Stratford celebrate as they claim 14th successive title
STRATFORD clinched their 14th successive Wildmoor Spa Tennis League championship following a 4-0 win over Evesham.
Ardencote Manor and Alcester are still competing for the runners-up spot.
Ardencote comfortably beat equal fifth placed Henley-in-Arden 4-0 while Alcester surprisingly went down to the other joint fifth-placed team Moreton-in-Marsh (17) 3-1.
Studley kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive with 16 points, one below the other two teams, by beating bottom club Claverdon 4-0.
Stratford fielded new pairing Chris Marrow with Will Morley-Cotterrell, who took both their rubbers in straight sets beating Simon Wall and Chris Francis (Evesham) 6-3, 6-2.
They then beat John Clarke and Julian Heath 6-1, 6-2.
Stratford’s other pair Callum Bailey and Simon West did even better dropping only one game over the two rubbers.
They beat Clarke and Heath 6-0, 6-0, and beat Wall and Francis 6-1, 6-0.
Ardencote Manor trail Stratford by 14 points with only 12 on offer for the remainder of the season.
Nevertheless, they were impressive in their 4-0 victory over Henley.
Best pair on the night for Ardencote were Ben Summers and Myles Wilcox-Smith who had two straight sets victories over Tom Griffiths and Tate Marcus (Henley) 6-2, 6-3, and then over Brett Mackay and Sam Turner (Henley) 6-4, 7-5.
John Brain & Jack Smith (Ardencote) beat Mackay & Turner 6-1, 7-5, and beat Griffiths and Marcus 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 after a championship tie-break.
Alcester slipped badly in their 3-1 defeat to Moreton-in-Marsh.
The latter’s Gary Jackson and Elliott James beat Harry Morley Cotterell and Barney Williams (Alcester) 6-0, 7-5, and beat Tim Kenneally and Tom Edmunds (Alcester) 6-2, 7-5.
Moreton captain Brian Lomas and Chris Elliott lost to Kenneally and Edmunds 4-6, 6-3, 0-1, but bounced back to beat Morley-Cotterell & Williams 6-4, 6-2.
Studley kept in the fight to avoid relegation with this crucial 4-0 victory over Claverdon.
Damian Hampton and Martin Richards (Studley) beat Richard Butler and John Edwards (Claverdon) 6-1, 6-4 and beat Tony Supperstone and Sam Ward (Claverdon) 6-1, 6-3.
Vince Morrisey and Mark Willmore (Studley) beat Supperstone and Ward 6-4, 6-1 and beat Butler and Edwards 6-4, 6-2.
HDA Redditch are still favourites for the division one title despite suffering a bad result, losing 3-1 to mid-table Pershore.
Snitterfield moved up to equal second place to join Alcester B on 24 points after they beat Alcester 3-1.
Ardencote B lie just a point behind in third following their 4-0 thrashing of bottom side Studley B. Littleton beat Whitnash 4-0.
Chipping Campden A opened up a late lead in the division two title race and celebrated an invaluable 3-1 win over title contenders and previous leaders Inkberrow A, who now drop to second place.
Stratford B lie a further point back in third as they recorded a 3-1 win over last but one placed Studley C.
In mid-table, fifth-placed Snitterfield B and sixth-placed FISSC drew 2-2, while one final result saw fourth side Claverdon B hammer lowly Aston Cantlow 4-0.
In division three, Shipston-on-Stour A regained the lead thanks to 4-0 battering of Inkberrow B.
Henley B now lie three points behind on 29 having been held to a 2-2 draw by fourth-placed HDA B Redditch.
Alcester C closed up in third with a resounding 4-0 result over relegation-threatened Inkberrow C.
Claverdon C, who would have been due to play Ilmington, had no match due the latter withdrawing from the league.
This action meant that Ilmington were confirmed as one of the two teams to be relegated from the division.
Pershore B are virtually certain of the title for division four.
They lead by 11 with 37 points and only three weeks left of the season.
They scored a 4-0 whitewash of bottom-placed Moreton-in-Marsh C, dropping only three games the entire match.
Warwick moved up into second place as fellow promotion prospects after they beat sixth-placed and relegation-threatened Wildmoor Spa A 3-1.
Chipping Campden B trail three points behind due to being held to a 2-2 draw by Littleton B. One final result saw fourth-placed Moreton-in-Marsh B defeat HDA C Redditch 3-1.
In division five, Bidford-on-Avon A maintained a commanding lead of eight points with a 4-0 win over Chipping Campden C.
Bidford B are fighting hard for the second promotion spot and enjoyed a good 4-0 win over HDA D Redditch.
Hard on their heels are Evesham B, who beat Wildmoor Spa B.
Not far behind them with 25 points are Warwickshire County Council, who are keen to gain promotion in their first season in the league. They were held to a 2-2 draw by sixth-placed Shipston-on-Stour B.
