Forres youngsters shine as Galbraith Highland Tennis League season gets under way with 121 teams from 13 Moray and Highland clubs battling it out for honours
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The end of April saw the return of the Galbraith-sponsored Highland tennis league for the summer season.
Thirteen clubs, from Tain in the north to Newtonmore in the south have generated a cumulative total of 121 teams. The teams range from Mini (8s, 9s & 10s), through Junior (12s, 14s & 16s) to the Senior events (Men, Mixed and Women).
In the mixed leagues, having drawn with Elgin B in their first outing, Rothes came close to snatching victory at Inverness.
The 6-2 scoreline suggests otherwise but a wee delve into the details shows that the Speysiders could have won the three points.
Michelle Fraser and Bradley Scott lost the first set of the 1v1 tie on a tie-breaker. Had they managed to snatch that one, the second set might also have gone their way. Instead, the heads went down as they raced to a 6-1 loss.
The 2v1 rubber saw Rothes win comfortably 6-2, 6-4 ensuring the team would not be whitewashed.
Meanwhile the second pair, Maureen Turner and Jack McConnachie, having been beaten 6-3, 6-4 in their first contest received a further setback when they lost the 1v2 match.
However, they intriguingly did better against the top pair than they managed first time round. What a turnaround in the second set as the Rothesians finally got a bit used to the surface which keeps the ball low.
The pair fought heroically and actually held two set points but it was not to be, the homesters eventually took it 12-10.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Elgin A got off to a flying start at home to Inverness and for their next match at Nairn, the 5-4 win was the result of a very close and entertaining match.
Apart from the loss of the 1v1 rubber, the win against the Highland capital team was a straightforward affair.
Elgin B followed up their draw at Rothes with a draw against Rothiemurchus.
Up first were the 1v1 and 2v2 rubbers. Both went all the way to a match tie-break. First pair Jenny Milne and Dave McPherson lost out 6-10 while Teresa Tait and Tim Dickinson won by the same four-point margin.
The second round was an easy run-out for Milne and McPherson as they quickly tied it up recording a 6-1, 6-1 scoreline.
The lengthy first set matches took its toll on the 2v1 contest with only the first set, won by the Elgin pair, completed before the time limit was reached.
In the Men’s League First Division, Elgin B got their schedule off to winning ways with an 8-1 home trouncing of Inverness.
The 1v1 rubber with Derek Grant and Mitchell McGrath was the exception to the easy victories. It went to a championship tie-break, winning that very closely 10-8.
The Elgin A fixture at Kingussie was cancelled because of the rain.
Elgin Ladies A comprehensively defeated Grantown A (8-0) to give them a flying start in the race for the title.
As for the youngsters, the 8-and-under competition got under way on Saturday with Forres playing host to teams from Lossiemouth and Rothes. The Forresians won both encounters, defeating Lossie 16-0 and Rothes 13-3. A very good start for the young Forres team.
Tomorrow, Gordonstoun will play host to five other Moray schools in a flurry of tennis activity organised by Moray Tennis Forum.
Pupils from Elgin High, Forres Academy, Gordonstoun, Lossie High, Milne's High and Speyside High will be taking part.
Invitations went out to S1-S3 youngsters and around 80 will be attending the event, which is aimed at new and relatively inexperienced players with the hope that at least some of the children will end up joining a club in the area.
Highlands District Coach Derek Brown, who is level 5 LTA (Lawn tennis Association) registered and has newly moved into Moray, will be running the show.
Results
Mixed Division 1
Elgin A 5 Inverness A 2
Inverness A 6 Rothes A 2
Rothes A 5 Elgin B 5
Division 2
Forres 4 Elgin C 4
Inverness B 8 Rothes B 0
Elgin C 6 Inverness B 2
Men
Division 1
Elgin B 8 Inverness A 1
Division 2
Inverness B 3 Rothes B 6
Women
Division 1
Grantown 0 Elgin A 8
Division 2
Elgin B 5 Inverness B 1
Rothes 7 R&A B 3
Mini Red Ball: 8 and Under
Forres 16 Lossiemouth 0
Forres 13 Rothes 3
