Stirling takes home BUCS titles, Love wins gold in Turkey, Junior Scottish Doubles recap

University of Stirling takes home BUCS titles 

The University of Stirling travelled to Loughborough and returned home with two first-place trophies.  

The men’s first team took on Loughborough University’s first team in the BUCS National Championship match at BUCS Big Wednesday. 

The team consisted of Rob Cowley, Matthew Earnshaw, Cameron Fryer, Liam Hignett and Patrick Young led by coach Scott Macaulay and assistant coach James Blair. 

Stirling got off to a fast start, clinching both doubles rubbers. Hignett and Cowley edged Michael Shaw and Ryan Golesworthy 6-2 3-6 10-7 at the top spot, while Young and Fryer beat Joe Young and Danny Urey 7-6(5) 6-2 at second pair. 

Following doubles was singles action where third and fourth opened play. Stirling kept their momentum as Fryer won at third singles 6-2 6-3 against Joe Young before Earnshaw clinched the title with his 7-6(2) 6-3 win over Danny Urey. 

The 4-0 win marked Stirling’s successful defence of the BUCS National Team Championships, taking the title north for the second year running.

Following the Team Championships, the BUCS Individual Championships took place for the remainder of the week in Loughborough, where a number of Scots and Scottish-based players competed for the title. 

Hignett, seeded third in the draw, made an impressive run to win the men’s draw. He downed Dan Urey in the first round before moving past Tom Horsfall in straight-set wins. 

In the quarter-final, Hignett posted another convincing win over Brendan Emmanuel of Oxford, setting up a semi-final clash with teammate Fryer. 

Having entered as a qualifier, Fryer was yet to drop a set as he was enjoying a strong run, including a 6-3 6-4 win over top seed and pro-ranked Michael Shaw. 

It was Hignett who emerged victorious from the all-Stirling clash, edging Fryer 1-6 6-1 6-3 to book his spot in the final. 

He then played second seed Patrick Foley of the University of Nottingham who he overcame in straight sets 6-2 6-4 to take home gold to cap off a perfect week of BUCS tennis.

In the women’s draw, Heather Barlow represented the University of Edinburgh, entering as a qualifier.  

She won her first round against Ella Walker of Bristol before receiving a walkover from second seed Marie Mattel of Nottingham. 

Barlow made the most of her opportunity as she downed Cambridge’s Anna Chesca 3-6 6-2 6-2 to reach the semi-finals. 

She then lost out to Vasiliki Karvouni for a place in the final and took home a bronze medal for her run to the final four. 

Marjory Love wins gold  

More success came from Antalya, Turkey, as Scottish seniors continued to impress at the ITF Masters Tour World Individual Championships. 

Marjory Love was in the winner’s circle for the second week running, having taken gold in the team event for the 75+ Ladies. 

Love enjoyed a run of form in the 75+ singles category. She bested Australia’s Judith Rodins 6-1 6-3 before beating Estonia’s Leelo Kalju 6-3 6-3. 

Love then went on to secure a final spot after a win against second seed Gail Benedetti of France 6-3 6-3.  

In the final, Love faced third-seeded Aussie Kerry Ballard. The encounter went all the way with Love coming back from 1-4, 15-40 in the third set to win 3-6 6-4 6-4 and take home gold. 

Meanwhile, in the 80+ Ladies draw, Frances MacLennan posted a very strong run to the final.

She got past Bobbie Edwards of Australia and Carolann Castell of the USA in straight sets to reach the semi-final. 

There she faced third seed Mary Jane Marty of France who she bested 6-4 6-4 to progress to the final. 

MacLennan faced top seed Michele Bichon of France in the final. The tie went all the way, but it was not to be for MacLennan as Bichon pulled through 6-7 6-4 10-7. 

Junior Scottish Indoor Doubles Champs 

The Scottish Junior Indoor Doubles Championships took place at Glasgow Club Scotstoun over the weekend where juniors of all ages competed in full compass draws for national titles. 

Day one saw the 12U and 16U categories played. In the 16U girls, Freya Cooper and Anna McKnight were crowned champions for the third consecutive year in the 16U age group. The pair beat Hanna Augustynska and Aadya Iyer Chadalawada in the final. Meanwhile, Ollie Anderson and Nikhil Bollapragada won the 16U boys category. 

In the 12U girls, Natalia Augustynska and Kana Saito were champions, while Arthur MacKinlay and Cameron Rae won the 12U boys. 

The 14U and 18U events took place on day two. Alexander English and Callum McGinn took home the title after 6-4 3-6 10-6 win over Ben Cooper and Jed McMillan. 

In the 14U events, Jessica Currie and Chloe Sanderson were winners whilst Ray Gallacher and Caelan McKechnie won the boys.

Junior County Cup 

More juniors were in action over the weekend as all four Scottish 9U County Cup teams travelled to Aberdeen to compete the North Area Group A. 

West proved too strong in boys and girls’ categories as they both went unbeaten over the weekend. 

The boys’ team consisted of James Crowther, Harrison Fox, Scott Mcgeoch, Gregory Philiastides and Arran Shields. 

North of Scotland finished in second place followed by East in third and South in fourth. 

The winning West of Scotland girls’ team was made up of Connie Kerr, Isla Linning, Hannah McGregor, Lucy Stakim and Ava Steel. 

The standings finished with North of Scotland in second place, followed by East in third and South in fourth. 

The West of Scotland junior teams will head to the National County Cup Finals at a later date. 

Lumsden reaches semis in Slovenia 

Maia Lumsden was back in action last week in Maribor, Slovenia where she competed in the ITF W75 with partner Jessika Ponchet of France. 

The pair opened with a first-round win against compatriot Ali Collins and her partner Prarthana Thombare 7-6(0) 6-4.  

In the quarter-finals Lumsden and Ponchet moved past Czech duo Karolina Kubanova and Renata Voracova 7-5 6-4 to move on to the final four. 

The pair missed out on a place in the final by the narrowest of margins as they lost out to Eden Silva and Anstasia Tikhonova 7-6(6) 6-7(1) 5-10 in the semi-finals. 

Maia is back on court this week with Ponchet in France where she competes in the W75 Croissy-Beaubourg.