Stirling has cemented its reputation as one of the UK’s leading universities for tennis in the 2018-19 BUCS season.
With plenty of new blood being welcomed into the five men’s and three women’s teams, high standards were maintained across the board.
As the pinnacle of British university tennis, the BUCS National Championships allowed players to shine individually.
The final day of the event saw Scott Duncan claim the men’s title, with fresher James Mackinlay also putting in an impressive performance to reach the semi-final.
Earlier in March, Duncan partnered up with Arturs Lazdins in the doubles to be crowned national champions over the Nottingham pair.
Not to be outdone by the men, teammate Ingrid Vojcinakova put in a solid performance to overcome the top seed, Manisha Foster from Nottingham, in two sets. Like Duncan, she enjoyed similar success on the doubles court, partnering Natasha Fourouclas to clinch the title.
In the team events, the women welcomed fresher Jodie McLelland into their lineup. Charlotte Mair and Susanna Porter were called up from the 2nd team to play in the National League, where the team finished as runners-up to Durham.
The rest of the team was full of experience, with Vojcinakova, Fourouclas, and Lumsden completing the lineup . Claudia Henry also played for the 1st team towards the end of the year.
Winning the Women’s Championship, the team’s efforts were acknowledged at the Tennis Scotland Awards ceremony held at Gleneagles Arena , where they were awarded the honour of Team of the Year.
The men finished as runners-up to Loughborough in both the National League and the Championship.
This year, the team of Scott Duncan, Scott Macaulay, Robert Leck, and Kieran Macarty were joined by fresher Lazdins, with Jed Alexander and Mackinlay also being called up to the 1st team to play in the league.
As well as playing matches for the 1st team, Alexander also played for the 2nd team. He was joined by fellow freshers Harry Mouratidis, Angus Osborne and George Baird.
They joined Matthew Earnshaw, Jack Oswald, and Kieran Macarty, who was a valuable member of both the 1st and 2nd team.
The team enjoyed a successful season, winning the Scottish 1A division convincingly. Mouratidis and Alexander were the team’s two best performing players.
The 3rd team also won the Scottish 2A league convincingly, with freshers Zino Arbane, Alfie Heiberg, and Joshua Freeman the top three performing players.
In an all Stirling affair, the 3rd and 4th team came up against each other in the final of the Scottish Conference Cup. In a tight match, the 4th team were eventually victorious after winning a tense shootout.
The 4th team continued their success in their league, where they finished on top. James Blair and Felix Beech were the top performing players, with Beech winning 23 of his 24 matches.
The 5th team emulated the 4th team’s success by sneaking by St Andrews to win the Scottish 4A title.
As the season closes, Stirling’s reputation as one of the leading universities for tennis has been secured for the imminent future.
This is set to continue in September, when the club will welcome more freshers who’ll hopefully build upon this year’s success.
We’re bringing you season summary pieces for sports teams all across the university, so check back at 2PM every day for another edition of Bleed Green Round-Up.
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