Alnwick Tennis Club retains North East Winter League after winning knockout stages

The team that won the Knockout final - Laurence Reeves, Rosanna Curtis, Rich Matthews and Claire Marshall, with team member James Crooks in the centre.

The league is for clubs from Northumberland, Durham and Cleveland, and is played from October to March.

Overall, 64 teams compete in a league format in tiered groups followed by a knockout stage. Teams comprise two men and two women, and the match format is two games (each with two sets) of single-sex doubles followed by two games of two sets of mixed doubles.

Alnwick’s campaign in Tier 3 began inauspiciously with a tough loss 0-8 to a strong Gosforth team.

From there, the team, captained by Laurence Reeves, went on an unbeaten run until the end of the season. By finishing second in the league stage with four wins and the single loss, Alnwick qualified for the Tier 3 knockout stage.

Fate smiled on the Alnwick team in the knockout draw with three home games, culminating in a home rematch against the same Gosforth team from the first match of the year. This time around, Alnwick prevailed in a close fought, and at times tense, 5-3 win.

Across the matches, 10 different players turned out for Alnwick. The ladies were fronted by Claire Marshall – who played all but one match – and Rosanna Curtis.

For the men, Laurence Reeves and James Huntly played the most matches.

In the mixed doubles James and Rosanna proved to be a very strong partnership for the team, winning more than 80 per cent of their sets.