2011 Ladies National Championships: Top seeds cruise through

20 pairs took part in the qualifying rounds of the National Ladies Championships at Eton on Sunday. Half-term meant that unfortunately none of the talented Highgate school pairs were able to test themselves at this level, but it was pleasing to see good representation from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, a testament to the great work being done there by Constance Mantle, Eli Hullis, Annabel Griffiths and others. There were also players from Shrewsbury, Emanuel, Oakham, Westway, North Oxford and even Marlborough and hopefully the ladies game can continue to expand in these and other centres to raise the entry in this competition in future years.

On court, the 20 pairs were divided into four groups and the results reflected the seedings, with the top eight seeds reaching the quarter-finals, the top four the semis and the top two the final, with holders Dominique Redmond and Kerry White scheduled to defend their title against Charlotta Cooley and Marianne Rees at Eton on April 10th in a repeat of last year's final.

The Festival final was won 15-14 (from 9-14 down!) by Oxford University pair Alice Walker and Izzy Watts against Shrewsbury school's Alice Brett and Lucy Rands.

Results

Quarter-finals:

D.Redmond & K.White (1) beat J.Browning & L.Bishop (8) 2-0 (12-1, 12-3)

E.Scoones & K.Hird (4) beat A.Griffiths & E.Hullis (5) 2-0 (12-4, 12-5)

A.Ganguly & F.Barnes (3) beat C.Mantle & H.Cutmore-Scott (6) 2-0 (12-1, 15-10)

C.Cooley & M.Rees (2) beat A.Lumbard & L.Pugh (7) 2-0 (12-1, 12-1)

Semi-finals:

D.Redmond & K.White beat E.Scoones & K.Hird 2-0 (12-5, 12-3)

C.Cooley & M.Rees beat A.Ganguly & F.Barnes 2-0 (12-4, 12-8)

Festival

Semi-finals:

A.Walker & I.Watts beat M.Clemmett & M.Cole

A.Brett & L.Rands beat H.Allan & H.Asquith

Final:

A.Walker & I.Watts beat A.Brett & L.Rands 15-14