ALCESTER A still lead the way after six weeks of the Wildmoor Summer Tennis League Premier Division – sitting pretty with 22 points following a 4-0 victory over mid-table Littleton (9).
Stuart Beach and Barney Williams defeated Craig Witheford and Ali Witheford 6-4, 6-3 and then beat Sean Witheford and Vanessa Dufty 6-1, 6-0. Charlie Watson and Sam Thruston-Nend beat Witheford and Dufty 6-0, 6-1 and saw off Witheford and Witheford 6-2, 6-3.
Joint second-placed Stratford and Pershore (now 18 points apiece) met in a crucial battle and the result did neither team a favour as a 2-2 draw saw both drop further behind the leaders.
The strongest pair on the courts were Stratford’s Max Hurtubise and Oliver Plaskett who overcame Dan Walker and Matt Sime 6-3, 6-3 and then defeated Jon Guppy and Max Hingley 6-3, 7-5.
The second Stratford pair Will Morley-Cotterell and Ryan Bolton lost to Guppy and Hingley 6-1, 5-7, 0-1 and lost to Walker and Sime 1-6, 2-6.
Chipping Campden (14) retained fourth place by beating bottom placed Henley-in-Arden 4-0 in straight sets. Martyn Ledbury and Ali Johnson beat Tom Griffiths and Brett Mackay 6-2, 6-3 and then beat Max Retallack and Marcus Tate 6-2, 6-2.
Geoff Vaughan and Taylor Ferrier (Campden) saw off Retallack and Tate 6-4, 6-1 and beat Griffiths and Mackay 7-5, 6-3. With their recent docking of two points, this still leaves Henley without a point this season.
Alcester B (7) took on Evesham (6) at Alcester. Before the match Evesham only had two points and Alcester B looked favourites, but excellent play by Evesham saw them take maximum points in straight sets.
Andrew Crowther and Sam Turner beat Duncan Robinson and Pete Watson 6-0, 6-1 and beat James Clemons and Emma Hubbard 6-2, 6-1. Paul Everatt and Simon Wall (Evesham) defeated Clemons and Hubbard 6-1, 6-1 and beat Robinson and Watson 6-4, 6-4.
Ardencote Manor A (19) continued to dominate Division One with another 4-0 result and their victory over mid-table Claverdon (8) without dropping a set emphasised this.
Fresh from their triumph as Winter League champions, Ardencote’s best pair Callum Bailey and John Brain comfortably defeated Richard Butler and Andy Ashley 6-2, 6-2 before beating James Courier and John Edwards 6-3, 6-0. Ben Summers and Myles Wilcox-Smith beat Courier and Edwards 6-1, 6-1 and Butler and Ashley 6-3, 6-1.
Second-placed Redditch (17) continued their challenge by beating Shipston by a 4-0 scoreline and the mid-table clash between Stratford B (9) and Alcester C (7) resulted in a 3-1 win for Stratford B.
Division Two leaders Inkberrow A (17) retained top spot after recording a 2-2 draw with second-placed Pershore B (16). Snitterfield A (15) stay third after an unexpected 2-2 draw with lowly Claverdon B (7).
Warwick (13) stayed fourth following their 2-2 draw with fifth-placed Ardencote B (12) and Chipping Campden B (10) defeated Henley B (6) 3-1.
Division Three leaders Bidford A (21) hosted joint second-placed Redditch B and Bidford came out on top 3-1 to increase their lead to seven points.
The other second-placed team Shipston B (14) played fourth-placed Studley B (12) and shared the points in a 2-2 draw. Fifth-placed Chipping Campden C (11) just retained their position despite losing to sixth-placed Inkberrow B 3-1, which means the latter now only trail Campden by a point with ten.
Evesham B and Inkberrow C met and a 3-1 win for Inkberrow lifted them level with their opponents on seven points each.
Division Four remained unchanged as leaders Stratford C (24) disposed comfortably of fourth-placed Aston Cantlow (11) with a 4-0 win.
Similarly, Wildmoor A (19) beat Warwickshire County Council (7) by a 3-1 scoreline to stay second. Third-placed Redditch C (16) managed to overcome Moreton-in-Marsh B (8) in a closer match than the 4-0 scoreline suggested.
The bottom of the table clash between Bidford B (5) and Tysoe (6) went Bidford’s way 3-1.
Division Five leaders Pershore C (22) played host to second-placed Wildmoor B (17) and a 4-0 win for Pershore consolidated top spot, pushing Wildmoor B down to third.
Claverdon C (18) took second spot with a 4-0 win over Moreton-in-Marsh C (8), Wildmoor C (12) consolidated fourth place with a good 3-1 win at Shipston C (3) and Henley C (5) gained two valuable points in a 2-2 draw at Littleton B (9).
