LMH limp past St John's
Dark horses LMH had Vicky Lonsdale and John Dennis to thank as they stumbled past an under-strength St John's outfit with a narrow victory.
Both teams struggled on the high-bouncing LMH hard courts in a topsy-turvy tie that was marred by double faults and unforced errors.
Lonsdale's and Dennis' excellent 6-1, 6-1 victory in their crucial rubber against Sean Joyce and Pete Rogers secured an unassailable advantage for LMH after the scores were level in the final doubles encounters.
The top game involving St John's Matt Wain and James Gibb had seen them battle into a 5-3 lead against LMH captain Paul Bamford and partner Dave Jackson, before Gibb double faulted to hand LMH a lifeline.
Bamford and Wain then held serve meaning Jackson had to do the same to stay in the set. Unfortunately for Jackson, his service game was blighted by three double faults that gifted the set to St John's 7-5. The St John's pairing then further capitalised on their fortune in the second set, securing a 6-3 win.
However, this was to be little more than consolation for St John's as LMH claimed a tiebreak victory in the second match. St John's Captain Will Jessop had missed two set points at 5-4 before dropping serve, leaving partner Ben Coffer to battle to secure a tiebreak. After winning a mammoth twelfth game with six deuces, Coffer began with a fantastic cross-court forehand winner in the tiebreak, but he was unable to prevent a 7-3 defeat at the hands of Rob Churchill and Mark Holmquist.
St John's were left to lament the absence of star player Kirill Makhirinsky, forced to pull out at short notice. University squash player Pete Rogers deputised, but his lack of experience showed under LMH pressure, in what was ultimately the difference between the two sides.
LMH had taken an early lead when Captain Paul Bamford and Dave Jackson comprehensively defeated Joyce and Rogers 6-0, before Gibb and Wain responded with a 6-2 win over Churchill and Holmquist. John's then took the lead when Jessop and Coffer survived a scare to triumph 6-4 over Lonsdale and Dennis. Leading 4-3, Coffer had dropped his service game with two double faults, allowing the LMH pairing back into the match. But Lonsdale promptly dropped her serve, allowing Jessop to take the set with an ace.
After the win Jessop was "quietly confident" of an overall victory but his hopes were weakened when his pairing slipped to a 6-3 defeat to the LMH captain. A 6-3 reverse for Joyce and Rogers followed before Gibb and Weir defeated Lonsdale and Dennis 6-1 going into the final doubles encounters.
LMH captain Paul Bamford was satisfied with his team's performance, commenting: "It was a very close match, that could have gone either way. Their lack of strength in depth was important." Victory had raised his hopes of overall Cuppers glory, but on the evidence of this performance, improvements will be necessary if LMH are to progress past the quarter-final stage.
27th May 2004