THE HALFWAY point in the Wildmoor Spa Summer Tennis League was reached with current Premier Division champions Stratford (24) topping the table still undefeated.
They continued this record with a 3-1 win over fourth-placed Alcester B (13). Chipping Campden on 19 points take over second spot from Alcester A (18) after Campden beat sixth placed Ardencote Manor (11) 3-1, while Alcester A went down 3-1 at Henley-in-Arden which lifted Henley into fifth place with 12 points. At the other end of the table, Pershore defeated Redditch 4-0.
New Stratford pairing Max Hurtubise and Will Morley-Cotterell squeezed out a victory over Alcester B’s Marcus Powell and Gareth Price 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 after a tie-break. They then beat Pete Watson and Emma Hubbard (Alcester B) 7-6, 6-4.
Simon West and Chris Marrow (Stratford) beat Watson and Hubbard 6-0, 6-4, but lost to Powell and Price 4-6, 5-7.
Chipping Campden’s heroes were Geoff Vaughan and Tobias Kemp who took both rubbers, beating Ben Summers and Pete Thomas (Ardencote) 7-5, 6-1 and then Richard Lucas and Steve Hussey (Ardencote) 6-2, 6-2.
Campden’s second pair George Richards and Tom Partridge beat Lucas and Hussey 6-1, 6-2, but went down to Summers and Thomas 6-7, 5-7.
Henley had Oli Didlick and Tom Griffiths to thank for their victory as they scraped past Alex Woodbridge and Barney Williams (Alcester A) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 on a tie-break, before easily beating James Clemons and Harvey Williams 6-0, 6-0.
The other Henley pair Brett Mackay and Matt Williams beat Clemons and Williams 6-1, 6-0, but lost after a close tussle to Woodbridge & Williams 7-5, 5-7, 0-1.
Redditch and Pershore began their match well adrift on only three points each and it was Pershore who enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 victory as their pairs Mike Langston and Matt Sime beat Joe Morris and James McDonald (Redditch) 6-2, 6-4 and then beat Ben Portman and Lubo Smoliar (Redditch) 6-0, 6-2.
Pershore’s Steve Bauer and Bradley Smith beat Portman and Smoliar 6-1, 6-1 and defeated Morris and McDonald 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 after a tie-break.
Clear Division One leaders with 23 points are now Littleton A after they defeated bottom team Inkberrow A 4-0.
Evesham A (19) lie second after they beat Stratford B 3-1 and previously third-placed Studley A slipped to fourth following a resounding 4-0 defeat to Alcester C, who now join them in that fourth place on 13 points apiece.
Moreton-in-Marsh A travelled to Ardencote B and their 3-1 win moved them up to third on 15 points.
In Division Two Claverdon A (21) retained top spot after defeating Henley B 3-1 to push them down to third place with 15 points.
Snitterfield A (18) stay second but droppred points after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Claverdon B. Shipston A lie fourth with 14 points despite being held to a 2-2 draw by second-bottom Inkberrow B.
Fifth-placed Chipping Campden B were also held to a 2-2 draw by bottom side FISSC.
Division Three joint leaders are Warwick on 21 after they enjoyed a great 4-0 win at Studley B (17). They share the lead with Pershore B who likewise performed well at Redditch C to take maximum points.
Bidford A with 18 points moved up the table to third following their 3-1 defeat of mid-table Snitterfield B, whilst Redditch B won 4-0 at Inkberrow C.
Division Four leaders Shipston B (21) have a four-point gap over second-placed Chipping Campden C after both recorded 4-0 victories.
Shipston’s was over bottom side Claverdon C while Campden’s was at the expense of next to bottom Aston Cantlow.
Evesham B, who previously lay joint second, lost ground when they were defeated 3-1 at home by Tysoe. The latter moved away from the bottom two with this result, whilst mid-table teams Bidford B and Wildmoor A drew 2-2.
There were only two fixtures in Division Five and the big match was between top two Stratford C and Warwickshire County Council.
The result was an excellent 4-0 victory for Stratford which saw them open a massive ten-point gap at the halfway stage. It also meant Warwickshire County Council dropped back to joint second on 13 points.
Wildmoor B climbed up to joint second along with their opponents Moreton-in-Marsh B after they enjoyed a 3-1 win over the visitors.
