Helensburgh Tennis Club’s veterans' season got under way last weekend as the ladies first team getting off to a winning start against Strathgryffe.

Due to injury and unavailability, the team is looking a little different from the one that enjoyed a very successful summer season so new partnerships were the order of the day but the foursome rose to the challenge.

At first pair Karrie Walters and Ann Morison were always in control of their match, collecting all three sets

The 2nd couple of Liz Wylie and Gay Black took the 1st set with relative ease, only to find themselves behind throughout the 2nd set. However the steadiness of Gay, combined with the sharp volleying of Liz, saw them pull level to force a tie break which the Helensburgh pair duly won. The 3rd set was another very tight affair but this time the visitors just held on for victory, giving Helensburgh a 5 - 1 win overall.

In their 2nd match the team enjoyed a convincing win over Virgin Active Lanark only dropping a total of 8 games over 6 sets. The impressive serving of Yolande Trewhella and the athleticism of Karrie Walters at 1st pair were just too much for their opponents to handle and the visitors were never troubled as they collected all 3 sets.

Although at 2nd couple Liz Wylie and Ann Morison only dropped 5 games, their match contained many long rallies and deuces, as the VA Lanark pair employed the lob to great effect and played with very little pace. However, the steadiness of Ann from the baseline, coupled with many sharp volleys and overheads from Liz, was always enough to keep them in front and they duly won all 3 sets to give the team a 6 - 0 victory.

Results from the other ladies teams were not as encouraging as the 4th team got off to a disappointing start with a defeat to Virgin Active Milngavie, now called Nuffield Healthcare. The ladies 3rd team travelled to Stepps in their opening match of the season. Jill Fulton and Sue Macrae were up against a very steady pair and had to concede that they were outplayed and lost all 3 sets. On court 2 however, Alison Fotheringham and Doreen Adie were in great form winning the first two sets 6 – 3, 6 – 2.

Stepps clung onto some hope in the final set as they matched Helensburgh game for game as they saw themselves in a tie break at 6 – 6. The Helensburgh ladies were not for giving up as they forced more and more errors from the Stepps pair to take the tie break 7 – 4. Final score a well-deserved draw.

This Sunday sees the club’s annual President’s and Vice President’s tournament starting at 1.30pm.