TENNIS TAKES CENTRE COURT OF SEDBERGH SCHOOL SUCCESS

Sedbergh tennis players have recorded unprecedented success for the school this season, marking resurgence in the sport at both prep and senior levels.

Sedbergh boys’ U14 team, Vladimir Kanevskaya and Clements Probst, won at the HMC North of England Boys’ Championships for the first time and this follows a win at the HMC U15 mixed tennis competition for Alice Hollings, Ben Boosatirkorn, Lottie Burns and Leif Harmsen.

Cumbria County Boys Coach Jon Griffin is leading a full training programme across both schools along with LTA level 3 coach Max Shaw and four other assistant coaches. There are now 86 pupils at U13 and more than 80 at the senior end undertaking weekly lessons all year round; many more are taking part in after-school coach led training sessions during the summer term.

The Sedbergh tennis team has been competing in LTA Aegon Team Tennis events and has finished the season as U13 and U15 Girls County Champions and U13 Boys County Champions; all three teams will now go on to represent Cumbria Schools in the regional rounds of the event in September. In the autumn of 2016 the U13 Boys team finished 9th in Great Britain in the 2016 event.

James Griffin, in Year 8 at Sedbergh Prep, is ranked Number 5 U13 in Great Britain and is also a member of the Great Britain national training squad. He also represented Cumbria at U14 & U18 Level this year. Alice Hollings (Year 10, Robertson) has also represented Cumbria at U18 level.

With the training programme in place and new facilities coming on board in 2018 tennis at Sedbergh is certainly a fast-developing sport which has already resulted in unprecedented success for the school. Head of Girls Sport, Lucia Sdao, said: “We are competing at a very good level now on a northern and national stage, and this is coming from the sterling work that Jon Griffin and Max Shaw are doing in individual and group lessons; the depth of strength in the boys’ team is phenomenal.”

Jon Griffin commented: “It has been a fantastic season for Sedbergh tennis at both the senior and prep school; it is so pleasing to see the courts full with pupils simply enjoying the sport and to witness the success of the teams, which all comes down to the pupils hard work and focus during lessons, the tremendous support of the PE department and, hopefully, some half decent coaching!’

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