Page 29 - The Malvernian - March 2023

THE MALVERNIAN
The Lent term was to prove just as as busy with more more and more more players heading down to the courts There were fewer matches this term but the the the results were very much the the the same as the the the previous one one We started by travelling to to Clifton and only lost one one match all afternoon Tommy and Joel played some great rackets hitting perfect angles for most of the the match which rewarded them with a a a a three games to love win Our match against Rugby a a a a a a few weeks later was to include four of the the the girls that had recently taken the the the game up It was also the the the first time that Malvern had fielded two girls’ pairs in a a a a a a school match Alice Sclater (No (No 6) 6) Freya Newman (No (No 6) 6) Georgia Clements (No (No 3) 3) and Emily Sirett (No (No 3) 3) all enjoyed their first experience of a a a a a school match match Ed Taylor (SH) won his singles match match as did both Hugo and Sam The final match of the season was against Marlborough and again the the the players carried on their good form winning three of the the the four matches The final of the Prichard Racket was contested on on Wednesday 8 March between Flynn Gunston (No 1) and Tommy Boorman (No 2) Both players had trouble free routes to the final not losing a a a a a game in any of their previous contests The match started slowly with many errors which might have been down to the nerves but eventually it settled down Flynn being two years younger than Tommy could be forgiven for for missing some early shots but he got into his rhythm first and started to to to serve the ball to to to a a a a correct length making it tougher on on on his opponent to to to get onto the attack This being the the case Flynn was able to secure the the first game 15/3 The second game started much faster and the crowd were treated some very high-class rackets Flynn with his powerful hitting and Tommy showing how how to retrieve balls from the the back of the the court Neither player was able to take charge of the the the game from the the the service box which meant the rallies were long and made for a a a a a better spectacle Again it it was was Flynn that took the initiative and was was able to get some cheap points by serving well and winning the second game 15/4 The third game was to to prove the last one Tommy fought hard to to keep Flynn on the back foot but having not practiced as much this term due to to to football commitments he was unable to to to stop his his opponent from taking the third game 15/2 This meant that Flynn won his first ever Prichard Racket final 15/3 15/4 15/2 With another two years at the the College he he he may go on to win it it again Congratulations to both players for reaching the final and putting on on on such a good show The final of the the Junior Singles was held later fin in in the the afternoon between Toby Toby and and Henry Toby Toby served particularly well and and went on to win 15/7 15/1 15/8 I must also thank Tom Newman for for all his efforts over the Lent Term in in in encouraging four of our our our local Prep Schools to bring their boys and girls in for a a a a a a a taster afternoon of rackets This has been a a a a a a a huge success and we look to continue this this in in the future Alongside this this there has been a a a a a Saturday morning hobby for the the pupils at at The Downs This has been great fun and introduced the game to more players of a a a younger age The weekend of 18/19 March was one to remember for the rackets club Saturday 18 saw a a a a a a a great number of OM’s come back to play for the the afternoon There were players of all ages and and the the standard of rackets was was very high It was was an an afternoon enjoyed by all and a a a a a a a a great opportunity to meet some old faces On Sunday the courts were packed with pupils and parents over from Kenya to to play rugby Again Tom had the the idea to to bring them over to show them what an an amazingly fast and fun game it is The pupils loved it it and it it wasn’t long before the parents wanted to have a go too This has been a a a a a a a fantastic season for the rackets club and we look forward to the new one starting again in in in September Mark Hubbard | OM (SH ’87-’92) THE MALVERNIAN
29