Old Carthusian Real Tennis Club
Hon Secretary: Brian Sharp (R54) BSharp318@aol.com.
OC John Wallington (V'90) at his new 'local club', Key Biscayne, Florida
Once again, our Cup run has been ended in the last 4 of the competition, by the holders KCS Old Boys.
Despite fielding one of our strongest line ups of the last few years we were unable to make it to that elusive final at the All England in September. Our 1st pair of James Acheson-Gray (V89) & Rupert Lawson (L90) were robbed of a winning start after missing a tight call that would have out them 6-5 up in the tie break of the important 1st set. Their opponents included the no.1 in Europe (juniors), the U16 pro was still at school, but left KCS at 14 making him eligible to play old boys tennis! He was possibly the weakest on the very solid KCS team (Steven Morris, James Mustoe & Blake Hutchins), making that 7-6, 7-6 loss the closest match of the evening. Seb Munns (B'06) & Chris Kurkjian (W93) were unable to conjure up enough of the magic displayed in the last round, despite support from Dom Wright, Becky Munns, Guy Tassell & David Drayson and couldn't deliver a set either.
Many thanks to all the team who have made this a memorable year once again, particularly the quarter final win against Old Paulines. James, Seb, Rupert & Tim Drayson (V94) all contributed massive efforts to keeping Charterhouse where we belong, amongst the top 4 seeded public schools of the nation.
During post match dinner, we all decided more training is in order, perhaps with pro coaching. We are also revisiting the idea of an OC polo shirt for the whole society.
Some better news however comes from across the pond, where former D'Abernon Cup Winner, John Wallington (V'90) has been topping up his trophy cabinet as well as his sun tan in Florida. Johnny has just taken the Key Biscayne All Island 2008 Doubles Trophy in emphatic style including a 1hr30 1st set in 93C heat (85% humidity) coolly finishing with a 16-14 tie break.....well done John!
Roll on 2009!
CK
Epic Match Vs Old Paulines @Queens 27/7
Weeks of negotiations for match dates with the Old Paulines resulted in the OCs being able to field the exemplary former D'Abernon Skipper James Acheson Gray (V'89) for the first time in 6 years, in the same team as Seb Munns (B'06) our latest star player to join the team.
The news that the OPs (whom we have not beaten in recent memory) were fielding the world no. 900, fresh from the tour and that he would be playing with the talismanic Chris Gottleib was slightly deflating to say the least. But as Guy Tassell wisely commented "rankings mean nothing".
The first match pitted James and Chris against the OP 2nd pair (including Sacha Rose), after squandering a lead in the final set tie break, the OC pair were disappointingly beaten 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Our other OC pair of Seb & Tim Drayson went down 6-3, 6-4 against Gottleib & Amadeus (the world ranked player), after agonisingly being unable to convert 13 break points. So 2-0 down, and 4 sets to 1, things were not looking great.
The second rubber saw both OC pairs claim the first set against a confident (and at times arrogant) opposition, with tensions rising on Seb & Tim's court. The more experienced OPs attempting to pile pressure on our 20 year old Seb, with back chatting, and suspect calling.
Things were going extremely well for James & Chris, and thankfully we took our opportunities when they presented themselves, and won 6-4, 7-6(3) against Gottleib & Amadeus, making a mockery of his ranking. Seb, unrattled by the baiting from across the net rallied impressively with Tim to seal the straight sets win with a tie break finish and claim a monumentous victory for the Old Carthusians.
An excellent team performance, and wonderful to have a fuller squad to take on the bigger teams with.
Next challenge KCS Old Boys in the semi.
OC Matches & Practices May & June 2008
A strong start to the season was last night boosted by the return of James Acheson Gray, adding his customary elegance to the court and raising our level of play.
Drayson was on form, sending out a marker to other D'Abernon hopefuls, Brazier was certainly the most powerful player, but perhaps let down by his consistency. Good performances from Nick Higgins and Guy Ladenburg, and a welcome return from the exciting prospect that is Shaun Reynolds. Great to have you all back. Thanks also to Damien & Alastair for joining us from the Queen's team.
Next Wednesday we have greater numbers, so if any of the below expect to be late or can only play an hour, please let me know so that we can juggle accordingly. Please note it is the Champions League Final, so some of us will undoubtedly be watching this in the bar after the game.
We are still looking for 6 names for the match on Carthusian Day. Perhaps Tim, Ed, Nick you can suggest a doubles partner, family member who may wish to join. Brodie, Alastair & Damien, would you like to join us?
CK
21/05/08 Queen's Club Practice 6.30-8.30pm (Artificial Grass Courts 14&15)
Guy Tassell
Tim Drayson
Sean Brasier
Fay Dalby
Miranda Joseph
Rupert Lawson
Chris Kurkjian
Guy Ladenburg
Brodie Gibson
Doug Adler
24/05/08 MATCH Vs Charterhouse (Carthusian Day), 1pm
Chris Kurkjian
Tim Drayson
Ed Reid
Nick Higgins
Simon Bramwell
James Silvester
6 Spaces
29/05/08 MATCH Vs Old Wellingtonians, Hurlingham, 6.30pm
3 pair Team undecided...from:
Rupert Lawson
Chris Kurkjian
Tim Drayson
Sean Brasier
Fay Dalby
Shaun Reynolds
Nick Higgins
03/06/08 MATCH Vs Old Wets, Vincent Square, 6.30pm
2 pair
Chris Kurkjian
Tim Drayson
Sean Brasier
Charlie Mole
Dom Wright