Tennis Club

The last season has been a very successful one both as regards the number of players and the standard of play. This has been probably due largely to the inauguration of the inter-club doubles matches in Wellington, as well as to the increasing and now wide-spread popularity of the game.

In the inter-club matches we entered three teams in the men's events —senior, junior and fourth grade—and two teams in the ladies' events—senior and junior. The ladies' junior team was afterwards withdrawn owing to most of the players being away on vacation, but the other teams all finished up well in their respective grades, the men's senior team doing especially well in finishing second in Wellington to Brougham Hill.

At the beginning of the season a men's ladder was drawn up and competition for places on the ladder was very keen, judging from the number of challenges that were played each week. At the end of the season the order was as follows:—M. C. Gibb, R. R. T. Young, H. N. page 73 Burns, C. G. S. Ellis; F. W. Martin, F. H. Haigh, W. H. Stainton, N. A. Byrae, D. F. Stuart, F. H. Paul, C. G. Kirk, R. T. Dixon, A. D. Priestley, T. R.. Williams, C. Scott.

It is to be regretted that the same interest was not taken in the ladies' ladder, for places on which not one challenge match was played through-out the entire season.

Entries for the club championships were this year very large, over thirty being received for the men's singles. In this latter event the draw was ceded; in the fourth round Gibb beat Ellis, 6—4, 6—1; Hollings beat Whiteman, 6—4, 10—8; Foden beat Paul, 6—2, 6—3; Young beat Melody, 6—2, 9—7. In the semi-final Hollings beat Gibb, 6—4, 6—1; and Young beat Foden, 6—4, 6—2. In the final Hollings beat Young, 9—7, 6-2.

In the semi-final of the men's doubles Foden and Hollings beat Gibb and Young, 7—5, 5—7, 6—3; and in the final they beat Ellis and Hardie, 3—6, 6—3, 6—3.

In the final of the combined championship, Gibb and Miss Pigou beat Hollings and Miss Robertson, 5—7, 6—2, 6—3.

The ladies' singles were not completed, but in the final of the doubles Misses Thwaites and Sheppard beat Misses Gardner and Madeley, 10—8, 7—5, in a well-contested game.

Next year we will be without the services of M.C. Gibb, who is now at Otago University, and H. N. Burns, who is pracising law in Carterton, and who recently won the Carterton championship; there is however every indication of our having a very strong team for the inter-club matches at least, as Goldie, Hollings and Foden, all of whom played for other clubs last season, are expected to play for V.U.C. next season. With these additions to her ranks Victoria College should stand a very good chance of carrying off the senior championship.