Bailey and Marrow shine as Stratford march on
THE halfway point in the season of the Men’s Wildmoor Spa Summer Tennis League was reached with current champions Stratford-on-Avon topping the Premier Division table.
Stratford continued their march with another victory as their pair Callum Bailey and Chris Marrow beat Matt Williams and Tom Griffiths 6-2, 6-2 and beat Max Retallack & Sam Turner 6-1, 6-2.
Cameron Malik and Richard Monk beat Retallack and Turner 6-1, 6-1, but lost to Williams and Griffiths 6-2, 4-6, 0-1 after a championship tie-break.
Ardencote Manor kept up the chase in second place with another win, this time 3-1 over bottom club Moreton-in-Marsh.
Ardencote’s Ben Summers and Phil Silk beat Brian Lomas and Greg Stotesbury 6-3, 6-4 and just overcame Chris Adams & Gary Jackson (Moreton) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 after a tie-break.
Ardencote captain Myles Wilcox-Smith and John Brain beat Adams and Jackson 6-0, 7-5, but lost to Lomas and Stotesbury 3-6, 2-6.
A weakened Alcester A lost ground when HDA Redditch held them to a 2-2 draw.
Alex Woodbridge and Emma Hubbard lost to Tomas Cop and Lubo Smoliar 1-6, 5-7, but beat Kevin Porter and Terry Iduitua (HDA) 6-0, 6-0.
Stuart Beach and James Clemons beat Porter and Iduitua 6-1, 6-4, but lost to Cop and Smoliar 3-6, 4-6.
The last Premier fixture gave a boost to Evesham up to fourth following their 4-0 win.
Chris Francis and Julian Heath beat Andy Pires and Jack Herdsman 6-2, 6-3 and beat Matt Fielding and Harry Morley-Cotterell 6-2, 6-3.
Evesham’s Andrew Crowther and Simon Wall beat Fielding and Morley-Cotterell 6-1, 6-3 and beat Pires and Herdsman 6-2, 6-1.
Division One leaders Chipping Campden hosted Stratford B and their 4-0 rollover meant they stayed top dogs.
Second-placed Littleton played third placed Pershore and the critical result of 3-1 to Littleton meant they stayed second.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams Ardencote Manor B and Snitterfield met which resulted in an easy win for Ardencote 4-0 and allowed them to move out of the bottom two.
Snitterfield are in desperate need of points if they intend to avoid relegation.
Division Two leaders Henley B just retained the lead with 22 points after a 2-2 draw with mid-table side FISSC of Stratford.
Inkberrow A threaten in second, now only a point behind, thanks to a vital 3-1 win over third-placed Shipston A.
Alcester C moved away from relegation worries with an emphatic 4-0 result over Snitterfield B.
On to Division Three where the top two teams HDA B of Redditch played second-placed Inkberrow B.
Their 2-2 draw meant that HDA B remained top one point ahead of Inkberrow B.
Previously, third-placed Warwick also slid back a couple of places as they had no match this week.
Chipping Campden B made a move up the table to third when they disposed of Claverdon C 4-0.
Pershore B also moved up behind them after they recorded an easy 4-0 win over lowly Aston Cantlow.
Despite it only being halfway through the season, Cantlow and Claverdon C appear to be in desperate trouble.
An important match at the top of Division Four saw leaders Bidford-on-Avon A take on third-placed Wildmoor Spa A (14) at Stratford.
The 4-0 result to Bidford meant they moved seven points clear with Wildmoor dropping to fifth.
Inkberrow C, in second place, recorded a comfortable 4-0 victory over Moreton-in-Marsh B.
Redditch side HDA C moved up to third after beating bottom side Moreton-in-Marsh C 4-0.
Evesham B trail a point further back in fourth when they defeated Bidford B 3-1.
At this point, the two Moreton-in-Marsh teams are facing the drop.
In Division Five, joint leaders Shipston B lost the lead at the top with 17 points after losing 3-1 to near bottom Inkberrow D.
Not only did Shipston B lose, but only one pair turned out for the match so had a vital league point deducted.
Meanwhile, new leaders Chipping Campden C also slipped to second after going down 3-1 to Warwickshire County Council who, with this result, moved up to third place.
Newcomers Tysoe moved well away from the bottom into mid-table, thanks to a storming 4-0 victory at Redditch against HDA D.
A mid-table match between Henley C and Wildmoor Spa B resulted in a 4-0 win for Henley C.
