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Photos: TK Rohit
On a warm and sunny Monday evening, Langwith and Halifax were victorious as a fascinating round of college tennis matches were battled out.
Langwith defeated Derwent 3-0, winning every match 6-4, before James and Halifax served up a much closer affair which went down to a tie-break in the deciding match, won by the ‘Fax.
Both Langwith and Derwent were hoping to gain ground on top dogs Vanbrugh, whose scheduled match against Goodricke did not go ahead.
On Court 1, Langwith’s Jimmy Anderton and Jess Paisley quickly raced into a 3-0 lead as Anderton hit some ridiculous forehand winners from all areas of the court.
Munns began to make inroads with some powerful cross-court forehands and Reilly made some impressive returns as Derwent clawed back a break to 3-2.
However, several unforced errors from Munns, and some delicate touches at the net from Paisley, helped the Langwith pairing to a 5-2 advantage.
It was fitting the match was won by an Anderton forehand as Langwith held off a brief Derwent recovery to win 6-4.
Meanwhile, over on Court 2, Ali Killin and Kristine Grivcova overcame Natalie Jones and Oliver Wessely of Derwent by the same margin.
Killin and Wessely were often engaged in an enthralling personal battle as both tried to outgun the other with some huge forehands and smashes.
The net play was also particularly impressive from all the players, and the match was locked at 3-3 after a very long, tense deuce.
Grivcova was proving a nuisance for Wessely with her accurate blocks, however, and Killen was winning points with some inspired drop shots as Langwith won three of the next four games to win 6-4.
On Court 3, Derwent will feel aggrieved not to have come away with the win, having initially gone 4-2 up.
Magnus Mulvaney and Rosie McCluskey were proving to be an effective partnership against Camillo Cuddeford and Yoana Padeshka, and the pairing were reacting superbly to some ferociously hit serves from the Langwith pair.
However, Langwith upped their game significantly, winning four of the remaining five games to snatch an unlikely win.
After the 3-0 victory, captain Jimmy Anderton said: “Derwent are very difficult opponents and it was a good battle today. I’m really pleased with the whole team performance, to get the win is brilliant.”
Meanwhile, Derwent captain Oliver Wessely, who was officially sitting an open exam during the match, was devastated to come away empty handed: “I’m gutted and speechless. Congratulations to Langwith, they played well, but we may have cracked under the pressure today.”
The tie which followed between Halifax and James was reminiscent of the hockey rivalry the two colleges possess as every point was keenly contested.
Court 3 saw James record a comfortable 6-0 victory as Will Manners and Natalie Jones took apart Tommy Walsh and Lucy Maloney.
Walsh possessed a huge serve for Halifax, but the James pairing were equal to it, making the blocks necessary to stay in the rallies.
Manners made one sensational block in front of his face and Jones put away numerous forehands as James racked up the games and an encouraging victory.
However, the other two matches were incredibly tense.
James settled the faster on Court 2 as Josh Drake and Roisin Astell kept hitting the lines to open up a 3-0 lead. But in a sensational turn of events, Halifax overturned the deficit into a 4-3 lead.
Dixon was keeping his opponents on their toes with a series of backhand slices before moving forward with some beautifully-hit winners.
Playing partner Kirsten Roberts was also exceptional with her down-the-line drives and soft hands at the net.
Although Drake tried to haul James out of the mess, it wasn’t enough as Halifax recorded a comeback 6-4 triumph.
Arguably the most fascinating match of the day was reserved for Court 1, as Chris Butterworth and Sophie Keately of James faced Francesca Hall and Peter Winder of Halifax.
In remarkable circumstances, the first ten games were all breaks of serve.
Despite this, the match was a high quality affair with all four players creaming the groundstrokes without fear, and the match went into a tie break.
James opened up an early 3-1 lead as Windy made a couple of unforced errors, but Hall hit some unstoppable winners as the deficit was turned into a 7-6 lead.
Halifax eventually won 9-7 as the pairing dug deep and salvaged a crucial 2-1 overall win.
Afterwards, captain Francesca Hall said: “It was really stressful but I’m pleased we won our first match.”
Meanwhile, James captain Will Manners said: “I can’t criticise the team, although I’m obviously disappointed with the result. We’ll come back stronger next week.”
Vision Player of the Day: Jimmy Anderton