Francos Autumn Tennis League
We are now into week 7 of 9 in this year’s Francos Autumn tennis league and it is still all to play for in the Monday group while the Mad Fish look secure at the top of the Wednesday group.
Monday Night
Having led the group for the first four weeks the Bolzanos found themselves down in third spot and in desperate need of a big win. While they were only two games behind second placed Milanos, tonight’s match against bottom team Ferraras represented their best chance of gaining that big score to put them back in contention. However the Ferraras were not for lying down fighting doggedly on all courts, winning two and drawing one of the eight matches and only narrowly losing three games. Step up Bolzanos team captain Alex Knowles and Enid Redmond who played superbly to record a resounding 11-1 win with Alex modestly putting the margin of victory down to their opponents love affair with the wrong side of the net. The final match saw a second 11-1 win for the Bolzanos through top mens pairing Clive Funston and JR Dundas both of whom were in majestic serving form giving the Bolzanos a somewhat flattering but nonetheless crucial 61-35 victory.
Looking to extend a hot winning streak, Donal Burns group leading Margerhitas knew they would be safely in the semis if they could overcome second placed Milanos. However they were not able to recapture last week’s fireworks and found themselves outplayed by a spirited Milanos team. Leading from the front Milanos captain Catherine Sloan partnered by Mark Cousins won her opening match 9-3 with a string of decisive volleys securing the key points. The other big scorers for the Milanos were Lisa Greaves and Daire Dillon with Lisa now playing her best tennis and starting to bring her powerful forehand into play while Daire continues to show a superb touch at the net. While Margerhita’s Josie Boyle and Liz Murphy did combine well for a 6-6 draw in their match with Dympna Slowey and Lisa it was not enough and the Milanos took both the match and the group top spot from the Margerhitas with an impressive 60-36 win.
Wednesday Night
Had Noel Coward lived in the Fermanagh climate it might have been Mad Fish and all-day rain rather than Mad Dogs and midday sun and so it proved on Wednesday night as the Mad Fish playing in heavy rain throughout outscored their nearest rivals the Billi Billis 60-36 to make their place in the semis a mere formality. Leading by four games after the top mixed doubles, an 11-1 win for Marius Blake and Martina Boyd, maintaining this Mad Fish pairing’s amazing 100% league record, put the Fish into a 14 game lead. However the Billi Billis hadn’t given up and an impressive 9-3 win for Johnny Guette and Vivienne Kells in the last mixed match cut the gap to eight games. Unfortunately it was only a temporary reprieve for the Billi Billis as the Mad Fish lifted the tempo winning all four remaining doubles matches by 16 games with Marius again securing 11 games this time with partnered by Andy Elliott.
Having just seen the second placed Billi Billis badly beaten, tonight’s second match now represented yet another visit to the last chance coral for the Chilli Monks. Facing off against the Early Birds, who are still winless after six rounds, it was surprisingly the Early Birds who proved themselves to be late starters putting in their best performance of the league so far in holding the Chilli Monks to a 48-48 draw. The Early Birds dominated the mixed doubles winning three of the four matches and leading 27-21 at the half-way stage. Their strong showing continued as they increased this lead by a further 2 games only to be undone in the very last match as Chilli Monks Yvonne Masterson and sub Enid Redmond rescued the tie with a 10-2 win at the death. Impressing for the Early Birds were David Casey and Rod McCreesh who both contributed 15 games in winning their two matches on the night and while it is too late for the Early Birds to challenge for the semis they may be able to build on this week’s dramatic improvement to help secure that elusive win before the league closes in two weeks time.
Francos League Standings after seven weeks with the top two to qualify from each group are:
Monday Nights: Milanos 356 games, Bolzanos 355, Margerhitas 351, Ferrraras 282
Wednesday Night: Mad Fish 395 games, Billi Billis 338, Chilli Monks 324, Early Birds 287
