Girls' U15 v The Leys

Result: U15As Won 5-4, U15Bs Won 8-1

Review:Felsted U15As and U15Bs travelled away to The Leys on a very sunny Saturday afternoon.  The U15As played some superb tennis against a strong Leys team.  The Leys 1st pair dominated, proving too strong a test for our first pair who lost 4-6.   Burton and Stone, however, managed to see off The Leys 2nd and 3rd pairings in style winning 6-2, 6-0.  Kendrick and Lane continued to play well together, beating The Leys 2nd and 3rd pair 6-2, 6-2.  With our third pair of O'Connor and Doughty beating their opponents too, Felsted came away with a well deserved overall win.

Felsted U15Bs had some great results, dominating The Leys and winning overall 8-1.  Impressive performances from our first pair of Schwier and Prior saw them win all three games convincingly 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.  Arthen and Wu also secured three wins and Rowe and Moore only lost one.  It was a great performance from all the girls on a scorching hot day, congratulations to all that played.

1st Girls' v St Edmund's

Result: Won 4-0

Review: Two pairs of Felsted’s 1^st VI travelled to St Edmunds on Tuesday 22^nd May. The sunshine came out for the first time this season, finally meaning a match of tennis could be played!

First Pair Jacqui Simon and Isabella Rubenstein had an extremely successful afternoon and won both sets 6-0 against the St Edmunds’ team. Both these girls played some amazing shots and served some fantastic aces. Their agility and speed on court was a pleasure to watch and they fully deserved their victory. 

Second pair Anna Middendorf and Lillian Niersbach also recorded two victories out of out of two and mirrored their fellow team members’ flair and determination on the court. This performance demonstrated how much progress Anna and Lillian have made over this term.

This result bodes well for the forthcoming fixture against The Leys on Saturday.

   

U15 Aegon Tournament Report

Result: U15A Aegon side win Division Group A league and progress to the Essex final. 

Review: The U15A Aegon team consisting of; Beatrice Stone, Suzannah Burton, Tabitha Kendrick and Anna Lane have had an extremely impressive start to the Aegon Competition. In week three they travelled to Southend to play the high school and won convincingly, only conceding two rubbers against their number one player.  The following day, the girls travelled to Frinton Tennis Club to play Tendering College. In the singles matches Suzannah, Tabitha and Anna all won, playing some very good shots and serving consistently. Beatrice fought hard against a very strong number one player, narrowly losing out.  The girls then entered the doubles play, knowing that they had to secure at least one game to win overall.  Our second pair outplayed the opposition and secured yet again another win in the group stages.

On Tuesday 22^nd May the division came to a head when Felsted faced New Hall at home in the deciding fixture of the division. The girls had trained extremely hard all week with the help of Joe and the other Braintree coaches, preparing them perfectly for this tough test.  Both Beatrice and Suzannah won their singles games (6-1) (6-0) , providing a great start to the afternoon. Both Tabitha and Anna played some great competitive rallies against their oppositions, with Tabitha losing her game in a tie break situation.   After the singles matches it was all even between the schools, leaving the doubles results to determine the winner. After two highly contested games the schools could not be split leaving a dramatic doubles tie break to decide the overall winner.  Beatrice and Tabitha were selected to play in this highly charged situation, with Suzannah and Anna supporting from the side with bated breath.  The pair were extremely calm and finished the tie break 10-4 up, to be crowned group A champions. This team now go through to play the winners of group B in a knockout situation, which if they win will take them through to the regional stages. A very well done to all the girls and good luck for the next chapter! 

In the last round of the Division B Aegon tournament the U15Bs were looking to make it win number 3 against New Hall.  The afternoon started well, the sun was shining and the girls had trained well in the week leading up to the match.  Emily O'Connor played some great tennis to beat their 2nd player (6-0).  Olivia Schweir also won her singles game (6-4) serving well and playing out some great rallies.  Gabby Doughty fought hard and was (5-1) up, but New Hall fought back well eventually winning a close game (7-5).  With Grace Prior also narrowly losing her singles game (4-6) it was all down to the doubles matches to decide the overall winner.  Emily and Gabby faced a very strong New Hall 1st pair and lost (6-1).  However, Olivia and Grace kept Felsted in with a chance of winning playing some superb tennis to give them a (6-1) victory.  As with the U15As it was down to a sudden death tiebreak, nail biting stuff.  Emily and Olivia were selected to play and did a great job to hold their nerve playing some great points and fighting right to the end.  Despite their best efforts Felsted missed out losing 10-7 in the tie break.

A great day of tennis, the girls were very unlucky not to come away winners

   

Boys' 1st v Old Felstedians

Result: Match drawn 4.5-4.5

Review: Felsted hosted the OF’s on Saturday the 19^th May. This is an annual fixture against the Schools Old Boys', who enjoy returning to the School to play on the Grass Courts against the Schools’ current 1st team.

This is a wonderful fixture for the Old Boys who enjoy coming back and reliving the memories of when they represented the School on the very same courts. This year was particularly special as the OF’s turned out the same 6 players, in the very same pairings, that lined up for the School in 1982. 

 

1^st Pair Marcus Hoare and Richard Morley Jacob, 2^nd Pair Simon Bastin (Captain) and Hugo Sellers, and 3^rd Pair Graham Appleyard and James Percival.

Felsted’s first pair of Captain Ollie Lane and Max Haendle had a very successful afternoon. They went undefeated and recorded two wins and a draw for the School. The highlight for the boys came in their game against the OF’s 2^nd pair of Simon Bastin, Team Captain, and Hugo Sellers. The boys won this match but it took a dramatic comeback when they found themselves 2-6 down in a tiebreaker, but somehow managed to claw their way back to win the tie breaker 8-6.

The Third pair of Harry Silcock and Cristobal Pohle Vazquez, did not have as much luck losing all 3 sets, but were unlucky on a number of occasions losing on small margins, such as 4-6, 3-6 in one of their matches. 

Second pair Gus Nicholson and Ed Reid recorded two victories out of three and provided great drama in their last match when Felsted needed to win the last set to draw the match.  In dramatic fashion the set went to a tiebreaker and Felsted won   8-6 to take a valuable point resulting in the match being a draw, with 4.5 points recorded by both sides.

Man of the match was Captain Ollie Lane who was instrumental in motivating his players to keep going to the very end which ensured the players stayed focused. Many thanks to the OF team for a game which was played in great spirit and for their one to one advice at the end to each of the students. 

Player of the match: Ollie Lane

Boys' 1st v The Public Schools Old Boys' Lawn Tennis Association

Result: Lost 5.5 - 3.5
Review: Felsted hosted The Public Schools Old Boys' Lawn Tennis Association (more commonly known as the PUBS) on Saturday the 12th May. This is an annual fixture against a side of Public School Old Boys' who tour the country playing lawn tennis. When students of Felsted leave, they too are allowed to become members of this prestigious Old Boys' Club. Felsted’s first pair of Harry Gough and Gus Nicholsongot off to a great start winning 6-1, 7-5 in their first game. Felsted’s 2nd pair of Ollie Lane and Max Haendlelost out by 3-6, 5-7, but Felsted’s 3rd pair of Harry Silcock and Ed Reid fought back from losing the first set 2-6 to win the second set 6-3, leaving the fixture all square at the end of the first round.

The tie started to turn the opposition’s way when Harry Gough had to retire early in the second round with blisters. IC of Boys Tennis Mr Barrett stepped up to play a quick game while a much more competent replaced, Cristobal Pohle Vazquez, made his way to the courts. Cristobal and Gus managed to continue on winning ways taking the game 7-6, 6-4. The most eagerly anticipated game of the match took place on court number 3, when 1st VI Captain Ollie Lane faced his father in the second round. Despite a vocal Mrs Lane supporting Felsted experience won through, with Mr Lane and Mr Hutley taking the game 6-2, 6-7. Felsted did manage to take 1 point from the last round but it was not enough and The Public Schools Old Boys' Lawn Tennis Association took the victory 5.5  to Felsted's 3.5.

Man of the match was Max Haendle from Germany, who made his debut on grass and for the School 1st team.  

Player of the match: Max Haendle

 

U15 Boys Aegon Cup

Result:Won 10-2
Review: Felsted School now has two wins out of two in the Aegon sponsored U15 Boys' Tennis National Championships following their latest victory over Tendring College. This was a fantastic result for the School with impressive displays from Team Captain Edward Reid from Elwyn’s House, Max Haendle from Gepp’s, Charlie Broom from Mont’s, and a Man of the Match performance from Year 9 Pascal Rubinstein, who is also from Elwyn’s. Pascal showed great Felsted sprit and maturity and character to hold his nerve to win in his closely contested singles match 7/5, which resulted in Felsted taking 10 out of a possible 12 points. Congratulations to all the boys involved in what was a great victory for the School. 

1st & 2nd Boys' v Haileybury

Result: 1st Lost 8-1, 2nd Won 4-5 

Review: Felsted Boys, both Senior and Junior, travelled to Haileybury for what is always a challenging fixture. Captain Oliver Lane, partnered Harry Gough in the first pairing of the First VI and had a great start winning their first game 6-3. They could not however keep the momentum going losing their next two matches 3-6, 4-6. Luck was not on Felsted’s first VI’s side as they lost all the other games, even the brave 3rd pair of Harry Silcock and Ed Reid lost a closely fought last game 6-8 in a tiebreaker. 

The Felsted 2nd VI had better luck with a great victory over Haileybury in a closely contested game with Felsted taking the match 5-4 in games. Each pair contributed a win to the overall victory with 2nd team captain Cristobal Pohle Vazquez and Charlie Broom taking two of the possible three points up for grabs. The unlikely pair of youth and experience, U6th student Sam Peck and Year 9 Max Haendle took another two of the possible three points against their opponents left the score tied 4-4 between the sides with one match to play. Michael Hiller and Christopher Kaindl, having lost their first two games faced their opposite pair in the deciding game taking the victory for Felsted winning an epic tiebreaker 7-6 and with it the match for Felsted.

   

Girls' 2nd v Haileybury

Review: The Girls 2nd tennis team had a great set of results in the doubles fixtures against Haileybury. The three teams won 8 out of their 9 of their matches, a convincing and well deserved victory. Encouraged by the first glimpse of sunshine in days, the girls played brilliantly across the board, and we look forward to equally impressive results in the next few weeks!
   

1st Girls' v Haileybury

Result: Won 6-3

Review:  Despite some horrible weather the previous night and on the morning of the match, the Sun came out and we were able to play all the matches. Everyone played really well: the 1st pair won all three of their matches, whilst the 2nd pair won one and third pair one two. This secured an overall win of 6-3. Well done to all the girls who played and good luck for the next matches!

U15 Girls' v Sevenoaks

Review: The U15's made a promising start to the tennis season against Sevenoaks despite less than ideal preparation. With April showers leaving training times few and far between the girls didn't have much time to get back into the swing of things. However, the A's 1st pair of Suzi and Bea made a great start winning all three matches comfortably 6-4 (1s), 6-3 (2s) and 6-2 (3s). The 2nd and 3rd pairs played some great tennis against a strong Sevenoaks side with the A's narrowly losing out 4 games to 5. The B's played some excellent tennis with a number of wins from all three pairs. Special mention must go to the Felsted 2nd pair of Olivia and Grace who won all three games 6-1 (1s), 6-2 (2s) and 6-1 (3s). The 1st and 3rd pairs also had a very successful day losing only one of their matches. The B's great performances across all three pairs led to a comfortable 7-2 victory over Sevenoaks.