UEL’s Men’s tennis team lost their Premier (National) Play off tennis final to Loughborough Men’s team 4 – 0 and will now participate in the BUCS Premier Tennis Division next season.
On a sunny, mild spring afternoon at Stratford’s Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, Loughborough Men’s tennis team won promotion back to BUCS ‘Super 6’ league as they powered their way to four singles victories in just under 80 minutes against UEL.
Court 1 saw East London’s team captain Paolo Col lose to Loughborough’s Llyod Glasspool 6-2 6-2 in a game full of superb returns and few faults.
On court 2 Arum Akom who was playing his final match for East London lost 6 -1 6 – 4 to Loughborough’s Michael Shaw in a closely fought contest in which the score line does not reflect the overall game. A catalogue of superb rallies was played between the two to the joy of those watching.
Invaluable Experience
Reflecting on his time studying at UEL and being part of the university’s tennis team, Akom told Rising East:
“It has been a great experience I’ve really enjoyed it. After missing a whole season of competition last year due to covid restrictions it has been an absolute pleasure to come and represent UEL this year. I’ve almost completed my two-year course and have learned so much to take forward.”
Akom went on to praise the attitude of his team-mates:
“The boys [are] great players and being amongst them has been fantastic. Having the opportunity to travel across the country to many places that I had never been to has been fantastic. I’ve played against some brilliant opposition and potential pros, so the experience has been invaluable.”
Court three saw East London’s Andreas Tzelis lose 6 -0 6 – 1 to Loughborough’s Joseph Billington while on Court 4 Emmanuel Oni lost 6 -1 6- 1 to Llewlyn Bevan.
After the games UEL coach Alex Mitrovska admitted “It’s been a tough year, the league has been very strong and our players have in fact improved over the season but the level of competition as I said has been tough”.
Check out some of the action with the video below!
