Tennis: Mens First Team

Stirling Men’s 1^st Team travelled to Dunblane looking to continue their winning run following back-to-back wins in their previous two matches.  Dunblane started out as favourites having won quite comprehensively at Stirling earlier in the season.  Top pairing Ali McMurray & Tom Cunningham started well with a solid win over Dunblane’s no. 3’s.  Second couple, Ian Carmichael & Hendry Campbell, also began brightly with a well-earned half (two marathon tie-break sets) against their opposite numbers.  However, 3^rd pairing, Raymond Ainslie & Ross Lang, were overpowered by Dunblane’s top pairing leaving the tie evenly balanced at 1½ points each after the 1^st round.  The outcome remained delicately poised after round 2 with McMurray & Cunningham coming out on top over Dunblane’s 2^nd pairing, Carmichael & Campbell losing out to the opposition no. 1’s, and Ainslie & Lang taking a half against their opposite numbers.  Stirling went into the last round of matches with high hopes and it was looking possible with McMurray & Cunningham securing a good half in the battle of the top two pairings.  Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for Stirling as Carmichael & Campbell lost out to Dunblane’s no. 3’s, and with Ainslie & Lang losing the first set in a closely fought (but ultimately fruitless) tie-break, the tie was effectively over.  In the end Dunblane won by 5 points to 4.  Stirling now need to win their last two matches and hope for favourable results elsewhere to avoid the drop.

Report on Mens 1st Team away v. Strathblane on 14th June 2007

Stirling Men’s 1^st Team continued their mini-revival with a win over Strathblane. 

Report on Mens 1st Team at home v. Laurieston on 7th June 2007

Stirling Men’s 1^st Team finally broke their duck for the season with a much needed, confidence-boosting win against Laurieston.  The team was strengthened with Eduardo Zaldua making his first appearance of the season in the top pairing alongside Ali McMurray.  However, they did not immediately hit winning form going down in their first rubber against Laurieston’s no. 1 pairing of Auchincloss & Tran.  Things looked even bleaker for Stirling when 3^rd couple, Ross Lang & Paul Barnes, only took one game in a heavy opening round defeat to Easton & Gilllespie, Laurieson’s no. 2 pairing.  Fortunately, Stirling’s no. 2 pairing of Ian Carmichael & Hendry Campbell fared better with a win over Laurieston’s no. 3’s, Hanlon & Gibb.  Round 2 went much better for Stirling with wins for McMurray & Zaldua over Hanlon & Gibb and, in a complete turnaround in form, for Lang & Barnes over Auchincloss & Tran.  Carmichael & Campbell halved their tie with their opposite numbers, Easton & Gillespie. The win was secured for Stirling with another win for Lang & Barnes, this time over Hanlon & Gibb whilst McMurray & Zaldua halved their final tie against Easton & Gillespie.  Carmichael & Campbell and Auchincloss & Tran agreed not to play the second set of their final tie given the match was already settled in Stirling’s favour by 5 points to 3½.  A much needed win for Stirling but they will have to keep winning if they are to avoid dropping down a division.

Report on Mens 1st Team at home v. Falkirk 2 on 31st May 2007

The Men’s 1^st Team hosted Falkirk 2 desperately hoping for a win to kick start their season.  Top pairing Machray and Cunningham did the business for Stirling winning all 3 of their ties with some hard-hitting tennis.  Carmichael and Campbell also played well winning one rubber and halving another but unfortunatley losing out in their 3rd round match.  Sadly for Stirling the debutant team of Lang & Brown failed to win any sets although they did come very close in two tight sets against the opposition's 3rd pairing.   The end result was another defeat for Stirling. 

Report on Mens 1st Team away v. Linllithgow on 24th May 2007

The Men’s 1^st Team visited Linlithgow to complete the first half of the season, still seeking their first win. The first pairing of McMurray and Cunningham narrowly lost their first match against Watson & Wallace and halved each of their other 2 matches. Ainslie & Carmichael lost against Walton & Shepherd and against Watson & Wallace but recovered to beat Fleming & Napora in their final match. Jamie Brown performed well on his debut for the team, partnering George Machray. They started well by halving their first two matches before succumbing to Watson & Wallace. The final result was a 6-3 win for Linlithgow.

Major improvement will be required in the second half of the season if relegation is to be avoided.

Report on Mens 1st Team at home v. Dunblane on 17th May 2007

Stirling Mens 1^st team headed into their first home match of the season with high hopes of turning around their poor start to the season.  Unfortunately the team continue to suffer from key players being unavailable to play and from lack of form.  McMurray and Lang battled well but were unable to take a single point from their 3 rubbers.  Carmichael and Campbell fared better winning one and halving another of their matches.  Cunningham and Ainslie also had a win but lost out in their other two ties.  Overall a disappointing evening with Dunblane taking the match by 6½ points to 2½.

Report on Mens 1st Team at home v. Strathblane on 10th May 2007

Unfortunately this match had to be postponed due to wet weather.  Still, at least we avoided another defeat and there's plenty of sandwiches to eat for the next week!

Report on Mens 1st Team away v. Laurieston on 3rd May 2007

Stirling Men's 1^st Team travelled to the Falkirk area for the second week running, this time to take on Laurieston.  There were 3 changes in the Stirling line-up from the previous week with several players unavailable.  Strong play from Ian Carmichael and Tom Cunningham lead to them taking 2 points out of a possible 3.  Ali McMurray and Ross Lang fought well and were slightly unfortunate to only take half a point from their 3 matches.  George Machray and Paul Barnes also produced some good tennis to halve their first tie but were not consistent enough in losing the other match that they played (their last rubber being conceded given the match was already decided). In the end Stirling slipped to a second successive away defeat by a score of 6 pts to 3.  The team will now need to regroup with the focus being on getting the wins required to avoid relegation from what is a very tight league of 6 teams.  Hopefully Stirling's fortunes will take a turn for the better in the first home match next week against Strathblane

Report on Mens 1st Team away v. Falkirk 2 on 26th April 2007

Stirling Men's 1^st Team played Falkirk's 2^nd Team in their opening match of the new season. Unfortunately Stirling had several of their top players unavailable so it was always going to be a tough ask against a team who had just come down from the top division.  Top pairing Machray & Lang lost their opening tie against the opposition's very strong 2^nd pairing but played better tennis to get a half against Falkirks number one pairing in the second round.  Carmichael & Ainslie also took a half point from their first rubber against Falkirk's no. 1's, but lost their second round match with Ainslie starting to struggle with a recurrence of a knee problem.  Sadly Ainslie was unable to continue so their 3^rd round tie had to be conceded, effectively killing off any hope Stirling had of taking the match.  Third couple, Campbell & Gillen played solidly without managing to get a win but did take a half point in their match against Falkirk's no. 3 pairing.  The final result was a 7 - 2 win for Falkirk 2.  The team are hoping for better things with some of their top players back against Laurieston next week.