JUNIOR TENNIS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 43, 26 January 1945, Page 5

JUNIOR TENNIS

DOMINION CHAMPIONS LOCAL PLAYERS EXCEL With the exception of the finals which took plae on the Dominion Championships in Junior tennis were played off in Auckland on Saturday. Contending in these were two local Miss Judith Burke of Edgecumbe and W. J. Rutherford who rather surprised the gallery not o.nly by their play in the combines but also by their *9 singles work. Of Judith, the N.Z. Herald stated: Miss J. E. Burke, Bay of has proved the player of the her effortless style and supple wrist action being more than a match for Miss V. Johnson the 15 year old Auckland junior champion, and Miss S. Jenkins: 16 year old St. Heliers Club champion. Miss Burke, who is only 13 years of age > attracted the gallery in her match against the graceful Canterbury Miss S. Elson ? just failing to win the second set after she had lost the first by making too many errors. Dealing with the combines ' tlie same paper also stated: The biggest surprise of Saturday's play occurred in the last match when J. W. Rutherford and Miss Burke (Bay of Plenty) accounted for B. R. Penfold and Miss J. Mac Gibbon (Canterbury) in straight sets. All four players drove hard in the second set but Miss Burke was the most outstanding, hardly missing a return. In the Gil-Is' Miss Burke reached the wliile in the combines she and Bill Rutherford went through to the quarter finals. We extend our congratulations to these two players who upheld the Bay of Plenty admirably by their efforts*