rackets Fixture

Milne Hue Williams Cup Old Boys Under 24 Doubles Championship 2012

Updated Milne Hue Williams Draw 2012

RESULTS

Semi Finals

Eton (Will Hopton/ James Rowland Clark) bt Cheltenham (Nick James/ Andrew Stout) 15/10, 15/11, 15/9

Winchester (Christian Portz/ Sean Knight) bt Wellington (James Fuller/ Rod Shephard) 5/15, 11/15, 15/3, 15/3, 15/11

Final

Eton (Will Hopton/ James Rowland Clark) bt Winchester (Christian Portz/ Sean Knight) 15/10, 15/12, 12/15, 15/12

Charles Hue Williams appropriately on hand to present the prizes

This season's Milne Hue Williams had an excellent entry of 11 pairs. They were spread across a range of schools with Cheltenham entering 3 pairs and Eton 2. The tournament benefited from overlapping with the first weekend of the Open Doubles as a number of players competed in both draws.

The event began on Saturday 14th with a round robin stage. The pairs had been drawn into 3 groups with the top 2 in each qualifying to advance to the knockout stages. There were a number of excellent contests including final game wins for Winchester (C.Portz + S.Knight) over Eton II (C.Stefanowicz + H.Britton) and Cheltenham III (T.Barton + A.Mason). This ensured Winchester qualified as the winners of group B. Cheltenham III joined them in the next stage by overcoming Eton II in another match that wasn't decided until 3rd and final game. Group C was eventually won by Wellington (J.Fuller + R.Shephard) as they defeated Cheltenham I (N.James + A.Stout) in a match that went to a deciding set. Cheltenham still went through as runners up virtue of victories over Malvern (O.Sloane + C.Elsden) and Rugby (R.Offord + D.Mackenzie). Group A was fairly uneventful as the top seeds Eton I (W.Hopton + J.Rowland Clark) breezed through their 2 matches. Cheltenham II (F.Clarke + A.Gilbert) secured the final place in the knockout rounds by beating Harrow (D.Dundas + C.Berrill).

Eton and Winchester both received byes through to Sunday morning's semi finals which left 2 quarter-final matches to be played on Saturday night. In the first of these Cheltenham I were a little too strong for their third pair although Mason and Barton competed well throughout. In the second quarter Chelteham II won the first game against Wellington and had their chances to close out the victory. However Fuller and Shephard in their last tournament as U24s eventually squeaked home 15-12 in 3rd.

There was much good rackets on show during both semi-finals. In the first of which Eton I defeated Cheltenham I in 3 straight games but the match contained a number of excellent rallies. The serving of Rowland Clark was perhaps the deciding factor in the end. The second semi went the distance. Portz and Knight started slowly and trailed by 2 games to love before a tremendous comeback that saw them claim the match 15/11 in 5th. Fuller and Shephard deserve great credit for pushing Winchester so close.

The final was fiercely contested throughout. Eton were always just ahead in an excellent first game before Winchester raced into 9-0 in the second. However good play from both Hopton and Rowland Clark saw them coming storming back to take the game 15/12. Once Eton had established a 12-4 lead in 3rd game all seemed over but Winchester would not lie down. Portz went through a strong patch in the box and was well supported by Knight. They were able to reverse the deficit and recovered the game. Winchester therefore had all the momentum heading into the fourth but Eton rallied well and kept in touch. They eventually just did enough to win the game 15/12 and claim the title.

Charles Hue Williams was on hand to present the prizes. A huge thank to Queen's for hosting the event and to the T + RA. Finally Will Hopton once again did a sterling job as organiser and he will be sorely missed at U24 events as he moves over the pond to his new position in Chicago.