St Mary’s Calne has progressed to the next stage of the LTA Youth Schools Tournament after a thrilling day of tennis that saw the team secure hard-fought wins over Westonbirt and Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
The squad of May K, Cecily A-C, Florence F and Sofia DP travelled for an early start on Saturday 15 November, beginning with their final group fixtures. The opening match against Westonbirt set the tone for the morning, with St Mary’s delivering four singles and two doubles wins to take a confident 12–0 victory on points.
That strong start proved crucial as the team moved on to a fiercely contested tie against Cheltenham Ladies’ College, the toughest opposition they had faced so far. The singles matches were intense and closely fought, with long rallies and rising pressure across the courts. Losses for May, Cecily and Sofia meant St Mary’s were trailing, but a standout singles win from Florence kept the team’s hopes alive at 3–1 down.
The doubles pairings then stepped up in style. May and Cecily produced a composed and dominant performance against the players who had beaten them earlier, before Florence and Sofia secured a dramatic sudden-death deuce victory to level the fixture at 3–3 and force a championship tie-break.
With the rules requiring one player from each doubles pairing to contest the tie-break, May and Florence returned to court as parents, staff and teammates watched on anxiously from the sidelines. After a tense exchange of points, St Mary’s edged ahead 9–8, giving May the chance to serve for the match.
Jonathan Hayes, Director of Tennis, said, “The atmosphere was incredible. Every point mattered and you could see how much the girls wanted it. They showed real resilience and belief.”
May’s final serve – an ace – sealed the victory and sparked celebrations from supporters and players alike.
Mr Hayes added, “This was a fantastic team performance against extremely strong opposition. Every player contributed, but Florence deserves special credit for winning her singles, doubles and the deciding play-off. It’s a huge achievement at this level and we’re very proud of them all.”
St Mary’s Calne now look ahead to the next stage of the national competition with confidence after what the school has described as one of its most memorable tournament wins to date.
