Mike Clapshaw (Kerikeri, pictured) and partner Andrew Ramsay (Northcote) were unbeaten in the men’s A grade to take out the title at the Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles tennis tournament.
Mike Clapshaw (Kerikeri, pictured) and partner Andrew Ramsay (Northcote) were unbeaten in the men’s A grade to take out the title at the Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles tennis tournament.
This was the 38th year the tournament has been run and it is due to the efforts of Janet Agnew herself and fellow Northland tennis stalwart Raewyn Heywood.
The tournament hosted men’s and ladies’ doubles on Saturday and a mixed doubles tournament on Sunday. This year Fullers Bay of Islands sponsored the main prize on offer for all entrants, with 50 other local sponsors providing a wealth of prizes for tournament placegetters.
Saturday’s weather added a challenging edge to the men’s and ladies’ doubles action, with extremely strong winds gusting all day. Luckily for Sunday’s mixed tournament entrants the wind dropped away, with hot temperatures and equally hot competition.
The newly formed combination of Mike Clapshaw (Kerikeri) and Andrew Ramsay (Northcote) were unbeaten in the men’s A grade. Proving a class act, they provided spectator-worthy tennis all day to clean up the top division. They faced Mairtown tennis club locals Keith Cocking and Michael Walters in the final, winning in two sets 6-3 6-3.
Northland tennis stalwart Raewyn Henwood won the ladies' A division at the recent Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles tennis tournament, alongside daughter Shelley Yeates.
In the ladies’ A grade, Remuera pairing of Amy Miller and former professional player Brittany Teei impressed the crowds with their style. But in what was a round-robin competition, the top honours were snatched from their grasp by Northland favourites, mother-and-daughter combination Raewyn Heywood and Shelley Yeates. The match went to a third-set tie breaker 7-6 6-7 10-8. Teei competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the Cook Islands.
The B-grade finals were just as entertaining. The final in the ladies’ B division, another three-set tussle, was won by Jo Porter (Mairtown) and Margaret Waller (Mission Bay), who overcame the determined Far North contingent of Yvie Butterworth (Doubtless Bay) and Sukanya Sornland (Kerikeri). The scoreline showing a very even match 6-3 5-7 8-10.
The men’s B doubles were won by father-and-son combination Jeff and Jacob Crichton, all the way from Mission Bay, proving that keeping it in the family was a successful strategy. They overcame Northland Tennis chairman James Donaldson and Paul Jobin (Northcote) in a close first-set tie breaker 7-6, then eased through the second set 6-3 to clinch the win.
Northland’s Shelley Yeates and her mum Raewyn Henwood beat top Auckland pair Amy Miller and former professional player Brittany Teei in the Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles.
The finals of the mixed doubles in A and B divisions were an all-Northland affair.
A grade was won by family pairing of Wendy Jambor and Ben Donaldson from Waipu. The aunty/nephew combination took out the round robin, having to defeat all the tough pairings in the draw - including last year’s winners, husband and wife duo Mike Clapshaw and Dominique Zivkovich-Brady.
The B-grade final was a showdown between Mairtown club pairings Daniel and Ruth Jones and Michael Walters and Debbie Matheson. In a closely-fought match, the Jones mother-and-son pairing overcame the husband-and-wife duo of Waters and Matheson to take the honours.
Jamie Hick was the men’s A Grade Special Plate winner alongside Karl Hick at the recent Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles tournament.
