COUNTY FRIENDLY – NORFOLK V CAMBRIDGESHIRE OVER 65s

by norfolktennis | Sep 17, 2020 | Competitive Tennis, County Squads

As tennis players we have been extremely fortunate to be able to play our sport since May, but organised inter-County competition has not been possible this summer.

Thoughts therefore turned to setting up a friendly match with one of our close neighbours to fill the competitive void.  As the words “friendly” and “Suffolk” have never knowingly appeared in the same sentence, for Norfolk teams, it was the logical thing to ask our friends in Cambridgeshire if they wanted to have an informal match for seniors.  The challenge was gladly accepted and players were readily recruited.  The age range was a little wider than originally envisaged with the younger end hardly out of nappies and able to dress themselves (i.e. early 60s) and the older end hardly able to dress themselves due to advancing stiffness (i.e. over 70).  However, everyone managed to arrive at Easton tennis centre on time, fully dressed, shoe laces tied and raring to go.

The format was similar to senior Inter-county, but with some changes to allow more players, and no singles rubbers.  Each county had four pairs, split into “A” and “B” groups, so everyone had two rubbers each consisting of two sets with a match tiebreak if required at 1 set all.

As befits a friendly the final tally was 4 rubbers apiece, Cambs winning the “A” match 3-1 and Norfolk winning the “B” match by the same score.  The tennis was competitive and played in an excellent spirit throughout.  It was a real shame that the recently imposed “Rule of 6” prevented any socialising, but there was some opportunity for a decent, socially distant, chat between the rubbers.

Our thanks go to captain Rob for all the organisation and especially the staff at Easton Tennis Centre for agreeing to set up and manage everything in a Covid-safe way.  We are hopeful of a return match in Cambridge fairly soon.

Norfolk Team:   “A” Squad  Mike Hutson & Keith Arnold, Robert Ollman (captain) & Richard Palmer.  “B” Squad Mick Musson & Cris Gates, Alan Hudson & Doug Mace.

Norfolk v Cambs

NEIL HENERY IS NORFOLK OVER 45S CHAMPION

by norfolktennis | Sep 17, 2020 | Competitive Tennis, County Squads

The Norfolk Seniors County Closed is currently being held at Easton College Tennis Centre with events being played over the weekend of 12/13th and 19th/20th September.

In the Mens Over 45 category, Neil Henery (Cringleford Tennis Club) managed to claim the title. NLTA briefly spoke to Neil after his success:

• Who did you play throughout the draw at the weekend? We played a fast -four format, and I won my matches against Andy Ives and Roger Clarke, then beat Rob Hall in the final
• Do you play for Norfolk? How often do you play, what kind of matches, events? For the last few years I have played in the Norfolk over 45s team and over 55s. Over the course of a season we usually play 3-4 matches against other counties. There’s usually quite a lot of travelling involved, with the furthest away match I played being in Glasgow
• Do you have county training sessions for your county team? We try to meet up at Easton for some training sessions during the winter and spring. They have sometimes involved a mixed group of players from the over 45s and 55s.
• Are you a member at a club, if so which and do you play league tennis for them? I play regularly for Cringleford Tennis Club. It is a really friendly club and I have play for the B team in City League matches. A group of us also play at Easton over the winter to keep up our doubles play.

• Do you manage to play many tournaments? I always play in our Cringleford Club knock out tournament and have played in the Cromer Senior Tournament for several years – singles and doubles, plus occasionally playing the Norfolk Closed at Lime Tree Road.
• How long have you been playing tennis? What attracted you to the sport? I have been playing tennis since about the age of 8 or 9, but got invited to attend county coaching sessions after my twin brother, Paul, and I took part in a coaching scheme at Thorpe Grammar School when I was about 11 or 12. Tennis was the perfect sport for Paul and I as we were of a similar ability and either played on the quiet-ish road where we lived in Loddon or went up to the local courts. I think my Dad got us into tennis in the first place so we wouldn’t pester him on the golf course – he was a very keen golfer!

Congratulations Neil and thanks for finding a trophy for the purposes of the photo!!