Jack Travers reports:
October 2016: Aldenham celebrated the centenary of the Fives Courts this half term. The courts have produced many fine players over the years including n/national champions and the historic landmark was marked with two fixtures.
In late September the school took on the might of the Heath Club, a collection of players dominated by OAs. The fixture was preceded by a history of the courts from Mr Smith which gave the players motivation to add their names to courts’ roll of honour.
It was a steep learning curve for the school from pair one. Mr Travers and school Fives captain Anthony Jacovides were beaten 3-0 by a strong Heath first pair and the Heath maintained their dominance to win each match down to fifth pair. The school were always going to struggle against seasoned veterans who play each week. Advice was dished out alongside some pizza to end a thoroughly enjoyable evening for all concerned.
The second fixture against the Eton Fives Association was a more successful occasion in terms of results and equally enjoyable on the night. Mr Stephenson sent out his first senior pair of Anthony Jacovides and Nick Fallekos who put in a fantastic display against a strong EFA pair of Mr Travers and OA Andrew Rennie. Despite losing to love the boys put in arguably their finest display to push the more experienced pair all the way in each set.
George Reynolds and Rabin Selliah put in a spirited performance against the cunning EFA pair of Paul Kendall and Ian Mitchell. They won the second set 13-10 to stay in the match but eventually lost 3-1.
The third (rotating) pair made up of John Telensky, Eric Kemish and Giles Hirst-Malin emerged victorious against Mandie Barnes and Graham Ketteridge, winning 3-0 to cap off a fantastic team effort.
The two fixtures were a wonderful way to celebrate Fives at Aldenham which continues to go from strength to strength. Let’s hope the next 100 years brings even more success than the previous century.