Worthians Tennis – 2011 Match Report
After last year’s stirring performance when the Worthians team did not lose a set, match, or indeed a single point (all because the match was abandoned because of appalling weather!) spirits were high as we gathered for our 2011 challenge against the School.
Our crack team of six Worthian tennis players assembled for an intensive pre-match training session – well, a quick knock-up before the match is perhaps a more realistic interpretation – before moving into our designated pairings comprising Ben Elwes and Philip de Ayala, Greg Pickard and Chris McCourt and Neil Laughton and myself.
The school team consisted of Tom Hicks and Ed Gritten; Will Neville-Smith and Jamie Elson-Drew; Ed Bridge and Seb Ward.
Once we (the Worthians) had applied copious amounts of liniment, adjusted our ankle, knee, thigh, back, elbow and wrist bandages and Philip had been persuaded that it was no longer frowned upon to use a tennis racket made from something other than wood – the matches got underway.
Conditions were far from ideal. As readers who know the tennis courts at Worth will remember, a peculiar microclimate pertains there and it can be one of the most windswept places in Britain. And so it was on match day – not quite as bad as the famous ‘hurricane horror’ of 2009 – but it was very close.
We gave it our absolute best – delivering stupendous serves, vicious volleys, stupefying smashes, gritty groundstrokes – and points, games, and even sets were won. There were a few memorable highlights including Neil Laughton’s ability to seemingly defy gravity (as only one who has driven a flying car can) to launch himself high into the fencing surrounding the court to successfully return an un-returnable smash.
But for all the flair, charm and exuberance of the Worthians, the merciless professionalism of the School team was not to be outdone. For every point won by the Worthians the School won two points, for every game won by the Worthians the School won two; and for every set won by the Worthians, the School won two. Thereby the final result came out with the School on top, beating the Worthians by 6-3.
And 2011 may be the last time that we experience an all-boys line-up on the tennis courts. In 2012, we are very much hoping to find some girls playing alongside us as we welcome more Worthians tennis enthusiasts of the fairer sex into the fold.
If any Worthian out there would like to join us for next year’s tennis challenge – male or female – then please do contact Olivia Henley at worthsociety@worth.org.uk. It could be the dawning of a new age … … …
Crispin Hayhoe (StB’82)