Aegon Team Tennis 2013
The story so far…
Team Bath MCTA had a strong start to the group stages of this year’s Aegon Team Tennis competition in the Open (men’s and women’s) categories.
This annual event staged by the LTA Competitions department is open to all registered tennis clubs across the country, with significant prize money up for grabs at the National finals taking place in July.
The men finished top of their group having won all six matches against the likes of West Hants (Bournemouth) and Virgin Active (Gloucester).
The regulars for the men were Academy player Seb Rey and John Thompson (1st year Economics) complimented by a strong squad of Ricardo Gabb, Samm Butler, Aman Agarwal, Max England, Don Little, Youssef Hassan and Sam Edwards.
Captain James Andell said “Although we are blessed with depth of talent due to our international academy and strong university team, the main challenge we actually face is fielding a team for these fixtures at this time of year, due to school exams, university term having finished and our players having commitments to professional tournaments.
I am delighted with the response from the players in qualifying undefeated for the finals. Also, our players are used to competing for themselves so this competition provides a welcome escape and gives the boys a sense of team identity, upon which they thrive.”
Picture: Home .v. Virgin Active Gloucester on 9 June. Pictured L-R (Samm Butler, Seb Rey, John Thompson, Aman Agarwal, Youssef Hassan)
Ladies tennis team
The Ladies finished runner up in their group, having won five and lost one match.
This means that they will now face a play off against Brighton to qualify for the finals, which are being held in Bournemouth’s West Hants Club.
The Ladies were led by a fully present Alex Walker (2nd year Sports Performance), supported mainly by Barbara Pietrkiewicz (2nd year International Management), and Academy players Chloe Moxham, Brigit Folland, Florence Abbott and club player and coach Harriet Blacker.
Wimbledon hopefully Lisa Whybourn also turned out where possible to add real strength to the top of the order.
