Old Reptonians 
Old Reedonians
On Sunday, 8 September 2019, the D’Abernon Cup reached the finale and once again the Old Reptonians and Old Reedonians battled it out for silverware.
Old Reptonians team:
- 1st pair: Dan Cottier and Patrick Foley
- 2nd pair: Phil Brindley and Alex Grocott
- 3rd pair: Richard Harrison and Jamie Muirhead
Old Reedonains team:
- 1st pair: Brandon Drew and Jathan Malik
- 2nd pair: Alex Bull and Dominic Hodgson
- 3rd pair: Josh Southern and Christian Throm-Jones
Old Reptonians 1st pair:
- beat Old Reedonians 1st pair 6-1, 6-3
- lost to Old Reedonains 2nd pair 5-7, 3-6
- beat Old Reedonians 3rd pair 6-2, 6-4
Old Reptonians 2nd pair:
- lost to Old Reedonians 1st pair 6-7, 6-4, 8-10
- lost to Old Reedonians 2nd pair 3-6, 6-3, 6-10
- beat Old Reedonians 3rd pair 6-3, 6-3
Old Reptonians 3rd pair:
- beat Old Reedonians 1st pair 6-4, 5-7, 10-7
- lost to Old Reedonians 2nd pair 6-2, 4-6, 9-11
- beat Old Reedonians 3rd pair 7-6, 6-2
Overall, Old Reptonians win 5-4.
On a beautiful sunny day and after a quick coffee and croissant, the Reed’s and Repton players stepped out on to the beautiful Aorangi grass courts. After a tight final in 2018 narrowly won by Old Reedonians we were set for another nail biter.
The first round of matches started looking like Repton might take an early lead with two of the matches going to 5-0, but Reeds 2nd pair fought back to force a championship tie-break, which they won 11-9. Reed’s 1st pair vs Repton’s 2nd also went to a tie break which Reeds also won 10-8 and the 3rd match was straight sets to Repton. So, 2-1 to Reeds after round 1.
The 2nd round saw a resurgence from Repton and another championship tiebreak for Reeds’ 1st pair vs Repton’s 2nd. Reeds’ 2nd pair managed to win in straight sets as did Repton’s 2nd pair. So after six matches, each team had three wins so we were all set for a dramatic finish.
In the final round opposite numbers were pitted against each other. Repton’s 1st pair put on an impressive display to win in straight sets. Reeds’ 2nd pair remained unbeaten winning in yet another championship tiebreak to level the match at 4-4. It was down to the wire and it was Repton that managed to take the final match in straight sets.
Congratulations to the Old Reptonians, it was a well fought battle with some exceptional tennis, all played in the best of spirits.
A huge thanks to The All England Club for all their help hosting the match and for the delicious tea enjoyed by all.
A full set of excellent photographs from the day can be viewed by clicking here. Our thanks go to Rebecca Sparks @eyeforcolour for taking and sharing these photos.
Charlie Billington – D’Abernon Cup referee