Canoe aces sail on

Wickham Ladies: Kathyrn Holladay, Michelle Stuart, Rona Thurston, Maggie Allan

After two rubbers, their match with Denmead was evenly poised – with the Southsea team just one game to the good.

The reverse rubbers were also shared but this time Tim Clark and John Saunders were able to restrict the opposition to just three games – giving Lake the winning draw points by four games.

Ryde Lawn eased to victory over struggling Avenue.

Avenue II fared little better in division two – going down 3-1 to Canoe Lake II.

Jan Guthrie and Alex Mueller won both their rubbers for Lake.

However, Avenue III, who also play in the second tier, restored some pride with a 4-0 victory over David Lloyd.

Ryde Lawn II maintained faint hopes of promotion with a 3-1 win over Lee II.

A topsy-turvy game at Alverstoke saw Seacourt win 3-1 in ladies’ division two.

The Hayling team’s first pair – Sharon Davies and Sue Edwards – lost just four games in their two rubbers.

Lee III pushed promotion-chasing Ventnor all the way before going down 3-1.

Laura Regan and Patsy Scarborough won their first rubber – against Maddy Clewett and Heather Higton – 7-6 in the third set.

They then took Ventnor’s Solent Cup pairing of Rosie Rodley and Heid Drew to three sets before losing the decider on a tie-break.

Avenue II put a disappointing start to the season behind them with their first victory – a 4-0 win over Alverstoke II.

Wickham overcome Rowlands Castle 3-1 in a marathon match of 11 sets.

The result leaves four teams, including Wickham and Castle, in with a chance of promotion.

There was another 11-set match in mixed division two, with Warsash edging past Ryde Lawn 3-1.

And with JEM Tennis Hamble II reversing their earlier 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chichester, the division is wide open again.

Southsea dropped just eight games against Seacourt in division three.

In the midweek masters competition, Fishbourne and Chichester ladies closed the gap on leaders Warsash after victories over Avenue and Lee respectively.