Tennis

Tennis Report 2005-6

Milbourne Lodge has had another very good year this season with teams represented at U13 Girls and Boys, U12, U11, U10 and U9 - playing matches against other schools in the Surrey Schools Leagues and the Surrey Festivals.

The Cranleigh Festival is supported by all the major prep schools from Surrey and Sussex and this year there were entries from 24 other schools. The School was represented by Damian Gryelko and James Skinner. The boys played extremely well to qualify as winners of their group of 6 other schools to play into the quarter final stage where they lost to the eventual winners. Sarah Sharpe and Saskia Wills represented the School for the girls also won their group without losing a match to then go onto lose the semi finals to Guildford High the girls winners. The U13 boys (James Skinner/Cameron Lemon) and U13 girls (Sarah and Saskia) also competed in the Surrey Schools Festival where they played very competitive tennis against strong opposition.

The U12 boys (Damian Gryzelko, Yosef Ishmail, Alex Goldie, Duncan Huleatt-James, Jamie Abbott, Lorcan Rowley) played in the Surrey Schools League and beat Reigate Grammar, Lanesborough, Cranmore only to lose to a very strong side from St Andrews, Woking. They perserved well and played well against some difficult opposition. The U12 team for the Surrey Schools Festival was Damian Gryzelko and Alex Goldie, who won 3 and lost 2 of their matches. A good result considering the high standard of the teams. All of the players in this age group have played since the U10 team and have improved in match awareness, competitiveness and technique.

The U11A team consisting of Oscar Bole, William Tilston, Henry Court, and Joo-Chan Kwon had an excellent season losing only to Esher Church School, who were lucky enough to have a couple of county players amongst their team. The boys played well to come runners up in their group. The depth in the U11 age group at Milbourne is very strong which should bode well for the U12s and U13s next year. The U11 Festival players - Oscar Bole and William Tilston, played extremely well to come runners up in their group and go forward to the semi finals where they lost to an in form Cranmore team. Very well done.

The U10 and U9 boys played for the first time in the Surrey Schools Festival, there being no leagues to play in this year. The U10s (Thomas Stocker/Jackson Sandilands) struggled against the strong opposition but learnt a great deal in match practice. The U9s (Nick Winder/Thomas van der Stichele did amazingly well and were just pipped at the post being tied on matches but one game short not to go through to the semi finals. They conducted themselves extremely well during their very long matches.

This year, we were allocated tickets to the Stella Artois Championships at Queens Club. Madame Barker, Mr Watson and myself took 30 pupils up to watch the tennis. It was a searingly hot day again and we were lucky enough the watch the Tim Henman/Andrew Agassi match. The boys had a great time meeting the players on the practice courts returning with several autographs on tennis balls and much else! It was an amazing opportunity to be very close to the court watching some of the best players in the world play. It was great fun and I hope we have the same opportunity next year.

The tennis season has been successful, we have had many more teams playing, giving as many children as possible the opportunity to experience playing tennis matches for the school. Sadly the U13 league has been changed to a 3 doubles format, which means sometimes it is difficult to transport the boys to the fixture. We will need help next year!! The U12 and U11 team have performed exceptionally well and the U10s and U9s look promising for the future.

Penny Batchelor