Rutherglen Reformer

Tennis success for club

Rutherglen hails top teams

- Murray Spooner

Four teams win titles and a fifth could follow

Juniors at Rutherglen Lawn Tennis Club certainly made a racquet this season as they netted four league championsh­ips between them.

And the under-12 second team, who sit on top of their league by two points, look likely to become the fifth squad to pick up a prize as division three champions in the West of Scotland.

They are following hot on the heels of their first-team counterpar­ts at the same age level who took the second division title to make it backto-back promotions. They worked their way from the bottom division to the top in just two years.

During the campaign, the team of Connor Williams, Ewan Morris, Ryan Prentice and Fearghus MacGregor lost just three out of 31 matches, much to the delight of team captain Lynda Williams.

The captains of the second team, Jacob Jacob and Esther Dingwall, were equally as delighted with the squad.

Gordon Dingwall, Cameron Anderson, Jack Morris, Cameron Finlayson, Leo Harkin and Mark McCafferty have lost just five of their 25 matches throughout the season.

But they face an anxious wait while other teams submit their results this week to finally be confirmed as champions. And if they accomplish it, they will join the under 12s first team as well as the under eight, under 14s and under 18s teams in lifting their titles.

Jonny Willcox, Rutherglen’s award-winning coach, said: “It’s a great achievemen­t to go through the divisions like that.

“The teams have all been doing so well and it’s great to see from a club perspectiv­e.

“We’ve also had players picking up individual tournament­s. Connor Williams just won an under 12 competitio­n and got to the semi-finals of an under 14 competitio­n and he’s only 11.

“The players all really buy into the coaching programme we have here and they are here every week, competing every time and really keen to play and better themselves.

“From another point of view, it makes my job easier.”

Jonny also paid tribute to the tennis parents who act as team captains: “That’s a big task. It’s fantastic that they get involved.”

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 ??  ?? Ace First team, from top to bottom, Connor Williams, Ewan Morris, Ryan Prentice and Fearghus MacGregor
Ace First team, from top to bottom, Connor Williams, Ewan Morris, Ryan Prentice and Fearghus MacGregor

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