Young Southend tennis player Matthew Pearce made a name for himself at the LTAEast Region Junior County Tournament in Norwich.

The 10-year-old, who plays at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, came third in the regional event.

Matthew beat other junior players from Suffolk, Buckinghamshire and Norfolk in the Boys' Under-12 (Group B) section.

The Norfolk success came hot on the heels of a quarter-final appearance at the Brentwood Hardcourts Tournament, where Matt-hew lost to John Hallett, another SL&TC player.

Trophy places still left

This year's John Perkins Trophy is being held on July 22 and entrants are being sought.

The Leigh and Westcliff LTA mixed doubles event will be played at Invicta, Leigh Road Baptist and Crowstone Tennis Clubs starting at 1pm.

There is space for 32 pairs to enter and there are still a few spaces left, with any Leigh and Westcliff LTAplayer being eligible.

Teams will play in groups and progress to the main event or the consolation section under the Landsdowne System.

Entry is £10 per pair and includes refreshments. Any pairs interested in taking part should contact referee Alan Young on 01702 232570.

Fresh blow for Hard campaign

Westcliff Hardcourts' National Club League campaign took another setback when the men lost 4-2 in their latest match.

Simon Harston, John Phillips, Simon Bonham and Richard Barham travelled to Hertfordshire to take on Batchwood.

But Bonham recorded the only singles win and then paired up with Barham to win one of the two singles matches.

Survival for the Hardcourts in the national section of the competition is now in doubt, with the danger that The Ridgeway-based team could drop back into the county division of the LTA-organised event.

It is a far cry from last year when the club progressed to the play-off stages and then competed in the finals at Bournemouth.

There was better news for Harston, Barham and Bonham the day before their National Club League match when they took part in the county trials at Thorpe Bay.

They were among south-east Essex players playing before county selectors Steve Wynn and Graham Ray.

The final selection will be made on July 7 at Thorpe before the team heads off to county week on July 24.

Westcliff Hard's veterans first team lost 7-1 to Gidea Park in Essex Division One.

John Harris faced county team-mates in the shape of Ashley Compton-Dando, Martin Cornish, Wayne Lemoine and Phil O'Leary, and won the only set.

Joining Harris were Trevor Stone, Jamie Willson and Alan Hill.

Essex League Division Two action saw the Hardcourts' seconds beat Chigwell 6-3.

Jeremy Harvey and Bob Hammond won three, as did the father and son partnership of John and Greg Handelaar. Temple Ray and Mark Bradford did not win.

Westcliff Lawn's seconds also got the winning habit in Division Two with a 14-4 sets triumph over Thorpe Bay firsts.

Calley Flinders, Nichola Hopkins, Lynn May, Vanessa Powell, Sarah O'Sullivan and Fiona Fisk represented Lawn.

Thorpe Bay comprised Sarah Potts, Lucy Loretta, Ann Mason, Louise Bremner, Jade Blackman and Kris Newbury.

Hockley were due to play Essex Golf and Country Club but the Earls Colne outfit were unable to raise a side.

Long game ends in a draw

Ladies Division One saw a marathon match betwen Kent Elms and Hockley.

Elms' Brenda Lincoln and Marilyn Sharples were on court for two and a quarter hours against Hockley rivals Linda Keetch and Pauline Bruce.

Long rallies ensured the match finished at 10.45pm with honours even, 6-3 7-6.

County joy - for Westcliff Hardcourts' ladies third team, who won the Essex Junior Cup. Pictured are Juliet Harvey, Sue Hookway, Sue Blackshaw and Brenda Corlett.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.