2017 Six Nations Event – Guernsey
Congratulations to all who took part and especially to Carol McLean who, as well as gaining a Bronze in the Over 60s team event, went even better with a SILVER in the Over 70s Ladies Doubles and a GOLD in the Singles. Brilliant results. Well done.
Ladies 40+ Report
Team: Catherine O'Neill and Fiona Kinloch Final position 4th
Session 1 - England ‘A’ 5 Scotland 0
Our 1st match was against the top seeds and reigning champions England A comprising of Emma Rose and newcomer Sara Williams. As expected all matches were lost in straight sets however we did manage to get to deuce in the 3rd end of the doubles.
Session 2 - Scotland 3 Ireland 2
Next up was our Match against Ireland and this promised to be a much closer affair. First up was Fiona against Gillian Richardson after losing a close 1st set Fiona stormed back to take the next 2 sets 11-7, 11-5 and was ahead in the 4th set when Gillian hit a purple patch as stole the 4th set 8-11 a close 5th set ensued which Gillian took 12-10. 1st blood to Ireland. Match 2 was the battle of the O'Neill’s Scotland Catherine against Ireland Paula. Catherine started confidently winning the first two sets with relative ease. Paula hit back winning the 3rd 11-5. Paula managed to win the 4th set 12-10 to level the match 2-2. Another match to go to a decider, again the match was really closer with neither player managing to get a lead but Paula took the 5th 11-9. Two games
played two games should have won but lost our backs were against the wall. Ireland rested Gillian for the crucial doubles and Catherine Harnedy stepped up to play the doubles with Paula. Ireland playing positively took the first set 11-7 but the change of ends brought a much needed 11-3 set to us, the momentum was turning and we managed to take the next 2 ends 11-8 12-10. The 4th match was Fiona against Paula and despite losing the 1st set Fiona was growing in confidence and won the next 3 set for a 3-1 win and match levelled at 2-2. Could Catherine complete the comeback and defeat Gillian for the victory? Catherine playing positively from the start took the first two sets and was leading in the 3rd when Gillian decided took make thing interesting started to be more aggressive and took the 3rd 14-12. At the start of the 4th Set Catherine asserted herself and won 11-7 to win 3-1 and Scotland took the match 3-2.
Session 3 - England ‘B’ 5 Scotland 0.
This was our last match of the day and despite some excellent rallies whilst playing against Sally Cimiotti and Michelle Reeves who won the individual title in 2016. Despite our best efforts this match was always going to be England’s. 5 straight set wins for them.
Session 4 - Guernsey/Wales 5 Scotland 0
Our last match was against the combination team Sam Kershaw and Maz Morgan a native of Guernsey now residing in Wales. Sam started well against Catherine and took the fist 2 sets before Catherine hit back with the 3rd 11-6. The 4th set went to Sam. Match 2. Maz versus Fiona, Maz was too strong and comfortably won in 3. A 3-0 defeat in the doubles followed next before Sam verses Fiona 1st set to Sam before 2 close sets to Fiona. Fiona was leading 9-6 in the 4th before Catherine was hit on the neck whilst umpiring. This was to the detriment of Fiona who lost the next five points and the set. Sam easily won the decider 11-5. Our last game was also a defeat Maz defeating Catherine in 3 sets.
Session 5
No match for us but a Guernsey/Wales win over Ireland would secure 4th position a loss we would leave with the wooden spoon. Despite Paula beating both Sam and Maz, a victory for Guernsey/Wales ensured Scotland finished 4th.
Doubles Event
We were drawn in the doubles group with the 2 English pairings. A 3 set defeat at the hands of Rose Rainton and Sara, Followed by a 4 set defeats to Sally and Michelle but 11-8 9-11 5-11 5-11 showed it was a close game. Rose and Emma beat Sally and Michelle and went on to win the title.
Single Event
Catherine drawn in group C had the unenviable task of trying to overcome Sara Williams and Michelle Reeves. In her first match against Sara she was leading 2-1 before Sara found her form and taking the last 2 to win 3-2, Michelle won in 3, leaving Catherine in the plate event. Unfortunately, Catherine had to withdraw from this as due to high winds forecast for Monday sailings were cancelled so an earlier Ferry on Sunday prevented Catherine taking part.
Fiona was in a group with Rose, Maz and Paula. First up was a rematch with Paula with a victory in straight sets. 2nd match was against Maz first blood went to Maz 11-4 before Fiona’s pushes became more consistent and was able to block and counter-hit with more success. Fiona roared back to take the next three sets 11-7, 11-6 11-6. A three set defeat to Rose but a second place finish saw Fiona in to the main draw. Unfortunately this was against Sara who showed her class with a 3 set win and went in to win the final against Michelle in 5 sets.
60+ Report
Team: Charlie Brown, Steve Crooks, Geoff Hunter and Carol McLean.
The team had a great week-end of competition, finishing in third place and Bronze medal position. Everyone in the team played well, and the support within the team was great. I think Steve Crooks in particular will gain a lot of confidence in the way he played throughout the event. Unfortunately England and Ireland proved too strong this time.
In the singles Steve Crooks, Geoff Hunter and myself surpassed ourselves coming through the groups into the quarter finals. I lost in the semi-final to Brian Finn of Ireland.
Carol after playing well in our team matches to gain Bronze went one step further in the over 70’s, with silver in the doubles and gold in the singles. Well done Carol.
Charlie Brown - Team Captain
70+ Report
Team: Richard, Ray and Ian
Team Competition: Session 1- Friday
Our team's opening match was against Guernsey A which looked winnable however led to a 3-2 defeat which would ultimately cost us a medal.
Session 2
Our next match opponents were the strong favourites England. Despite a much
improved performance by the team and winning a few ends, the final result was
5-0 in their favour.
Session 3
The first day ended with a match against Guernsey B and we were able to record
our first victory, a comprehensive 5-0 win which lifted all our spirits.
Session 4- Saturday
The second day's opening match was a stiff test against a very experienced
Irish team who were expected to progress through to the final. Our team played
well and won a couple of ends but it proved difficult to consistently win
through. The final result ended 5-0 to Ireland.
Session 5
The last match of the Team Event was against Wales and resulted in a
comprehensive 4-1 win for our team and good performances by Ian, Ray and
myself. In hindsight had we won our first match against Guernsey A then we
would have picked up Bronze with England taking Gold and Ireland Silver.
Doubles Competition
Ian partnered Martin Pickles (Irish no 3) in Group 2 and finished runners up to
Ireland after beating Guernsey A. Ray and I finished runners up to England in
Group 1 beating Wales and Guernsey B. The Semi final matched Ian's team against England and Ray and I played Ireland and despite a tight match with them losing 3-1. The final was contested between England and Ireland as anticipated with Ireland coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
Singles Competition
The Competition saw the 3 of us finish third in each of our Groups and playing
in the Plate. The final was an all Scottish affair between Ray and myself with
Ray maintaining his good form on the last day with a 3-1 win over yours truly.
Overall it was a great experience to participate in such a tournament and it
certainly whets the appetite for Cardiff 2018!!
Richard
75+ Report
In the Team event our trio of Drew Mclaren, Bob Sterling and Doug Sinclair started well by beating Guernsey 'A' 5-0 and Guernsey 'B' 4-1. We had to beat Ireland to get third position and win the bronze medals but lost 3-2 in a very close encounter (Drew did well in beating the Irish number one) .
In the Open events we all progressed from the group stages in the singles but fell to stiffer opposition at the next stage. Similar progress was made in the Doubles with Drew and Doug teaming up well and Bob forming a good partnership with Tony Brown of England.
Drew was his usual steady self with his sudden backhand strikes proving very effective. In all Doubles matches Drew and Doug won 5 matches out of 7. Bob must have been training with the Strictly Come Dancing team because nimble footwork helped him to be in the perfect position to execute his killer forehand shots !!
Overall, good attempts by all.
Doug Sinclair