Samp & Beans on the tennis menu
It was a fun tournament but with a certain competitive edge.
THE Seniors’ (Veterans) Tennis Tournament has come and gone and, by all accounts, has been a resounding success.
The weather was great and the wide variety of food and refreshments were enjoyed by all.
A total of 64 players entered the tournament and, with only 20 entries from the local clubs, it is clear that this annual tournament is enjoying great support from Durban and other areas, as far as Mtubatuba, Richards Bay, Umtata and Howick.
In the A-section, Samp & Beans managed to secure the trophy, seeing off team Bunny Chow, by only four games.
The winning team comprised Johan Hamman (captain), Chris Green, Nicolas Hamman, Michiel van Niekerk, Patrick Carter-Brown, Nkululeko Salima, Mari Hamman and Marlieze Swiegers.
The Bunny Chow team members were Mark Hannaway (captain), Braam de Villiers, Buck Morrison, Trevor Small, Rod Hackland, Ralph Burls, Willem Erasmus and Anne Hind.
In the B-section, the Melkterte managed a convincing victory over ‘Pens & Pootjies’, led by Previn Moodley.
The team was Anna-Marie Wege, Helena Olivier, Priscilla Timmerman, Linda Mead, Eddie Lusignia (c), Sheri Jay, Brian Danckwerts and Ros Hooper.
Runners-up Pens & Pootjies were Yzzil Hattingh, Lynne Hughes, Janet Thomson, Sandy Butler, David Howes, Previn Moodley (c), Joan Prenger and Nwabisa Mningiswa.
The youngest entrant, Mari Hammann, was 35 years old, and the oldest, an octogenarian, Brian Danckwerts, who is the president of Uvongo Tennis Club.
During the Saturday dinner, the players received the pleasant surprise of a visit from Justin Mackrory, the CEO of Ugu South Coast Tourism.
Dave Vincent, the president of KZN Veterans, joined the prize-giving on Sunday, and confirmed his support for this tournament, saying it would stay part of the annual Vets’ calendar.
The ‘Wheelbarrow Raffle and assorted goodies’ was won by Bev Morrison from Westville Tennis Club.
Thanks to all the businesses which sponsored an assortment of items used as prizes.
A big thank you to Val Kriel and her helpers for their hard work in the kitchen.
Thanks to Willem Erasmus who organised the entire event and then, when Andre Parnell suffered a shoulder injury in his first game, was needed to play in his place.
A total of 64 matches (sets) were played, adding up to 608 games.
Matches were played at Uvongo and Douglas Mitchell, eight courts in total.
On the second day the games were changed to short games (deuce and next point is game).
It was a fun tournament, as could be seen by the names of the teams, but most of the players hate losing and so took it seriously.
Some of the lower ranked A section players got a bit of a shock with regards to the standard of play, but duly lifted their games against the stronger opponents.
