Georgiana stepped up and took the next three. The following game went to 40/40, Evie then won the next point and the next games to win an excellent final 6/3, and with it the trophy. Last year she won Division II Singles and this year Division 1 – what a great achievement!
Division I Doubles Final
Georgie & Linda faced Lorrayne & Liz in a hard and fast match, with excellent volleying from all. Linda gallantly guarded the galleries and Georgie covered the rest of the court with endless energy but their opponents kept up the pressure; Lorrayne volleyed anything that came within range and Liz’s ground strokes were low and accurate. After a good match, Lorrayne & Liz won the title 6/2.
It was most gratifying to see two of the LRTA bursary girls get through to the knock-out stages, Evie and Hannah, and to win the Division 1 and Division 2 Singles respectively - and the prizes were presented by Jules Lambert, herself a bursary girl and who now runs the bursary scheme for the LRTA. Jules presented the prizes as Chairman of the Oratory Real Tennis club.
Thanks must go to the markers Marc Seigneur at The Oratory, who marked in French as well as English when necessary, to the delight of the French players, and Andy Chinneck, who marked all the Hardwick matches. They both did marathon sessions of marking with great patience and aplomb.
Very many thanks are due to Hardwick and The Oratory for making us so welcome, and The Oratory who put on a delicious dinner (even if we were a little concerned by the notice near the dining area which read ‘Headmasters’ detention 7pm’!).
And none of this happy weekend would have happened without the sterling organisational skills and endless patience of Katy Weston who, as ever, did a marvellous job running it all, including providing the lunches etc and arranging accommodation where necessary. She was more than ably supported by Lucy Hutchinson who provided enormous help and advice in setting up and running the tournament. A real team effort! And finally thanks must also go to Tim Tomalin, the LRTA’s newest Social Member, who made sure the Hardwick court and dedans were set up for the Tournament.
Reporting by Katy Weston, Lucy Hutchinson and Linda Sheraton-Davis (Ed: Linda Fairbrother)