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.
2010/11 Barber Cup Final: Olavians win again
Mark Williams reports:
2011 EFA Trophy: Berkhamsted pip the Salopians in epic
The semi-finals and final of the 2011 EFA Trophy took place at Eton at the weekend and produced a day of fiercely contested matches between four well-matched teams: Berkhamsted, North Oxford, Old Wulfrunians and Old Salopians.
2010/11 Under 21s: Mantle and Cutmore-Scott win all Oxford final
The Under 21s Ladies Championships at Eton produced an increased entry compared to last year's competition, but suffered slightly from clashes with half-term at Highgate and the unavailability of pairs from a couple of other key schools. What was a little lacking in quantity was more than made up for in quality, however, as six pairs battled it out to become the second ever winners of this competition, following on from Emily Scoones and Natalie Lilienthal's win in the inaugural 2010 event.
2010/11 Under 21s: Joyce and O'Neill retain their title
The second EFA Under 21 Championships took place at Eton yesterday, with a much larger entry than last year and a tremendous day's Fives.
2011 Northern Tournament: Shrewsbury injury jinx hands title to Dunbar and Cooley
The Northern Tournament took place at Shrewsbury over the weekend with around 50 pairs taking part, split across the main tournament and the festival. Much of the interest was centred on how the newly formed partnership of Tom Dunbar and Seb Cooley would perform. A slightly tentative start in their semi-final against Howard Wiseman and Peter Cohen was soon overcome as they won through in straight games to face top seeds James Toop and Matthew Wiseman, who had seen off a determined challenge from Peter White and George Campbell in the other semi.
2010/11 Barber Cup semi-finals: Olavians and Salopians through into the final
Who can stop the Old Olavians? The Kent side marched into the final again with a routine victory over a plucky but outclassed Old Edwardian outfit and it will be up to second seeds the Old Salopians to try and deny the Olavians their eighth successive victory in the Alan Barber Cup. The Salopians saw off a determined challenge from the Lancing Old Boys in the other semi-final and now have three weeks to decide on the best line-up and team tactics to break the Olavians dominance.
2011 EFA Trophy Qualifiers
Always one of the highlights of the Fives calendar, the EFA Trophy qualifying rounds took place yesterday. With 13 teams entered again this year, the tournament had to be split between two venues, with one group playing at Eton and the other at Harrow. In the end, it was the four top seeds who made it through to the semi-finals in three weeks time, but there was much more to the day's Fives than just the question of who qualified.
2010/11 County Championships: Herts-ache for Warwickshire
Hertfordshire clinched the County Championship title yesterday at Eton for the fourth year in succession with a resounding 3-0 victory over Warwickshire.