Westcliff Hard Courts' men were too strong for their Thorpe Bay rivals in Division One of the Essex Tennis League.

Thorpe Bay were swept aside by their visitors as Westcliff put on a top drawer performance to give their hosts a 7-2 drubbing.

Two Westcliff pairings won three events - Simon Bonham and Nick Plappert, John Handelaar and Jeremy Harvey - with Simon Cheshire and Steve Fleming completing the rout.

However, there was worse news for Westcliff Hard's ladies who suffered a defeat on their travels at the hands of Warley based outfit Clearview in the National Singles League Championship.

Tracey Cheshire, Stephanie Rodriguez, Amy Cockle and Sue Blackshaw were the Westcliff players on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline.

The ladies restored some pride in Division Two of the Essex League, however, with a closely contested victory over their David Lloyd club counterparts from Chigwell.

Hazel Winn, Judith Hudson, Karen Rivers, Sarah Baker, Gillian Sanderson and Lynn May all played their parts superbly in an 11 sets to seven triumph.

The men also tasted success in Division Two of the Essex League with a win over Ilford's Warren and Southbridge by six-and-a-half to two-and-a-half games.

Lance Owen and Mark Bertola won three events, Trevor Stone and John Harris were triumphant in two events and Matt Bradley and Temple Ray halved their matches.

In Division One of the Southend and District League, Westcliff Lawn destroyed Southend Lawn 4-0, with two wins apiece for partners Steve Winn and David Lambe, and Tim Wilcox and Mick Watson. Seniors claim County scalp

Essex beat Yorkshire in National County Championships over 55s competition staged at the Connaught tennis club in Chingford.

Victorious by three events to two, Essex bounced back from the defeats of Rob Petchey and Barry Todd, who lost their singles matches, to win their doubles games thanks to the efforts of Bob Hammond and partner Brian Rivers.

Todd and Petchey completed the scoring for the veterans by rediscovering their winning touch and sealing a 3-2 overall success for Essex. Kent Elms remain hot on leader's heels

Kent Elms kept the pressure on leaders Westcliff Hard with a convincing 5-1 Men's Division One victory over bottom club Leigh.

However, the first match was fairly close with Kent Elms' pairing of Brian Bone and Terry Savage just shading Leigh duo Andy Buswell and Jeremy Heale 6-4 7-6.

Pat and Ross Taylor put Kent Elms in the driving seat with a 6-4 6-1 win over Leigh's Keith Lamb and Mike March.

Kent Elms' Dave Lincoln and Graham Evans wrapped up the points, although their Leigh opponents, Mark Bradford and James Davies, did pull a game back 6-4 4-6.

Other results:

It was also a good day for Kent Elms in the Ladies' Division One as a win against Hadleigh Park saw them share top spot with Westcliff Hard.

Mandy White and Dawn Collins inspired Kent Elms to a 4-2 triumph with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Pam Cole and Sheelagh Mayhead.

Gail Webster and Marilyn Sharples sealed their side's success by beating Hadleigh's Nalandi Sharma and Charlie Hughes 6-3 6-2.

However, the losers did restore some pride as Jenny Harries and Barbara Berry dismissed Kent Elms pair Sue Lemaire and Brenda Lincoln 6-3 6-3.

Kent Elms made it hat-trick of successes by crushing arch rivals Westliff Hard on their own turf in the League Division One's top of the table clash.

Westcliff buckled under Kent Elms' onslaught allowing their visitors to return to the league's summit with an excellent 5-1 victory.

Mandy White and Dawn Collins swept Westcliff's Sue Jackson and Nickie Dickens aside 6-3 6-1, before Kent Elms' mixed pairing of Pat Taylor and Sue Lemaire made the points safe by beating Bernard Horwood and Sue Levy 7-6 7-5.

Brian Burns and Terry Savage completed the win, despite losing a game, with a 2-6 7-6 scoreline against Darren Bartow and Ian Pitt.

Men's Division One- Hockley v Rayleigh 2-4; Kent Elms v Leigh 5-1; Hockley v Rayleigh 2-4; Kent Elms v Leigh 5-1.

Men's Division Two - Westcliff Hard 2nd v Kent Elms 2nd 4-2; Invicta v Thorpe Bay 1-5; Southend Lawn v Westcliff Lawn 2nd 1-5.

Men's Division 3 - Invicta 2nd v Thorpe Bay 2nd 2-4; LBBCTC v Invicta 2nd 5-1.

Men's Division 4 - Invicta 3 v Westcliff Hard 3rd 1-5.

Westcliff Lawn 4th v Rochford 3-3; Hadleigh v Thorpe Bay 3rd 2-4.

Men's Division 5 -C E Heath v Rayleigh 2nd 1-5; Thorpe Bay 4th v Crowstone 6-0.

Ladies Division 1 - WHLTC v SLTC 4-2; Kent Elms v Hadleigh Park 4-2; Leigh v Thorpe Bay 6-0.

Ladies Division 2 - Hockley v Kent Elms 2nd 6-0; Westcliff Lawn v Westcliff Hard 3-3; Kent Elms 2nd v Westcliff lawn 3-3.

Ladies Division 3 - Rayleigh 2nd v Westcliff Lawn 2nd 0-6;

Ladies Division 5 - Hadleigh park 2nd v Southend Lawn 3rd 6-0.

League Division 1- Rayleigh v Leigh 2-4; Westcliff Lawn v Southend Lawn 3-3; Westcliff Hard v Kent Elms 1-5.

League Division 2 - Westcliff hard 2nd v Thorpe Bay 1-5; Invicta v Hadleigh Park 2-4; Kent Elms 2nd v Westcliff hard 2nd 6-0; Westcliff hard v Westcliff Lawn 2nd 2-4.

League Division 3 - Kent Elms 3rd v Invicta 2nd 5-1.

League Division 4 - LRBCTC v Rayleigh 2nd 2-4; Southend Lawn 2nd v Hockley 3rd 6-0;p Wickford 2nd v Crowstone 5-1.

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