2004 Open - Preston Bowl

The Preston Bowl Competition was held this year on Sunday 15th August and was again blessed by fine weather. The day began with a splendid lunch prepared by Helen Asbury. Lunch itself more than justified the entry fee. Many thanks to Helen for all her efforts!

Two round-robins groups were played and the top two pairs in each half played the semi-finals and finals. There were many close fought games, although the results did not always reflect this. Lucy Collinson and Alex Wingent were clear winners of the first group, and Esther Simmonds and Phillip Warr similarly dominated the second group. These pairs played the runner-up pairs (Charlie and Annie Lewis-Marffy, and Matthew and Debbie Davies) from the opposite groups in the semi-finals and again emerged clear winners.

The scene seemed set for a close fought final. The standard of play was high throughout the final. Most games were strongly contested, but Alex and Lucy always seemed to get the vital points when needed to emerge as runaway winners. Congratulations to Alex and Lucy for successfully defending their title. The result was a particular disappointment to one spectator, Mrs Warr. Mrs Warr was the lady in the 1953 winning pair of the Preston Bowl, and was hoping to see her son add his name to the trophy.

Full draw and results for the Preston Bowl may be found at the bottom of this page.

Preston Bowl Winners Alex Wingent and Lucy Collinson	Preston Bowl Runners-up Esther Simmonds and Phillip Warr
The Preston Bowl Finalists Alex Wingent and Lucy Collinson vs Esther Simmonds and Phillip Warr	Mrs Warr, 1953 Preston Bowl winner, with her son and the other 2004 finalists
First Semi-final Alex Wingent and Lucy Collinson vs Charlie and Annie Lewis-Marffy	Second Semi-final Matthew and Debbie Davies vs Esther Simmonds and Phillip Warr

The Preston Bowl Competition has nearly 70 years of history. The following information was extracted from the club minutes of 1934:

"At the committee meeting on 23 Jan 1934 it was proposed and agreed that the Crescent Tennis Club be renamed the Abingdon Lawn Tennis Club.  At the same meeting Mr A E Preston was elected President of the Club. It was agreed that a competition open to residents in Berkshire within a 13 miles radius of Abingdon would be initiated.  The winner will be presented with a Challenge Cup to be given by Mr Preston. The competition is to be played on Whit Monday and to be an American Tournament.  Play to commence at 11am and the final to be of 3 sets."

(Note that in July 1933 the club applied for affiliation to the LTA.)

Preston Bowl - Full Draw and Results