Ladies’ vets maintain their impressive start Tennis

Herne Bay Tennis Club’s ladies’ vets 1st team continued their excellent start in Kent Winter League Division 1B with successive 4-0 wins. Even though captain Nicola Mileham missed the home game against Bearsted 2nds, Bay dropped just one set with the first pair of Anne Gibbs/ Sue Toye winning 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-3. Second pair Caroline Packer/sarah Pout beat the Bearsted 2nd pair 6-3, 6-4, and then took the first set 6-1 against the opposition top seeds only to be pegged back 7-5 in the second. They then came back strongly to win the deciding 10-point tie-break 10-6. Mileham was back to captain the team at home to Bromley LTC 2nds and she and Gibbs won both their rubbers dropping just seven games. Bay second pairing Toye/debbie Holden won both their rubbers, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-4. The team have now played three of their five matches and have yet to drop a rubber. Also doing well are the ladies’ vets 2nds who defeated table topping Freedom Leisure in Division 2B. The reliable pairing of Denise Parrett/holden won their first rubber 6-2, 6-1. The pairing of Pout/tui Thain struggled against the visitors’ second pair, losing in straight sets. In the reverse rubbers Parrett/ Holden beat Freedom’s second pair in three sets. Pout/thain then produced a battling effort to beat their first pair in three sets eventually taking the championship tiebreak to record a 3-1 win. Bay are second in the league with one match remaining. The ladies’ 3rds had a resounding win against Park Langley 2nds at Beacon Road in Division 8A. Bay’s first pair Pout/helen Lipyeat won in straight sets, while the second pairing of Sheila Wyver/lesley O’connell had a far tougher challenge in winning their rubber in a third set championship tie-break. The reverse rubbers saw both Bay pairs win in straight sets for an overall 4-0 victory. After a disappointing start to their campaign in Division 3B, the ladies’ 2nds finally got into winning ways, against Sydenham 1sts. The first round saw Bay take a 2-0 lead with wins for Holden/ Parrett and Caroline Packer/ Pout. The match was wrapped up with Holden/parrett winning their reverse rubber, although Packer/pout lost the final rubber. The ladies’ 1sts travelled to Bromley LTC 1 and lost by the narrowest of margins in a Division 1B battle. In the opening rubbers, Anne Gibbs/louise Tucker went down in straight sets, but Bay’s second pairing Nicola Mileham/danielle Miles levelled the match. Gibbs/tucker found their feet in the second round and defeated Bromley’s second pair. Mileham/miles, meanwhile, were feeling the effects of their marathon first rubber and after losing the first set bounced back in the second only to be pipped in the third set championship tie-break. With the scores 2-2 in rubbers, 5-5 in sets, the countback revealed a win for Bromley by 35 games to 34. More information can be found on the club’s website at www. hernebaytennis.co.uk or by contacting the club coach, Nicola Mileham on just. tennisnic@yahoo.co.uk.