THE Hastings & Company Borders Under-14 Boys and Girls Singles was held at the Kelso Orchard Tennis Club on Saturday in beautiful sunshine, with a reasonably cooling breeze for the children who were playing.
Entries from many Borders clubs made for a great day’s tennis, concluding in two very different finals.
In the girls’ event, newcomer Shona McBrayne from Melrose nicked the title from last year’s winner Catherine McQuarrie from Duns by playing some brilliant tennis shots throughout the day and proving her class in the final showdown against her very gallant opponent, who fought extremely hard in her bid to retain her crown.
The boys’ final was also nicked in a different style as Kelso’s Nik Stingl beat Josh Thomson of Selkirk in a very close match, where spectators witnessed arguably some of the best ground strokes ever from both players.
It was nail-biting stuff for both sets of parents and the other supporters. The losing semi-finalists were Thomas Otton from Innerleithen and Ben Nicholson from Berwick.
Club coach Lesley Thomas presented the trophies and Hastings and Co was thanked for its support.
On Sunday, the club will host its Diamond Jubilee afternoon where a variety of games and a fun mini tennis tournament will take place.
Everyone is welcome to go along and strawberries and cream will be available during the day.