Sidmouth tennis club men’s team came down to earth after three wins on the trot when they lost to Teign Valley 7-2, writes Lesley Cranston.

In effect, this means they are now in a scramble to finish in second place but that all depends on how they do in their last match against David Lloyd who increasingly look like the potential league winners as they have several games in hand.

They are likely to prove tough opponents and Sidmouth will do well to come out the right side of this one.

The Ladies’ A team played league leaders, Newton St Cyres away and fared somewhat better than in the home tie.

On this occasion they avoided an 8-0 drubbing as Viv Bess and Di Kendall-Torry won in straight sets against the second pairing thereby gaining the team's only points. This opposition has some strong players and, even when not playing their full strength team they remain formidable opponents, winning all their matches convincingly. Final score 6-2 to St Cyres.

Sidmouth Tennis Club Mixed team has also completed their summer season by winning their last three matches.

At Lympstone, in fog and drizzle, Peter Fung and Debbie Snelgrove, sailing close to the wind, won both their rubbers in championship tie-breaks whilst John White, coming out of retirement and Di Kendall-Torry put in a sterling effort winning one and losing one. Overall the result was a 6-4 win for Sidmouth.

Next up was Crediton at home, this time Di Kendall-Torry stepped up at the last minute due to illness and came through strongly with partner Jon Powell, winning both matches as did regular pairing Debbie Snelgrove and Peter Fung. The result was an 8-1 win.

The final match, also at home, against Woodbury was played in hot conditions last Friday evening against the backdrop of end of term activity at the club.

Martin Truman and Lesley Cranston renewed an old partnership to win both their matches. They battled through two tight sets in their first to win on tie-breaks coming back from 5-1 in the second.

Peter Fung and Debbie Snelgrove won their first rubber but with light fading went down narrowly in the second. A 6-2 win provided a good note to end on with Sidmouth likely to finish second in the league.

?Sidmouth Tennis Club is about to announce the appointment of a new coach, Ben Elliott, with a full programme on offer for juniors and adults.

Details to follow within the next couple of weeks. Watch this space.

the Ladies’ B team played their last match against Teignmouth in fine conditions on home territory, writes Lesley Cranston.

Kate Truman and Sally Lockhart won both their rubbers whilst Marlene Maynard and Ann Dillon came through in a marathon championship tie-break but, having given their all, lost their second match.

As is usual with this team, there was much enjoyment displayed and they finished their season with a satisfying 6-3 win.

This team, in only their second year have shown substantial improvement with a record they can be proud of and are no longer providing the prop for the rest of the league.