40 TH E G A Z E T T E 2018 – 2019 Sport biting match (at one point 5–2 up in the tie-break) against Dauntsey’s. I’d like to say a huge thank you to our tennis coaches, Joan Caplen, Janie Melhuish and Eila Barro for their exhaustive hours of patience and feeding (balls NOT food!) and to Mrs Venn, Mrs Huff and Mrs Pokai for all their support, guidance and nagging along the way. Tennis is just the best sport. You can play it with anyone, in any weather (to which we are testament!) and anywhere. So, take up your rackets, go forth this summer and lay siege to the courts. As a footnote I’d just like to mention that I’ve been playing tennis at Godolphin for six years and it’s been amazing thanks to all the coaching I’ve had. I want to say thank you for making me tennis captain which I wanted SO VERY much. It’s been an honour and I’ve loved every single match, playing with Lucy and having such great teams to captain. ♦
Tennis by Captain Theodora Whittaker, Upper Sixth The tennis season is always far too short, and the summer term was no exception. Huge numbers of keen and enthusiastic girls hit the courts in droves. Even with all the summer exams, CCF and DofE commitments and an array of trips we filled teams consistently for all our fixtures. Our first match was cancelled due to high winds but since then the weather has been kind to us. Commitment to tennis this term has been excellent, particularly from the Seniors. It’s been tough in the past to keep a consistent team together with the ever demanding requirements of A-levels and GCSEs but the importance of maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle cannot be emphasised enough and it has been wonderful to see so many of my peers take this on board. Obviously, I take full kudos and responsibility for such motivation! We had a brilliant fixture against Bryanston with some amazing tennis being played which had Janie Melhuish, Jamie Powell and
supporting parents jumping out of their seats with excitement. The First Team did particularly well and, although I say it myself, we played some fabulous tennis and won 6–3 on their beautifully manicured, Wimbledon-style grass courts. The U14B, C and D also achieved a clean sweep on the not quite so elegant astro! The First and Second Teams had a great match against St Mary’s Shaftesbury winning 7–2 and 8–1, but we didn’t fare quite so well against Sherborne! That was the Junior turn to celebrate with wins for the U15C, U14, U13 and the U12. Due to CCF, DofE and Ten Tors commitments the U15 struggled to field a consistent set of teams but hopefully everyone has had at least one match. The U14 continued to do well both in Saturday matches and in the Aegon Team Tennis Competition and won all their matches and now play the winners of the other group in the league. The U12 had a great season winning two out of their three Aegon matches, losing only to South Wilts. The U13A had two very exciting matches against Farleigh and St. Mary’s Calne which they won 6–3 but lost in a tie-break to South Wilts in their Aegon Competition, and sadly lost in a nail-
1st Team Lucy McCann * Isobel Norris Anna Romilly Sophie du Ry Emma Simon Theodora Whittaker* (Capt.) 2nd Team Jessica Adlington Camilla Anderson Isobel Gilligan Amelia Kunzer Cecilia Lockyer Emily Pratt Millie Pratt Amy Robinson Violet Tetley Abigail Willis 3rd Team Camilla Anderson Harriet Dennes Molly Adlington Zara Chetwode Olivia Forge Emily Pratt Millie Pratt U15A Alice Appleton* Jemima Bentley Clementine Boucher Grace (Yan Tung) Kwok (Capt.)* Charlotte Ruocco* Poppy Wills*