David does Haileybury tennis proud

David Rice, one of Haileybury’s star tennis players, won the Ariel Under 14 Masters Grand Prix tournament held at Welwyn Garden City last weekend.

He played four matches during the championship, beating the Scottish number 1, Graham Dyce, in the semi-final 6-4, 6-3. He had a tougher encounter in the final, playing his nearest rival Darren Walsh from Surrey, and squeezing through 6-4,7-6 (11-9 in the tie-break).

David is also a member of the three-man U14 British team who qualified for the finals of the Winter Cup in Cholet, France, last week. The top eight teams in Europe will contest the finals in San Miniato, Italy from 28 February to 1 March.

Stuart Havelock also had a good tournament, beating Nicholas Hallchurch of Wales 6-3, 7-5 in his play-off and then dispatching Somerset’s Oliver Baxendale 6-1, 6-4 to make the last four of the U14s. Stuart put up another spirited performance before succumbing 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Surrey’s Darren Walsh in the final.

Congratulations to both players!