The climax of the ten week long autumn league sponsored by Pat’s Bar & Grill took place at Enniskillen Tennis Club last week. Taking part in the first semi-final last Monday was the Night Owls against the Diamond Aces. Donal Burns and Leonie Madigan’s opening win for the Owls was immediately nullified by the win of Ace players Martin Hamblin and Bernie Hall. Cormac Jordan and Corrie Cadden continued their fine run of form with a clearcut win for the Owls quickly followed by team-mates Kate McManus and substitute Paul Carron who put in a masterful performance to win their match 9-3. This put the Owls 8 points ahead at the half-way stage. One of the best matches of the night was between Donal Burns and Marius Blake (Owls) who had a real tussle against Innes Redmond and Martin Hamblin. In a hard hitting match of long rallies, Innes and Martin came out ahead 7-5 to narrow the gap to six points. Once again, Maxine Leary and Bernie Hall achieved another big win for the Aces which gave their team renewed hope as the gap narrowed to two points. The rock solid pairing of Corrie Cadden and Kate McManus put the Owls back on an even keel again and they flew home 51-45 to clinch their place in the final.
The other semi-final was between Townhall Towers and the Backbar Baseliners. In a very tight contest, Dominic Burns and Moira McAdam had to settle for a 6-6 draw against Ollie McShea and Liz Murphy. It was the 7-5 win for Brian Donaldson and Heather Williams against Steven Ringland and Kathleen Murphy that gave the Towers a narrow lead at the half way stage. The teams were level on points once again when Steven Ringland and Allen Reynolds overcame Brian Donaldson and Johnny Guette. Moira McAdam and Janet Love’s win for the Towers against Liz Murphy and Liz McGuinness was cancelled out by the win of Ollie McShea and Paul Lendrum over Dominic Burns and JR Dundas. All square and with only one match to go, it was the decisive win of Aunt Kathleen (Murphy) and Gwen Wilson that finally set the Baseliners on the road to the final.
The final was played last Wednesday between the two top teams –the Night Owls captained by Marius Blake against Liz Murphy’s Backbar Baseliners. Once again, Cormac Jordan and Corrie Cadden featured prominently for the Owls with a 9-3 win and this lead was doubled with an equally convincing win by ‘special’ sub Nick Meeke and Kate McManus. A 12 point lead at the half-way stage was virtually eliminated by the clear win by possibly the strongest partnership for the Baseliners Ollie McShea and Paul Lendrum, at number one doubles. However the Owls were not to be denied and a decisive win by the two new recruits to the league, Corrie Cadden and Kate McManus sealed a deserved victory for the Owls with an overall 52-44 win on the night.
Tribute was paid by the chair of Enniskillen Tennis Club Maxine Leary, to the sponsors Pat’s Bar & Grill for their generous sponsorship. This has traditionally been one of the most popular events in the club calendar and this year’s league proved no exception. It will be remembered as one of the closest fought leagues for many a year.
