Inter Schools Doubles Level Championship (Seniors) 2024

A4 v B4 Radley 3 bt Wellington 2 6/2

A3 v B3 Wellington 3 bt Canford 1

S/Finals Radley 2 lost Radley 1 2/6

Oratory bt Wellington 1 6/2

Final Radley 1 bt Oratory 8/2

Though without any truly outstanding pairs this year, the competition was closely contested with very few one-sided matches and no-one going unbeaten. Notable for two sets of brothers playing for Radley (though split), both made the semi-finals. Wellington 1 (Edwards & Barton) played well before losing to Oratory (Milton & Bradley), their best pair for some years in the semi-final. Radley 1 (Hugo Acheson-Gray & Ambrose Garson) dropped their final group game to Oratory, thus losing top spot and enforcing a semi against Radley 2 (Rory Acheson-Gray & Laszlo Garson). In this match, Ambrose regained his mojo before continuing to fire in the final where they gained ample revenge over the Oratory by 8/2.

Wellington 3 (Bennet & Smith) played well for 3^rd place and then beating Canford (Fountain & Blackburn) in the play-off. Radley 3 (Henman & Weekes) played well, pushing both Wellington pairs for little return before beating Wellington 2 (Kirby & Wyld) in their play-off. Canford played well, but were unlucky to miss qualification on games.

A4 v B4 Eton 4 bt Eton 3 6/5

A3 v B3 Wellington 5 v Wellington 4 delayed

Semi-Finals Eton 1 bt Canford 2 6/2 Radley 4 bt Eton 2 6/0

FINAL Eton 1 bt Radley 4 6/2

The presence of 4 Eton pairs (the first for some time) greatly enhanced this B grade event. Playing at Holyport with Richard Coughtrie, they have clearly made much progress and should be congratulated on their 1^st pair (Gard & Hurst) winning the B grade title by beating a very decent Radley pair in the final 6/2.

This, overall, was a very competitive event with very few easy sets. Only one pair won all their matches (Eton 1) and only one pair lost them all – though two only by 5/6. Radley 4 (Carlisle & Magnay) had the misfortune to meet Eton 1 twice, losing 2/6 both time – though neither were remotely one-sided. Canford 2 (White and Snell) fell to Eton in the semi-final, also by 2/6 while Eton 2 (Myrddin-Evans & Scrope) also qualified for the semi-final before falling to Radley. The girls of Wellington 4 (Compton-Burnett & Pitts) should also be congratulated, only failing to qualify by .02 of a game but winning 2 of 3 matches and showing some real flair on the way. Their play-off with Wellington 5 was to be delayed to a home venue.

It was good to see at least one trophy heading to a school without a court.