Kingussie ladies promoted to Highlands tennis top flight
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Kingussie’s women have won the second division title in the Galbraith Highland Tennis League.
The team tied it up with a 7-2 victory win at Nairn on Thursday evening.
Apart from the 1v1 rubber this was a relatively easy romp.
Kirsty Deans and Anna Green won their two rubbers with ease – 6-2, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-0.
And first seeds Helen Peebles and Marjorie Deans saw off the homesters’ second pair 6-1, 6-1.
Returning to that 1v1 contest, Peebles and Deans were in all sorts of trouble in the first set following early service breaks, eventually losing it 3-6.
They steadied themselves for the next set and managed to level with a 6-4 score line.
The match tie break was very competitive. It went with serve right up to 8-8 when the Nairn couple broke and then held their own to send the Badenochers spinning.
No matter, the Kingussie ladies will be in the first division in 2023 – for the first time since 1994 which was the fourth time the competition was held.
Elsewhere in the ladies league, Grantown have had a disastrous season. However, although finishing bottom of the the first division, they were just pipped at the post by Nairn who finished on the same number of points but with a superior sets won to sets played percentage.
There is still some hope that top league status will remain because there should be a small reconstruction of the competition to ensure six teams in Division 1.
One of the options is for the Grantonians to remain, with the promoted side making up the numbers. They can only hope that this is the outcome chosen.
Down Aviemore way, the women’s A team finished second to Elgin A. They rounded off the season with a resounding 7-2 triumph at Nairn.
Last week saw a Rothiemurchus derby that was to decide who was to win the Division 3 Highland section.
This match included perhaps the longest rubber of the season – a three setter which, after a comfortably won first set, by the Bs Fiona Clarke and LJ Fishpool, the contest became tightly contested. contested.
The Cs Kim Beattie and Amy McAdam levelled with a 7-5 second set win.
The third set, comprising a championship tie break (first to ten, by two clear points) was evenly matched. Both pairs fought it out hammer and tongs with Beattie and McAdam gaining a slight advantage, only to be pegged back.
Then it was the turn of Clarke and Fishpool who, having prevented their opponents from getting too far in front, continued their winning run to open a three-point lead.
If they thought the breaker was theirs for the taking it so happened that Beattie and McAdam had not read that particular script and certainly were not going along with it.
Managing to close the gap, the four of them just got stronger as the decider wore on with Clarke and Fishpool eventually just shading it by the impressive score 17-15 points.
The C pair went on to play a second three setter and again ended up on the losing side in another closely contested rubber, going down, in the third, 10-8 against Sheila Lowther and Judith Marten.
Jenny Sime and Judith Smith were outgunned losing 5-7, 4-6 and 3-6, 0-6.
And so, it is R&A B who will take on Rothes in the third division play-off. This match will be held on the blaize at Grantown on Thursday evening.
Mathematically, Grantown’s men could still be relegated but in reality there is little chance of that playing out.
Forres are sitting two points behind the Strathspey team with a match in hand. That match is at home, but their opponents are Bellfield Park, the league winners.
In Division 3, R&A although winning their final outing away at Nairn B by 8-1, the title was lost when first Tain beat Grantown B 7-2, and then Rothes received a walkover as Forres could not field a team.
The Moravians now step up to the second division.
While Grantown’s senior teams have not been setting the heather on fire, the three junior teams have been performing well.
The 12s finished runners up in their event and the 16s finished third. The 14s lost 7-6 on Saturday at home to Gordonstoun C – a team from the junior school.
This was a title decider and the Grantown youngsters put in a sterling shift as they fought bravely to secure the top spot.
The four singles were first up and the score at the end was four sets all (Calum Fleming and Alexander Cassels winning; Angus Robinson and Aaron McLeod losing theirs).
On to the doubles and with Calum and Angus losing out 6-4, 6-4, it was all down to Aaron and Alexander who, in an evenly fought first set, lost out on the tie-break.
They went on to win the second and the championship breaker. However, that first set loss spelt defeat for the team.
RESULTS
Ladies
Division 1: Grantown A 2 Elgin A 7; Nairn A 2 R&A A 7
Division 2: Nairn B 2 Kingussie 7
Division 3 Highland: R&A C 2 R&A B
Men
Division 1: Inverness A 8 Grantown A 0
Division 3: Grantown B 2 Tain 7; Nairn B 1 R&A 8
Mixed
Division 1: Grantown A 2 R&A A 7
Division 3: Kingussie 7 Bellfield Park 2; R&A B 8 Newtonmore 0
Junior
16 & Under: Gordonstoun 12 Grantown 1 (Marcus Alliod, Archie Laing, Jamie Fleming & Max Marshall)
14 & Under Division 2: Grantown 6 Gordonstoun C 7
12 & Under Division 2: Nairn 10 Grantown 3 (Mackie Robinson, Taylor Young, Andrew Unda & Hadley Hutchison)
