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Tennis Club

The history of the Tennis Club is as old as that of the College itself, but the Club can have had few more successful seasons than that of 1937/38. Towards that success several factors contributed, the chief ones being a record College roll, remarkable ladder activity, early season coaching, the acquisition by the Club of a number of young players of distinct promise, and, to cap all, a degree of success at Tournament that surprised even the most optimistic.

The season was opened with the usual Yankee Tournament, which attracted so large an entry that the playing of the semi-final and final rounds was found impracticable, darkness descending inopportunely. The usual Freshers' Tournament, held early in the first term, was won by Campbell and Devine.

At the annual meeting, R. L. Ferkins, for many years the Club's best player and, with E. A. Roussell, holder of the New Zealand Doubles Championship, offered to coach 'Varsity players if his services would be of use. Needless to say, his offer was accepted, and early in the season he devoted about an hour on each of several Saturday afternoons to coaching.

Once again six teams were entered in the W.L.T.A. inter-club competitions. Led by R. L. Ferkins and N. A. Morrison, the first men's team won 3 of its 6 matches, and finished third. The second women's team also finished third. The second men's team, under L. B. Sandford, occupied the highest grade position of the six teams, finishing in second place.

Active measures were taken to ensure that the club championships did not hang fire, and as a result all the finals were played before the end of the first term. R. L. Ferkins retained his men's singles title, and with T. Ennis, won the men's doubles. Elizabeth MacLean won the women's singles, and the women's doubles with Kathleen Pears. N. A. Morrison and Elizabeth MacLean won the combined doubles.

Past Students prevailed over Present Students in the annual contest for Mr. S. Eichelbaum's Challenge Cup. E. G. Budge led the V.U.C. team, which was able to win only three of the ten matches. This popular fixture was held near the end of the season.

On only three previous occasions in the annals of Tournament has Victoria annexed the Tennis Cup. In 1932 we tied with Canterbury, but the last time that we won the right to keep the cup for a whole year was in 1907.

This year four of the five titles fell to us, and every member of the team worthily played a part. It was a Victoria Men's Singles final, F. H. Renouf and B. M. O'Connor (who had practised so much together beforehand that they were perfectly familiar with each other's style and tactics) playing three sets before O'Connor won. In the Women's Singles final, Elizabeth MacLean played splendid fighting tennis when trailing the 1937 winner, Miss Inwood, of Canterbury, pulling up and then going on to a meritorious victory.

Just how Marie Fletcher and Pat Edwards would team together in the stress of Tournament play was problematical, but they delighted us by playing brilliantly and carrying off the Women's Doubles. Renouf and O'Connor further showed what acquisitions they are to V.U.C. tennis by winning the Men's Doubles.

Apart from those at Tournament, the only inter-College matches were against Massey College. It was the first meeting of the two Colleges, and in the first contest, played at Miramar, Victoria won by 5 matches to 1. For the return match six Victoria players travelled to Palmerston North and were billeted at Massey College. The contest again resulted in our favour and all the players enjoyed the trip and the hospitality at Massey. It is to be hoped that a Victoria v. Massey tennis match will become a permanent annual event.