Penarth Lawn Tennis Club men in celebratory mood

With some key players having left the club in recent years, expectations were low for the season, but with many of the club’s junior players stepping up a level, and with some experienced campaigners having a great year, the four men's teams finished with two first place and two third place finishes – far exceeding expectations.

The huge surprise success story of the season has been the men’s fourth team, newly entered in to the league in Division 9 East, and finishing at the top, winning seven matches out of eight.

For a team so reliant on junior players, the team performed heroically. Tom Jenkins, Sam Hancock, Tomy Friel, Jonathan Ignacio and Rory Wiltshire were all regulars in the side, helped along by the experience of Simon Clarke and Chris Roberts, the latter having returned to the Rectory Road club 30 years after playing there as a junior himself.

Other youngsters making important contributions were Ewan Andrews, David Bird, Tomos Jones and Zain Yousef, while old-timers Dave Randall and Alun Richards also pitched in with important rubbers.

The team’s achievement was a great source of pride not only to the juniors but also to parents, not to mention club coaches Ben Coates and Rob Cunningham.

Cunningham meanwhile, has been a key figure in a fabulous season for the men’s first team, who reacted in just the right way after their disappointing relegation from Premier Division III last year, by storming through Division 1 East, winning all of their 10 matches.

Sealing top spot with two matches to spare, the team had a core of seven players, again with a great blend of youth and experience. Rob Cunningham was the only ever-present throughout the season, playing all 10 matches; Gavin Seymour played nine; Martin Radford and skipper Tom Pegg played eight; London-based Ed Stradling played six, as did youngsters Joe Hall and Spencer Robinson (who only turned 16 at the end of the season).

Such was the team’s dominance that all seven of the core squad had at least a 66 per cent win record, and with the team having survived several close matches over the season, every rubber was important, including those won by James Williams, Adam Muse, Dave Wilson, Ben Coates and Pete Jones, all of whom deputised to good effect over the course of the season.

However, the champagne is on ice for the moment, because in Division 1 East, winning the league does not guarantee promotion. To get back to the Premier league status, the team must win a play-off match against the runners-up from Division 1 West in September.

Having only escaped relegation last season by a fortunate quirk of the rules, expectations weren’t high for the men’s second team this year, particularly with most of last year’s key players having moved up to the first team. Their plight was helped by one team dropping out of the league, which meant two wins out of eight might be enough to avoid finishing in the relegation zone, but Penarth still looked likely to make the drop until the final match of the season.

Dave Seeley had been the team’s top performer, winning six of his 10 rubbers, while Dave Wilson, skipper Ben Coates, Sam Hancock, Giles Gray, Joe Hall, Rob Mahoney, Pete Jones, Niall Seeley and John Abrams had all pitched in with important rubbers.

But of these players, only Coates and Hancock were available for the last match against second placed Whitchurch - a match Penarth had to win to stay in the division. Although Whitchurch were without a couple of key players, the task facing the Rectory Road side was formidable, but Coates pulled off a tactical masterstroke by promoting the triumphant fourth team more or less en masse, to face an opposition fully seven divisions above their usual level.

Coates lined up with four of the fourth team regulars (Simon Clarke, Tommy Friel, Chris Roberts and Tom Jenkins), plus Sam Hancock who had been promoted earlier in the season, and between them they notched up a fabulous 5-1 win, including three wins on match tie-breaks, meaning the team has clung on to its highly respectable Division 2 status for the third year running.

The men’s third team also slightly exceeded expectations, finishing third in a tight Division 5 East, where they will stay next season. With two strong teams dominating the division, Penarth did more than enough to hold their own, winning five matches out of 10. Evergreen Dave Foster and Rob Mahoney both played eight of the 10 matches, Geoff Morgan played seven and skipper Mike Matthews six, with Giles Gray, George Johnson, Ewan Andrews, Paul Robinson, Alun Richards, John and Charlie Abrams, Dave Wilson, Dave Randall and Pete Jones all contributing.

It was a less happy season for the ladies’ teams at Rectory Road. Of the four teams, only the ladies’ second team avoided relegation, finishing third in Division 4 East with five wins out of 10 matches. The core squad was Vanessa Parselle, Jane Humpage, Anne Hamilton (captain), Aisling Friel, Chloe Parselle, Beth Randall, Mally Hann, Jane Lorimer and Nicola Donovan, who all won important rubbers over the season.

With key players missing, and others out of form, the ladies’ first team lost their prized status in Premier Division II. They managed three wins of their 10 matches but it wasn’t enough, and a fifth place finish will see them drop down to Division 1 East next season. Alys Randall, Nicola Williams, Kylie Skinner, Caroline Hazell and Deb Gale made up the core squad, with Briohny Gelling and Anne Hamilton also winning rubbers for the team.

The ladies’ third team suffered the same fate as the first team, winning a respectable three matches out of 10 in Division 6 East, but it wasn’t quite enough to stave off relegation as they finished in fifth place. Of a huge group of 17 players, Kath Muse, Gill Munro (captain), Nicky Rotherham, Jane Crofts, Isobel Symonds, Lane Lorimer and Ceri Hancock were the most successful, all managing to win at least three rubbers, while Nicola Donovan, Catherine Thomas, Vicky Hall, Pauline Williams, Victoria and Sandra Radford also made important contributions.

Such has been the increase in playing activity on the women’s side that they also fielded a ladies’ fourth team this season for the first time. Christine Glossop, Jenny Booth, Aneela Yousef, Amanda Lyons, Sarah Cuffin, Llywela Wilson, Vinny Mott, Nicola Lloyd Evans, Jayne Mortishead and captain Marjolaine Masse all won rubbers for the team, who managed one win, and were competitive in several other matches, but ultimately finished bottom of Division 7 East. Better luck next season ladies.

The club is always looking for new members, please contact chairman@pltc.org.uk for details, and for coaching details it’s robthecoach@valetennisacademy.co.uk.