Ellis Eyes Double Title Success

TENNIS by Jackie Thorley

BASFORD teenager Amy Ellis is gunning for a county title double in next week's Staffordshire Junior Closed Championship in Stourbridge. Ellis will contest the under-16 and under-18 competitions and is the top seed in both events, but expects to face tough opposition from Wolverhampton pair Hayley Marshall and Grace Baker.

Tipton's Elle Stokes will be keen to go one step better than last year, when she finished runner-up in the under-16 category.

Meanwhile Stokes is tipped to take the under-14 title ahead of South Staffs competitors Paris Goodman and Francesca Wilkes.

North Staffordshire is strongly represented in the boys' under-14 competition. Draycott quartet Adam Twigg, John Thornhill, Ryan Baxter and Elliott Farmer will battle for honours, alongside Basford's Ryan Maughan, although Sutton Coldfield's Henry Parocki heads the draw. Adam Woodall (Stourbridge) is seeking to retain his under-16 title and is also challenging for the under-18 crown.

The front runners in the boys' under-12 event are likely to be Baxter, Farmer and Alex Dmetrewski, while Ellie-Rose Griffiths (Stourbridge) is expected to do well in the girls' under-12 and mini-green contests.

There are hopes of a North Staffs success in the under-nines mini-orange tournament, with Tom Cowdy (Abbey View) and Gautham Narayanan (Westlands) competing.

Doubles titles are also up for grabs during the week-long championships, with all finals scheduled to take place on August 29.

Sentinel, 18 August 2009
Courtesy of The Sentinel News & Media