£18.00

Collapse AllNorwich Parks Doubles - Round 14 | Thursday 18 October 2018 to Wednesday 9 January 2019 (Midpoint: Wednesday 28 November 2018)

There was just the one group in this round of Norwich Parks Tennis League but it was an exciting and action-packed group at that, with over half the pairs playing at least 6 matches and all but one pair earning the midway bonus points for match scheduling. Our runners up did one better than their position last round whereas the winning pair were making their debut, which goes to show there's always everything to play for. We're looking forward to more great matches in the next round!

Group Summary:

Congratulations to Stuart & Steve for winning the group on their league debut, finishing unbeaten on 8 wins and 3 points clear of runners up Leon & Mark. Their head to head was an entertaining 3-setter featuring "close-quarter net rallies, clever lobbing, and a swirling breeze at times", while the Match of the Group has to be the 3 set battle between Maggie & Mark O and Mary & Andy which was finally decided by a tiebreak in the third set. There were several close 2 set matches too including that Leon & Mark D's win over Maggie & Mark O, in which the winning pair came back from being a break down in both sets. Great tennis everyone!

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Stuart Craig & Steve Wright 8 8 0 2 18 WWWW
2 Leon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton 7 6 1 2 15 WLWW
3 Maggie Finck & Mark Osborn 8 6 2 2 15 WLWW
4 Vanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer 6 2 4 2 7 LLLW
5 Liz Somerville & Narelle Berry 6 2 4 2 7 LLWW
6 Hannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell 5 1 4 2 5 WLLL
7 Mark Armes & Sheila Armes 4 0 4 2 2 LLLL
8 Julie Rolle & Saranne Webb 4 0 4 2 2 LLLL
9 Mary Gillings & Andy Turner 2 0 2 0 1 LL

Match Results:

Reveal CommentHannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell bt Vanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer (Jan 9) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Great game - very fun! Thank you both!"  -- Hannah
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Liz Somerville & Narelle Berry (Jan 3) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Always good fun playing these two and once again this 3 setter had lots of good rallies, volleys and a few aces. Thanks for the match Liz and Narelle. "  -- Leon
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Mark Armes & Sheila Armes (Dec 29) 6-0, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you Sheila & Mark for an enjoyable, competitive match with many long rallies and deuce games. A swirling wind and the cold added to the contest. Thanks also for jumbling up the pairings and playing on a further set. See you on court again soon we hope."  -- Steve
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Leon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton (Dec 22) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you for a highly competitive match, worthy of two unbeaten pairs thus far. Mark & Leon are both very competent to play overhead shots, creating a formidable wall at the net and deservedly stormed into a 6-2 lead in the first set. Stuart's clever lobbing in the second set drove them back from the net & we edged the second set 6-2. The final set had many games, which ran to repeated deuces, one on Mark's serve was particularly long! A game of close-quarter net rallies, clever lobbing, a swirling breeze at times, some very close line calls (all resolved sportingly) = a very close match, thoroughly enjoyable to have played in. Thank you both & we hope to play you again soon. Merry Xmas !"  -- Steve
Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Julie Rolle & Saranne Webb (Dec 21) 6-0, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Lovely to meet Julie and Saranne and have a friendly match to complete our round, after all that running around we all deserve some Christmas treats."  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Vanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer (Dec 12) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you Vanessa & Dawn for a friendly, competitive yet quite light-hearted match. We enjoyed your company, the uh-ohs, service grunts and amazing angled drop-shots! It was a court of two halves quite literally, blinding sunshine at one end, perfect vision at the other! However, we all persevered and overcame the conditions. Thank you also for the jumbling of the pairs after the match for a further set - hope to play you again soon. Good luck in your remaining matches."  -- Steve
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Maggie Finck & Mark Osborn (Dec 8) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you Maggie & Mark for a thoroughly enjoyable, very close competitive match (with nice humour too !) The windy weather mellowed as the match went on and we managed to finish before the rain arrived. Maggie starred at the net winning many close quarter rallies; Mark's serving to the left-hand court was superb too. Stuart took a nasty tumble mid-game but dusted himself off and probably finished the match as the strongest player, winning many long lob rallies. Two very evenly matched pairs - great game !"  -- Steve
Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Hannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell (Dec 7) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "It was a very enjoyable match despite a freezing cold wind blowing across the court. We had lots of deuce games with the match getting closer as it went on. Thanks Hannah and Jake."  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Vanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer (Dec 6) 6-2, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "As always, a high quality, entertaining match on a warm evening (for December, anyway!) against Dawn & Vanessa. Despite very close games which had it all - baseline rallies, lobs, overheads and drop shots - Leon and Mark had a rare evening where they made few errors and as such ran out the victors. A great game and thanks to Dawn and Vanessa for their honesty with some 50/50 baseline calls when we had no idea if our shots were in or out! Look forward to our next game with you both!"  -- Mark
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Julie Rolle & Saranne Webb (Nov 27) 6-0, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "A match played in really difficult, rainy conditions. Well done to everyone for braving the elements to play! Leon and Mark raced ahead to a 6-0 lead but found the 2nd set difficult due to some excellent play by Julie and Saranne which resulted in a tight contest, Leon and Mark winning 7-5 in the end."  -- Leon
Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Mark Armes & Sheila Armes (Nov 24) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "A very enjoyable match, Sheila and Mark fought back in the second set and we had some nice rallies. Slight mishap early on required first aid but the match was completed without further bloodshed and we played a third set just for fun."  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentVanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer bt Julie Rolle & Saranne Webb (Nov 22) 6-0, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Lovely to see Julie and Saranne again. We had the usual friendly and fun encounter despite the chill. We had some great rallies. Thanks very much for the game and look forward to seeing you again soon, hopefully with fewer layers next time! "  -- Vanessa
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Mark Armes & Sheila Armes (Nov 18) 6-4, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "A match of high quality considering the bright and blustery conditions. Thank you for the match Mark and Sheila."  -- Leon
Reveal CommentVanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer bt Liz Somerville & Narelle Berry (Nov 14) 6-4, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "A really exciting encounter on a damp but mild evening in Eaton Park. Liz and Narelle raced into a 3-0 lead but Dawn and Vanessa managed to stop the rot, winning the first set 6-4. Narelle and Liz recovered their composure in the second set - Narelle was very steady from the back, while Liz's cunning sliced backhand was difficult to pick up as the balls got heavier, though they were vulnerable to the odd drop shot... Liz and Narelle were 5-4 up in the second set but some resolute play from the backhand corner by Dawn helped us win the next three games to take the set 7-5. Great to meet up again and play such an enjoyable game. "  -- Vanessa
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Hannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell (Nov 13) 6-0, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "A really enjoyable game on a blustery evening at Eaton Park. Leon and Mark raced ahead in the first set thanks to some strong net play, but true to their word Hannah & Jake came back stronger in the second set with excellent ground strokes by Jake and some absolutely incredible backhands from Hannah! Leon and Mark just picked up the break at the end of the set to see out the match. Really good fun and looking forward to playing you both again!"  -- Mark

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Mary Gillings & Andy Turner (Nov 11) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)

Player Comments:

  • "A very close fought enjoyable match with the tie break completed just in time for dusk."  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentLiz Somerville & Narelle Berry bt Mark Armes & Sheila Armes (Nov 10) 6-3, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "An enjoyable match played in glorious warm sunshine. Lots of back court lobs to keep us running!"  -- Liz
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Mary Gillings & Andy Turner (Nov 10) 6-2, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you to Mary & Andy for a very competitive match with many games going to deuce and Andy dominating at the net. Thank you also to Mary for wanting to complete the match - Stuart & I realise you were in some discomfort after a 7 mile run earlier in the day."  -- Steve
Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Vanessa Angier & Dawn Crafer (Nov 9) 6-4, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "We had a lovely, close and entertaining match with Dawn and Vanessa whom we haven't played for a while. A fairly strong wind added an element of surprise!"  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentLiz Somerville & Narelle Berry bt Hannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell (Nov 8) 7-5, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Great game. Lots of long points. Best of luck for the rest of the season!"  -- Narelle
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Julie Rolle & Saranne Webb (Nov 7) 6-0, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you to Julie & Saranne for a friendly, competitive match played under the floodlights."  -- Steve
Reveal CommentLeon Frere-Smith & Mark Dumpleton bt Maggie Finck & Mark Osborn (Nov 5) 7-5, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "An enjoyable match that as the score suggests was very close. Mark and Maggie went ahead with a break early on and had 3 set points at 5-4 but Leon and Mark hung on and turned the set around to win 7-5. The 2nd set saw Mark and Maggie once again start strongly to go 4-1 up. Leon and Mark defended well and found some good form to win the next 5 games to take the 2nd set 6-4. A good quality match that wasn't spoilt by the constant fireworks behind the court!"  -- Leon
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Liz Somerville & Narelle Berry (Nov 4) 6-1, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Thank you to Liz & Narelle for a friendly, competitive match on a calm, cool Sunday afternoon."  -- Steve
Reveal CommentMaggie Finck & Mark Osborn bt Liz Somerville & Narelle Berry (Nov 3) 6-1, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "It was nice to play Liz at doubles for a change and to meet Narelle. We all had a bit of trouble with both wind and winter sun but enjoyed the match. Good to have got started."  -- Maggie
Reveal CommentStuart Craig & Steve Wright bt Hannah Greenacre & Jake Brockwell (Oct 23) 6-0, 3-6, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Very windy match!! Thank you both for a great game... even despite the weather! "  -- Hannah
  • "Thank you for a friendly, competitive match in very blustery conditions." Steve