Durham University Fives Courts
Sunday, 2nd February 2025
Julie McIntyre reports: Good on-court conditions greeted players from Sedbergh, Manchester and the City of Durham club this year, and the kettle was on as we got underway.
A few dropouts, a burst pipe in the toilet block and a lock failure on the day did not stop us though, as we overcame hurdles to enjoy a splendid day of play.
We had a large age (and size) range so we segregated age groups into 18, 16 and 13s again. We even had our first U13 girls singles played by two novice players, Ellie and Florence from City of Durham, won, by a close margin by Ellie, the older of the two.
It was an all-Durham Under 13 Singles competition which was filled with keen year 8s and a novice year 7, Ranveer, who played outstandingly. Lucas’ natural talent won through, but there were some very impressive rallies amongst the youngsters who are keen to enter the National Under 13s in London soon.
At the other end of the scale were Ollie, Phoenix and Val who slugged it out in the Under 18 section. Val being last year’s Under 16 National Champion was very tough competition and this showed as he won this category.
Toby of Sedbergh was the top player in the Under 16s, with Eleonora of Durham giving him a competitive game to come 2nd.
Toby played with Val in the Under 18 Doubles against the power of Sedbergh 1, and won through; however the gold medal went to the school pairing, as the rules prohibit scratch pairs from winning overall. Good experience for all concerned.
That left Hector and Fred in Under 16 gold medal position after playing the older boys.
Lucas and James were in good form in the Under 13 Doubles; however Sam and Ranveer stepped up to give them a challenging game, in a difficult group for the new girls!
Many thanks go to Tom Wakelam for doing the tricky draw, to Patrin Maddison for managing the scoring and running things, to Rupert Follett from Sedbergh for his support and advice, and to Tony and Geoff for supporting everything!
Singles Results
U18 Singles: 1st V Fikhter (Manchester Y Club) 60 pts; 2nd O Griffin (Sedbergh) 31 pts; 3rd P Ogilvie-Robertson (Sedbergh) 9pts
U16 Singles: 1st T Follett (Sedbergh) 33pts; 2nd E Vallascas (City of Durham) 31 pts; 3rd F Leslie (Sedbergh) 13pts; 4th H Maclean (Sedbergh) 9 pts
U13 Singles: 1st L Manzi (City of Durham) 45 pts; 2nd J Tingle (City of Durham) 35 pts; 3rd S Stokes (City of Durham) 29 pts; 4th R Singh Jandoo (City of Durham) 19 pts
U13 Girls: E Ranson (City of Durham) bt F Byng (City of Durham) 15-11
Doubles Results
Open Doubles: 1st Fikhter & Follett (Manchester/Sedbergh); 2nd Griffin & Ogilvie-Robertson (Sedbergh); 3rd F Leslie & Maclean (Sedbergh)
U13 Doubles: 1st Manzi & Tingle (City of Durham); 2nd Singh Jandoo & Stokes (City of Durham); 3rd Byng & Ranson (City of Durham)
Medallists with the Open Singles Champion from Manchester centre stage (dark top)
City of Durham medallists
Sedbergh’s U18 gold medallists with newly presented School Colours!
Two-time U13 Champion from Durham
Double medallists – gold and silver – for the City of Durham Club
U13 Singles finalists from the City of Durham Club