Badenoch and Strathspey tennis teams in the mix for promotion
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Men
Kingussie’s stay in the first division looks to be short-lived against some very tough opposition.
Last week’s results hit the Badenoch side hard.
The team lost 8-0 at Bellfield Park which was no surprise given that the Inverness side is the best in the region by some distance.
However, the scoreline which could prove to be the death knell for Kingussie was from the derby match played out in Elgin.
The B team surprisingly managed to draw against the A’s. There is now a three-point gap between the Badenochers and the Elgin team who sit on 14 points along with Grantown and Inverness. All is not lost quite yet but Kingussie will need to pick up points fast.
Meanwhile, the Grantown men did their survival chances no harm at all by defeating fellow strugglers Inverness A 6-3
Andrew & Colin Mcleod won 6-3, 6-0; won 6-1, 6-1. Alistair McLeod & Walter Cruikshank lost 1-6, 0-6; won 4-6, 6-2, 10-6.
In Division 3 Rothiemurchus A are still in with a shout for promotion.
Their cause was greatly enhanced when they achieved the 8-0 whitewash of the club’s B team – they only dropped three games in the eight sets played.
Elsewhere, controversy surrounded the match at Rothes that could have a bearing on which team goes up to division 2.
Visitors Bellfield B had a top first team member selected to play. A league spokesman said: "What they did was not against the rules but it was very much against the spirit of fairness that surrounds the sport in the Highlands.
"The league committee will be looking into closing this loophole."
Ladies
Kingussie are very much the in-form team at the moment. After the first three matches, which they lost, the season ahead looked very gloomy.
Then they defeated Grantown 5-4 away and have not looked back. Of the other four matches to date the team has won three and drawn one. They cannot catch Elgin at the top of the table but what a turnaround in fortunes.
Kingussie 6 Nairn 4
Kirsty Deans & Anna Green won 6-1, 6-4; won 6-1, 6-0. Marjorie Deans & Helen Peebles lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-10; lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-10
Despite their heavy defeat at Elgin, the Rothiemurchus A’s mid table position, has ensured they will play in the top flight next year
Elgin A 8 R&A A 0
Eve Wilkinson & Caroline Bashford lost 2-6, 2-6; lost 1-6, 2-6. Jo Evans & Fiona Clarke lost 1-6, 0-6; lost 3-6, 0-6.
Grantown are bottom of their league and suffered a heavy 8-0 defeat at Inverness to keep them at the foot. The Strathspey outfit are now four points adrift and with matches against Kingussie and R&A to play it looks to be a very tough challenge.
Elgin B have won Division 2 but the fight for second place continues apace. R&A B are in a dogfight with Rothes in the struggle for that runner-up position. In their latest outing the Aviemore women were soundly defeated (8-1) at home by the champions.
Mixed
Rothiemurchus are still in with a slim, chance of winning the Division 1 title. The team sits three points behind Elgin, both having two matches to play.
On Tuesday they meet each other in a re-arranged fixture. Scheduled for a fortnight ago, it had to be called off because Elgin’s blaize courts were flooded after a day of heavy rain.
In Division 2, Grantown lead the way but are not yet assured of promotion: they lead by one point from Inverness B. The team travelled to Forres on Monday, winning 6-3.
Diane & Declan Sellars lost 1-6, 2-6; won 6-1, 6-4. Lindsay Tinney & Walter Cruikshank won 3-6, 6-1, 12-10; won 6-1, 6-1.
Grantown B, competing in Division 3, is also in with a chance of promotion. Nairn B lead the race for the title but are just one point ahead going into the last round of matches. The coasters, on paper, have the easier final hurdle with a home match against bottom of the table Newtonmore while the Grantonians are away at Bellfield.
14 & Under
Having come second in the Highland section of the 14s competition, the young Grantown side travelled to Elgin, who won the Moray section, in the semi-final. The match was played at the Duff
Avenue courts in Elgin.
It was a closely contested affair.
Grantown 6 Elgin 7
Calum Fleming won 7-6, 6-2; Angus Robinson won 5-7, 6-1, 10-6,; Aaron McLeod lost 4-6, 1-6; Charlie Trench lost 1-6, 2-6. Calum & Angus won 6-2, 6-2.
