Bennett Cup stalemate
Eveline Apthorp van der linden was one of a number of Marlborough players to win all their three matches on Sunday. Photo Peter Jones.
Honours were even after the first round of play in the prestigious Bennett Cup fixture on Sunday.
The annual two-leg competition between representatives of the Marlborough Tennis Club and the Nelson Lawn Tennis Club team is level at 22-22 after the weekend’s action in Nelson.
The trophy’s history dates to the mid-1920s, making it one of the longest-standing club tennis ties still going in New Zealand.
Teams from each club, comprising 12 men and 12 women compete in doubles, singles and mixed doubles.
Sunday’s early action suggested the first meeting of the two clubs would be close.
Following the opening doubles and reverse doubles, both Nelson and Marlborough had won eight matches each, with five of these requiring a super tiebreak third set to decide the outcome, underlining the close nature of the tennis.
Nelson’s men came to the fore in the singles, winning six of the eight clashes and pushing the home side to a four-match lead. The only successes for Marlborough came from Dan Clarke and Stu Campbell.
By contrast, the women’s singles were much more even, being shared 4-4. Heidi Stenhouse-Allen had a tough three-set win over Sabia Longman while Donna Clark, Isobel O’Brien, and Eveline Apthorp van der Linden had more comfortable straight set victories.
With Nelson ahead by four the pressure was on Marlborough’s mixed doubles combinations and they delivered in front of eager team mates, winning eight of the 12 encounters to level the overall scoreline at 22-22.
Now attention turns to the return fixture, at the Marlborough Tennis Club on February 23, where the destination of the Bennett Cup for this season will be decided.
Outstanding contributions from Marlborough on the day came from Taylor Keen, O’Brien, Stenhouse-Allen, Mary-Anne Sloper, Apthorp van der Linden and Owen Dodson, all five winning their three matches on the day.
A feature was the number of junior players participating, with Theo Sandford-Jury, Max Sowman, O’Brien and Dan Clarke all contributing to a very competitive team.
The Marlborough team: Men: Dan Clarke, Stephen Dempster, Max Sowman, Stu Campbell, Owen Dodson, Jaco van Hensbergen, Scott Booth, Michael Kamson, Paul Carrodus, Theo Sandford-Jury, Rob Milne, Damian Wilkinson. Women: Amber Lyons, Donna Clark, Heidi Stenhouse-Allen, Mieko Kimura, Eveline Apthorp van der Linden, Isobel O’Brien, Anna Simpson, Anna Knight, Caroline Cornelius, Mary-Anne Sloper, Taylor Keen, Ashleigh McLean.