Henley ladies fall to Caversham Park in tough encounter

HENLEY Tennis Club’s doubles sides were put through their paces with both the ladies’ team and the Oxon B men’s sides facing stern tests against top-quality opposition before the festive break.

The Henley ladies’s double team went down 4-0 away to a strong Caversham Park side. Against Caversham’s formidable first pair, Maria Rosier and Cath Drummond battled hard but were unable to stem the tide, going down 3-6, 0-6. They showed grit in their second match, recovering from a 0-6 first set to snatch the second 6-4, before narrowly losing the deciding tie-break.

Second pair Hannah Thomson and Millie Hallam were also tested against high-quality opponents. They were beaten 1-6, 2-6 by Caversham’s second pair and then faced the hosts’ first pair, where they again fought hard but lost 2-6, 1-6.

Meanwhile, Henley’s Oxon B men’s doubles side headed into the Christmas break sitting fifth out of 12 in the Oxfordshire League, despite a 2-6 loss away to league leaders Chinnor A.

Against tough opposition and in swirling wind conditions, Henley showed flashes of quality throughout.

Jeremy Wright and Gordon Stoddart picked up Henley’s two points with a strong win against Chinnor’s second pair and came close to another, holding a 5-2 lead against the first pair before ultimately succumbing in a 0-2 loss. Tom Tuite Dalton and Jim Neale also played some good tennis.