March, we reported that Carisbrooke Tennis Team, sponsored by Landmark Planning, were on their way to defend their title of best in the Midlands in the Men’s National Club League (NCL), with a view to again making the national finals in September.
The National Club League attracts 4000 clubs to enter, and Carisbrooke play at the premier league level.
Through Spring and early summer, we won all our matches to retain the Midlands title and made the National Finals for the top eight clubs in the country in Bournemouth at the prestigious West Hants club.
We were seeded fourth and, like last year, easily won our first-round match against Leeds 6-0. But like last year, we came up against the number one seeds Roehampton and the ultimate winners in the semi-finals. Again, we lost. While this was disappointing, we improved this year, winning sets but no actual matches. The top two seeds are a different class, sporting players like Liam Broady, who have been ranked in the top 100 in the world.
However, it was still a magnificent effort for a local club to come against the best in the United Kingdom and make the top four in the country.
