Under 18: Lurgan A 3-3 Donaghadee A
Donaghadee went into their last match of the season knowing that a draw would guarantee them second place in division 5 and a place in the juvenile cup. The match however started poorly for Donaghadee in the singles. Conor Savage lost his first ever match for Donaghadee against a very good Lurgan number 1. Matthew Wallace had a tight match and was in the lead on a number of occasions but lost his form towards the end and lost 7-4. Daniel struggled in his match and lost 8-3. Matthew McBride had to win to keep the match alive. At 5-4 he had two match points but lost them and the match went into a tie break. The tie break was close but Matthew edged it 7-5. Donaghadee went into the doubles knowing that they had to win both matches. Matthew Wallace and Conor Savage looked down and out at 4-2 in their match but fought back brilliantly to win the match 7-5 in the tie break. Matthew McBride and Daniel Watts were 5-3 up in their match but a combination of poor serving from Matthew and silly shots from both players meant the match went into a tie break. In the tie break there were some long rallies as both sides didn’t want to make any mistakes. Luckily though it was Lurgan who made the mistake as Matthew and Daniel secured a magnificent draw. Donaghadee now play the winners of division 2 in the cup.
Donaghadee 6-0 Bangor B
Donaghadee continued their good form to beat Bangor comfortably. In the doubles Daniel Watts and Matthew Wallace exchanged the lead with M Rodgers and M Hinds but came on top 7-4. Matthew McBride and Aaron Stubbs raced into a 5-1 lead but lost concentration and the match went into a tie break. They managed to win the tie break 7-4. In the singles Matthew McBride and Aaron Stubbs had emphatic wins. Daniel Watts struggled and was 5-4 down but managed to put the match into a tie break which he won. Matthew Wallace was 4-3 down before he won four games in a row to win 7-4. This 6-0 victory puts Donaghadee on 14 points which is two points more than they had last year with two matches to go.
Results: Matthew McBride/Aaron Stubbs beat A Todd/P Aiken 6-5 Matthew Wallace/Daniel Watts beat M Rogers/M Hinds 7-4. Matthew McBride beat A Todd 9-2 Matthew Wallace beat M Hinds 7-4 Daniel Watts beat M Rogers 6-5 Aaron Stubbs beat P Aiken 11-0.
Portadown D 6 – 0 Donaghadee A
The new tennis season for Donaghadee’s under 18 A’s got off to a poor start with a heavy defeat to Portadown. Donaghadee had a big blow just hours before the match was due to start with the captain Conor Savage being ruled out with a shoulder injury. Jack Walker from the B team was moved up to take his place. In the doubles matches Daniel Watts and Matthew McBride struggled on the slippery court but had a good start. This good start however turned to disaster as they lost 7 games on the bounce to lose 9-2. Matthew Wallace and Jack Walker came from 5-2 down to 5-4 down but just as the come back was on they lost 3 games in a row to lose 7-4. In the singles matches Matthew McBride after being 3-0 up lost 7-5 in the tie break to the Portadown number 1. Daniel Watts struggled to find any form in his match but he battled on before losing 7-4. Matthew Wallace had a very close encounter with the Portadown number 3. The match went right down to the wire and Matthew lost 7-5 in the tie break. Jack Walker struggled at the start of his match and went 5-3 down before putting the match into a tie break and once again the tie break went Portadowns’ way. The scoreline flattered Portadown as three out of four singles matches went down to tie breaks.
Donaghadee A 6-0 Muckamore
Donaghadee bounced back from the disappointment of their first match to thrash Muckamore 6-0. Donaghadee had a lot of confidence going into the match after beating Muckamore 5-1 last year. In the doubles both pairs had comfortable wins to put themselves into a great position to go on and win the match. In the singles Conor Savage and Daniel Watts played first and wrapped up the match with 10-1 wins. Matthew Wallace and Matthew McBride didn’t have quite the emphatic wins that Conor and Daniel had but both did manage to win comfortably 8-3 and 7-4. Donaghadee have now 1 win and 1 loss. The seven points gained from beating Muckamore puts them right back in the hunt for promotion.
Results: Conor Savage/Matthew McBride beat Jonny Douglas/Kevin McClean 8-3, Daniel Watts/Matthew Wallace beat Aaron Magonan/Steven Bryans 9-2, Conor Savage beat Aaron Magonan 10-1, Matthew McBride beat Kevin McClean 7-4, Matthew Wallace beat Jonny Douglas 8-3, Daniel Watts beat Steven Bryans 10-1
Under 14: Donaghadee 6-0 Larne
In heavy rain and gusty conditions Donaghadee gave themselves a chance of being promoted by beating Larne 6-0. In the doubles Kyle Watts and Aaron Stubbs won easily 10-1 Josh Chambers and Mark Rea struggled with the wind but managed to win on the tie break. In the singles Donaghadee coped better with the conditions and all four players won with some ease. The under 14’s have now won two matches and drawn two matches.
Results: A.Stubbs/K.Watts beat D.Lidake/L.Brownlee 10-1 J.Chambers/M.Rea beat A.Jenkins/Z.Weatherhead 6-5 A.Stubbs beat D.Lidake 11-0 K.Watts beat L.Brownke 9-2 J.Chambers beat A Jenkins 9-2 M.Rea beat Z.Weatherhead 9-2
Under 18: Donaghadee A 6-0 CIYMS B
Donaghadee made it three 6-0 wins in a row to put themselves in a good position going into the final match. The tie was played out in awful conditions with heavy rain and strong winds. In doubles Matthew McBride and Daniel Watts struggled through the match and managed to win 6-5. Conor Savage and Matthew Wallace had a comfortable 8-3 win. In the singles Conor Savage continued his good form to win 8-3. Matthew McBride had a tough match that went into a tie break. He was 5-1 down in the tie break but fought back to win 7-5. Matthew Wallace played some great tennis to put his match into a tie break in which he won comfortably. Daniel Watts was 3-0 up in his match but once again the match went into a tie break and once again the tie break went Donaghadee’s way. The under 18 A team have now won three matches and lost one match.
Results: C.Savage/M.Wallace beat M.Penton/J.Jordan 8-3 M.McB.ride/D.Watts beat P.Henderson/T.Lennox 6-5 C.Savage beat M.Penton 8-3 M.McBride beat J.Jordan 6-5 M.Wallace beat P.Henderson 6-5 D.Watts beat L.Lennox 6-5