StrinesTennis Club
Strines
New Mixed season starts Wednesday
New format: One division, 8 teams, 4 players per team (2 men, 2 women). Check here for fixtures and team details.
New season looms
All hands required at the club, 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Pat Downs to organise work parties putting down new lines, rolling courts, etc. Please make it if you can.
Tameside Tennis League reorganisation
The League Secretary has informed us that Divisions 1 and 2 have now been combined. This is due to the withdrawal of teams from Saddleworth and Romiley, while Priory and New Mills will now enter one team each. As usual, fixtures can be found in the team details section, or by clicking here. Pending the next league meeting, only fixtures for the first half of the season have been organised. Final fixtures and details of this season's cup and shield matches will be published following the meeting - watch this space!
Mixed Team 'end of season report'
A disappointing end to our first season back in division 1. Detailed results can be found in the team details section.
| Played | 12 |
|---|---|
| Won | 1 |
| Walk over | 2 |
| Drawn | 1 |
| Lost | 8 |
| POINTS | 7 |
This leaves us in the bottom third of the table - we wait to see if this is good enough to avoid relegation.
Overall it was a season of nearlys, with too many sets lost on tie-breaks. For the first half of the season, in a string of away fixtures, the men's doubles were fiercely contested with the experience of the Strines men winning the majority of sets (perm any two from Pat Downs, Pete Murray, Dave Hampson, Nigel Mellor and Paul Craven).
In the mixed doubles, Dave Hampson was outstanding throughout the season and combined well with Sam Downs. The 'flashy' Paul Craven played brilliantly at times but frequently serving at his partner's head proved to be his downfall, and he was replaced by Big Roger Holmes towards the end of the season.
The dashing Nigel Mellor suffered a total loss of form throughout the season but did surprise the team by actually arriving early for the match at home to Priory.
Player of the season: Dave Hampson, for gentlemanly conduct both on and off court.
A vote of thanks to everyone who has played and supported the club this season - especially The Royal Oak, Strines, for their excellent post-match catering.
Mixed Team fixture v Rosehill abandoned (rain)
This evening's fixture was abandoned at one set all due to the traditional Strines Monsoon. Points shared.
Mixed Team fixture v Saddleworth cancelled
Unfortunately Saddleworth have been forced to concede today's match in Tameside Division 1, as they are unable to raise a team. Strines will take 2 points for the 'walk over'.
Tameside Cup Draw
Strines have been given a 'bye' in the first round. The second round match, to be played on Wednesday 28th June, will be against the winners of Romiley and Priory. Team details and results here.
Mixed Team fixture v Romiley cancelled
Unfortunately Romiley have been forced to concede this Wednesday's match in Tameside Division 1, as they are unable to raise a team. Strines will take 2 points for the 'walk over'.
Team training session.
All players are required to attend (if at all humanly possible) a full team training session this Tuesday (2nd May) at 6 p.m..
Tameside League meeting.
Attended by Jane Dickson. The Strines mixed team, having won Division Two last season, have been promoted and so return to Division One for the 2000 season. This season's fixtures, team details and results (as soon as we've got some!) can be found here. We have no fixture on the first Wednesday evening (3rd May) and so our first match will be away at Saddleworth on May 10th - starting at 6.30 pm.
Mixed team Cup winners.
After two postponements, over two months, the 'big day' finally arrived with Jane up at the crack of dawn, sweeping away the puddles from No. 1 Court ready for the 2pm start.. Strines got off to a fine start with Pete Murray winning the men's singles 6-1 6-1. Things on the other courts weren't going too well, however, with Sam Downs losing the first set 6-4 in the Ladies' singles, while Jane Dickson and Nigel Mellor lost their first set on a tie-break. We need not have worried...Sam fought back to win the next two sets as Pat Downs and Roger Holmes made short work of the Glossop C men's pair 6-1 6-1. This meant an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the match score just as Jane and Nigel won their second set to pull back level. So the mixed team finish the season unbeaten and as worthy league and cup double winners. Congratulations and thanks to all who have played in both competitions this year. The final league table and the full season's results can be viewed in the Team Details section.
Final League tables (1999)
'Strines 1' finished 10th in Division 4A of the North East Cheshire League, 'Strines 2' finished 9th in Division 6B of the North East Cheshire League, and the Strines mixed team finished 1st in Division 2 of the Tameside League.
Final tables can be viewed in the Team Details section.
Men's singles championship result
Spectators were shocked to see Pat Downs fail to qualify for the final in this afternoon's competition for the first time in several decades. The first post-war Downsless final saw a tense match in which David Hampson emerged as the new champion following a close victory over Peter Murray.
Tameside Shield Final - POSTPONED
At the request of Glossop, the final of this year's Shield competition has been postponed until Sunday 12th September. Strines will play Glossop 'C' at home. Team captain Jane Dickson recommends plenty of lounging in the sun, drinking G&Ts, and occassional backhand practices! All results and latest fixture information is available in the Team Details section.
Mixed Team win Division 2.
The Strines mixed team extended this season's 100% unbeaten record this evening with a 14-1 victory over Glossop 'C' (Shield final opponents). This takes the Strines team 4 points clear at the top of the league with only one round of matches remaining. Strines' last match should be the yet to be re-arranged fixture away to nearest rivals Priory B. All results and latest fixture information is available in the Team Details section.
Mixed Team reach Shield final.
The mixed team completed a cup and league home double against Prioy B this evening and so progress to the Tameside League Shield Final. Jane Dickson and Nigel Mellor got the home team off to a flying start with a 6-4 6-0 win in the mixed doubles. Things got a wee bit tense when Pat Downs and Roger Holmes lost the mens' doubles on a second set tie-breaker (4-6 5-6) only for Pete Murray to re-establish the lead with a mens' singles victory, 6-0 6-2, over league secretary Dave Martin. The tie was then secured in a final set thriller as Sam Downs won the ladies' singles 6-4 5-6 6-3, leaving the ladies doubles unecessary. The final will be played at Strines, against Glossop C, on Sunday 1st August - all welcome! All results and latest fixture information is available in the Team Details section.
Mixed Team reach Shield semi-final.
The Strines mixed team won yesterday evening's first round match, against Saddleworth, by a margin of 4 matches to love. They will now play Priory B in the semi-final. The match was original arranged for next Wednesday but has had to be postponed owing to a fixture clash. The new date is for Wednesday 7th July. All results and latest fixture information is available in the Team Details section.
Match Postponed.
Yesterday evening's mixed team fixture v Priory B was postponed, at very late notice, due to the poor weather conditions. As yet, no new date has been arranged but, as usual, all fixture information will available in the Team Details section as soon as it is known.
Downs and Downs on the up.
Father and daughter team, Pat and Sam Downs, kept up their unbeaten mixed doubles record in this evening's win against New Mills 'B'. The mixed team's 12-3 victory completes a double for the season. All results are available in the Team Details section.
Mixed team fixture v New Mills 'B'...24 hour postponement.
The above fixture is to be rearranged following a request from New Mills. The request was made due to the clash with the European Cup final (Several thousand Man Utd fans were apparently torn between a trip to Barcelona or a trip to Strines!). Jane has rescheduled the match for Thursday 27th May. Up to date details are available in the Team Details section.
Holmes & Watson detect weaknesses at Glossop 'C'.
Terry & Roger got the mixed team off to a good start in today's away fixture, winning three sets and conceding one. The team went on to win by 8 sets to 4. Full details available, as usual in the Team Details section.
Mixed Team match v Glossop 'D' postponed.
This Wednesday's home fixture against Glossop 'D' has been postponed due to an error in the league's published fixture list. The match has been re-arranged for Wednesday 9th June. The revised fixture list can be found here.
1999 Season begins.
This season's fixtures and results, for all teams, will be available online and updated weekly. They can be found in the Team Details section, or by clicking here: 'Strines 1', 'Strines 2' or mixed team.
Tameside League meeting.
Attended by Jane Dickson. The Strines mixed team, having finished at the bottom of Division One, have been relegated and so return to Division Two for the 1999 season.
Final League tables (1998)
'Strines 1' finished 8th in Division 4A of the North East Cheshire League, 'Strines 2' finished 4th in Division 7 of the North East Cheshire League, and the Strines mixed team finished 8th (bottom!) in Division 1 of the Tameside League.
Final tables can be viewed in the Team Details section.
Tameside League Cup.
Following the abandonment of our first round match v. Glossop B, because of bad light, and failure to finish/replay the fixture (due to a combination of poor weather, unavailablity of players, holidays, etc.), the Strines team has forfeited the tie.
Annual 'American' Doubles Tournament and BBQ.
14 players entered this year, each player played six sets. The final was played between Pat Downs and Nigel Mellor, against Pete Murray and Jan. Pat and Nigel emerged as winners and will jointly hold the trophy for the next 12 months. Pat Downs has now shared the title for the past 3 seasons.