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Double Promotion Success for Hemingford

Hemingford Lawn Tennis Club’s investment in rejuvenating their courts has paid dividends as the clubs Ladies ‘A’ and Mens ‘A’ teams both secured back to back promotions in the Huntingdon and Peterborough Tennis League. And it’s the Ladies who led the way by following up their top spot finish in Division 3 in 2012 with an unbeaten run through Division 2 in 2013. It was not all plain sailing however as it was down to the final set of the final match of the season before promotion was secured. Going into the match against a strong Peterborough ‘A’ team, the Hemingford Ladies knew they needed at least a draw but a defeat would send Peterborough into the top flight. The rearranged match took place on Sept 3rd and it was Hemingford’s second pair of Bridget Flanagan and Rebecca Pluke who dug deep to level the tie at 2 sets all before the reverse pairings saw Hemingford’s captain Helen Kemp and Babs Moore clinch their final two sets to earn Hemingford the draw they needed. “It’s a fantastic result for Hemingford” said Kemp, after the match. “To think that the season came down to the final set is unbelievable, Becca and Bridget played extremely well and their set proved invaluable.” Kemp put the success down to building a strong squad. “We’ve built a good squad of players over the last couple of years, with several new members joining and younger players coming through.”

Not to be out done, Hemingford’s Mens ‘A’ also secured back to back promotions going up from Division 4 in 2012 to Division 2. “Its tremendous to have our teams in the top divisions” said Club Chairman Chris Young “The club has a growing junior section and teams from the top through to the bottom division, so players of all standards are able to play in competitive matches. The club always welcomes new members, and it seems that ‘The Murray factor’ has taken effect.”

Talented youngster boosted by support from Lisa Whybourn

Cambridge News:  Thursday, September 12, 2013

Kira is taking the next step in her tennis education after joining a scholarship scheme at Culford School, Bury St Edmunds.

The recently crowned national under-12 girls’ singles champion has made the switch from St Ivo School in order to fit more tennis into her schedule without adversely affecting her studies.

The talented youngster from Hemingford Grey will continue to train at Hills Road High Performance Centre in Cambridge and will still work with coach Chris Johnson. "This will be a great opportunity for Kira,” said dad Vernon. “She will be able to play a lot more tennis in a different school environment.” She was buoyed by a chance to hit with Hemingford-based Lisa Whybourn, currently ranked 295 in the WTA listings.

Whybourn trains at the MCTA Academy in Bath but rallied with Kira during a recent home visit.

“It’s great to have someone like Lisa from the same village,” continued Vernon. “Kira beats all the men at the club already so it’s great for her to hit with Lisa. Kira wants to be a professional player so we did give Lisa a bit of a grilling as well as having a hit. It was really good to talk to her about various things like training, injuries, tournaments and all the things Kira is lining up to do.”

Kira wins National U12 titles

Cambridge News:  Thursday, September 5, 2013 

Kira lived up to her billing as No 1 seed at the Aegon British Junior National Tennis Championships at the weekend by winning both the singles and the doubles competitions for girls aged 12 and under.

Kira, Hemingford Grey’s 12-year-old tennis star, breezed through both of the competitions to win the national titles on clay at Bournemouth’s West Hants club where the best of the United Kingdom’s players were battling it out for honours.

In the final of the singles competition, against Gemma from Surrey, Kira won 6-4 6-2 – then she linked up with doubles partner Esther, from Basingstoke, and the pair beat Imogen and Kirsten in the final 6-1 7-5. “It feels absolutely fantastic,” said Kira, who has moved from St Ivo to take up a tennis scholarship at Culford School in Bury St Edmunds this week. “I was very excited about the singles final but I knew it was going to be tough especially as Gemma beat me in Sheffield at the Tennis Europe event last month. I watched her semi-final with my coach Chris Johnson so I knew what I had to do to beat her.”

Her father, Vernon, told The Hunts Post: “The whole family are immensely proud of Kira, she works exceptionally hard in training and plays with a positive attitude in all her matches. She really deserves the success that she’s had this week.”