Ellesmere College Tennis Academy Players Compete in National Competition

Pupils from the Ellesmere College Tennis Academy have much to smile about after a weekend spent competing in all three categories of the Lawn Tennis Association Senior Students National Finals, which were held at Bolton Arena.

The Boys' Team recorded an excellent win on the first day of the competition against Warwickshire College, but the following morning were defeated by eventual champions Bournemouth Grammar School after a titanic struggle to determine who would finish top of the group.

The Girls' Team were severely weakened by injury and absences, meaning that their Captain, Luana Nanu, was the only member of the quartet who had previously represented the College in the competition. However some gutsy displays were ultimately rewarded with a thrilling tiebreak victory against Kings Bruton in their last fixture, ensuring that they finished third in their group.

The weekend concluded with the Mixed Doubles' Competition, with the quartet of Luana Nanu, James Joule, Scott Wagner and Emily Lewis defying aching limbs to record two victories out of three in the group stages. However, they missed out on qualifying for the final by the narrowest of margins, with St Peters School progressing at their expense by virtue of having dropped one fewer set over the course of their three fixtures.

Academy Director Nikki Hoy was delighted with her teams' efforts. 'For Ellesmere College t o be one of only two schools in the country to qualify for all three competitions is a fantastic achievement, and then to perform at such a high level for three days of physically and mentally draining tennis says a lot about the kind of players which we have in our Academy. I am very proud of them all.'

25th March 2009  Back to News