Division Two team off to flying start on court (From Thurrock Gazette)

Autumn and winter series begins at Plamers

6:10am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in Sport

TENNIS: PALMERS Junior under 18 boys started their winter/autumn cycle having easily secured their place in Division Two. The opponents for the opening match were Great Baddow 1 from Chelmsford.

The team comprised, in seeded order: Ollie Smith, Daniel Monk, Alex Gee and Brandon Sherriff.

In the singles rubbers, Ollie Smith won emphatically 6-2. However there were defeats for Daniel Monk (1-6) Alex Gee (2-6) and Brandon Sherriff (4-6). The doubles fared a little better. Honours were shared, with the pairings of Smith and Monk losing 3-6, but Gee and Sherriff pulled off a terrific 6-4 win.

Overall the score was 4-2 in sets to the visitors. It was not the idea start for Palmers, but there is a long way to go yet in the series.

Palmers also held their first Mens’ Open tournament which included some promising juniors. The competition was held in a round-robin format. The standard of play was very high and entertained the watching spectators.

After many hard fought matches, the eventual winner was Alex Coates with the runner-up being James Hawkins. Coates was undefeated throughout the tournament, although he was pushed close on many occasions. However, being an exremely strong player, as well as being an LTA Level Two coach he was crowned Mens’ Champion.

Palmers will be looking to extend and open their competion entries for other age groups in the future.