College boys competed in the National Schools’ Tennis Finals (The Glanvill Cup) last week at Queenswood School, Hertfordshire. The competition which is open to all schools in England, Scotland and Wales has been running since April: over 350 schools take part, divided into 16 regions across the UK.

For the 3rd successive year, College won the regional final, beating Haybridge, Edgbaston and Clifton College. At the National Finals, most of Britain’s nationally ranked juniors compete, and the tournament is of the highest quality.

Our opening match against Merchiston, the Scottish champions, saw us lose in the deciding tie-break, 10-8, which meant that we could not finish in the top 8. In the Plate competition, we lost our opening match against Runshaw VI Form College, Preston, part of the Lancashire Tennis Academy, before beating both Loughborough Grammar School and New Hall School, Chelmsford. This meant that Cheltenham College was placed 13th in the UK, but 3rd for schools that only play tennis one term a year.

Richard Owen, College’s and Gloucestershire U18 number one, did not lose a match, and he was ably supported by Alex Duncliffe, Tom Barton, Felix Clarke, and Glanvill Cup debutant, Duncan Jaques.

Karl Cook, master i/c 1 VI, was delighted: “Despite the disappointment of losing the first round, I was pleased that the pupils bounced back and fought with much determination – 13th is no mean achievement. It is a fantastic accomplishment for College to be competing at these UK National Finals for the 3rd successive year, given that many of the other schools are sponsored tennis academies. The same four boys will be available next year and will have gained much valuable experience.”

Photo, left to right: (Duncan Jaques, Alex Duncliffe, Richard Owen, Tom Barton)