during summer 2023 were the Year 7 and 8 games against Colfe’s, in which so many pupils were involved, and the Upper School mixed doubles matches with Godolphin and Latymer School. In the Kent County Pairs Tournament, Arran Avril and Lewis Henderson from Year 9 won bronze, and there were good showings from the Year 8 and Year 10 teams. After playing all rounds of the Kent League, Dulwich saw all three teams qualify for the finals. The Year 8 team of Conor, Max, Jovan and Filipp and the Year 10 team of Ediz, Matthew, Juan and Tiago headed to Canter- bury for the Kent Division 2 finals, with the Year 8 team finishing as runners-up and the Year 10 team finishing third. The biggest success was the Year 9 team of Arran, Lewis, Lok and Ilyas, who won their group and regional final, to be crowned the Kent Division 1 Champions. This booked their place in the national stages, where they were beaten by a strong Sevenoaks team in a tie- break. It is a tremendous achievement to have reached the national stage a year young. In the Lower School, all teams put in great performances against Ravenswood, Eltham and Colfe’s, and it was won- derful to see so many different pupils playing across the fixtures. Both pairs in the Kent Doubles Championships performed well, placing in the top 10. In the Middle and Upper Schools, the teams performed well in both stages of the Independent Schools League with wins across all age groups, but the plaudits must go to the Seniors for winning round 1 at Epsom College. Other fixtures against Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Eton saw the team compete at A and B team level with some of the top schools on the circuit. In the Kent Doubles Champion- ships, Lewis and Arran at U15 and Alex and Adrian at U18 both finished third, losing out to the eventual winners in the semi-finals. At the end-of-season Independent Schools Tennis Cham- pionships, Dulwich put in another strong showing, with the U18s reaching the last 16 in the country and both Year 9 teams reaching the quarter-finals of the Springthorpe Cup and the Phillips Cup. After a season of hard work, it was wonderful to see the teams perform so well on the national stage. ◉
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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