neston tennis history and honours
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Tennis was first introduced to Neston in 1921, with representation on the Club Committee! The Tennis Pavilion was built in 1925. Friendly matches were arranged between other local well established clubs like Birkenhead, Upton and Bertram amongst others.
In 1978 the Wirral Tennis League was started and divided into three divisions of 12 teams each and we had one team in each of the top two divisions. Our 1st Team, captained by Nicky Peters came 5th behind Birkenhead 1's who won the Inaugural League and our 2nd Team, captained by Stuart Clayton, were Runners Up behind Pinewood 2's, in Division 2 which meant those two clubs were the first to have two teams in Division 1 for 1979! We were one of only three teams in 1979 to enter a 3rd Team into Division 3. But the Wirral League introduced 6 ladies and 6 men per team into the 1st Division, which put pressure on our 2nd Team, which along with Pinewood 2's came bottom that year. But our 1st Team were runners-up to Birkenhead again. Trevor Mathew-Jones took on the 2nd Team Captaincy and he proved successful in winning Division 2 in 1981. Wirral League Results:
1978 Neston 1's Div 1 5th/12 Neston 2's Div 2 Runners-Up 1979 Neston 1's Div 1 Runners-Up Neston 2's Div 1 12th/12 1980 Neston 1's Div 1 Runners-Up Neston 2's Div 2 7th/13 Neston 3's Div 3 5th/12 1981 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 Champions Neston 3's Div 3 3rd 1982 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 1 11th/13 Neston 3's Div 3 Champions 1983 Neston 1's Div 1 Runners-Up Neston 2's Div 2 6th/8 Neston 3's Div 4 6th/8 1984 Neston 1's Div 1 Runners-Up Neston 2's Div 2 Runners-Up Neston 3's Div 4 Runners-Up 1985 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 3rd Neston 3's Div 4 Runners-Up Neston 4's Div 5 4th 1986 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 3rd Neston 3's Div 4 Champions Neston 4's Div 5 3rd 1987 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 Runners-Up Neston 3's Div 3 6th Neston 4's Div 5 3rd 1988 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 Champions Neston 3's Div 3 5th Neston 4's Div 5 Champions 1989 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 1 4th Neston 3's Div 3 Champions Neston 4's Div 4 3rd 1990 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 1 8th Neston 3's Div 2 8th Neston 4's Div 4 7th 1991 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 2 3rd Neston 3's Div 3 6th Neston 4's Div 4 5th 1992 Neston 1's Div 1 4th Neston 2's Div 2 8th Neston 3's Div 3 8th Neston 4's Div 4 8th 1993 Neston 1's Div 1 Champions Neston 2's Div 3 Champions Neston 3's Div 4 3rd 1994 Neston 1's Div 1 3rd Neston 2's Div 2 5th Neston 3's Div 4 5th 1995 Neston 1's Div 1 4th Neston 2's Div 2 6th Neston 3's Div 4 6th 1996 Neston 1's Div 1 3rd Neston 2's Div 2 4th Neston 3's Div 4 6th 1997 Neston 1's Div 1 Runners-Up Neston 2's Div 2 6th Neston 3's Div 4 6th 1998 Neston 1's Div 1 4th Neston 2's Div 2 3rd Neston 3's Div 4 4th Neston 4's Div 5 2nd 1999 Neston 1's Div 1 ? Neston 2's Div 2 ? Neston 3's Div 2 Champions Neston 4's Div 4 ? Neston 5's Div 6 ? |
In 1983 the numbers of teams per division were reduced to 8 and split to 5 divisions, even though our 3rd Team won Division 3 in 1982 they found themselves in Division 4 for 1983!
Neston introduced a 3rd team in 1980 and a 4th Team in 1985, one of the first clubs to do so, showing our strength in depth. In 1985 we had an incredible run winning seven Division 1 titles and our 2nd Team joined us in Division 1 briefly. That was with 6 ladies and 6 men which didn't change to 4 until the 1999 season. We maintained ourselves in Division 1 always finishing in the top half and fluctuating with two teams in Division 1 and also with five teams in total, which we have maintained since 2010, the only club to consistently do so. We won Division 1 in 2010 and 2012 and have pushed on the other years very close. This year we were runners-up to Hoylake, but our 2nd Team won Division 2 again, with our 3rd Team also in Division 2, finishing 6th, up against 1st Teams from Upton, Port Sunlight, Cheshire Oaks and Thorndale! Wirral Mixed League Division 1 Champions:
1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2010, 2012
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