THE ladies from David Lloyd Southend are celebrating making Leigh & Westcliff LTA history.

It is believed they are the first team to have won back-to-back promotions and secured the championship in their first year in the top flight.

The team from the centre in Snakes Lane, Eastwood, finished five points clear of Westcliff Hard in Division One.

And David Lloyd’s success broke Thorpe Bay’s six-year stranglehold on the title.

“It is a fantastic result and the girls have done very well,” said proud captain Kitty Livingston.

“We had a slow start and I would have been happy at that stage to have finished mid-table.

“But in the second half of the season we got it together and have been lucky.

“I think we were finding our feet in the first half of the season and a bit nervous of being in the top division.

“But it nice to have won and it’s a credit to the team. They’ve played well and so have the ones who have stepped up to fill in when we have been a bit short.”

The winning team comprised Livingston and Kelly Thomas, Keiko Petchey, Lisa Gordon, Helen Sharpe, Julie Rackham, Rosie Clarke, Sally Jackson, Vicki Wilson, Inara Gribustey and Cathy Wilson.

David Lloyd joined the league in 2006 in Division Four and won successive promotions in the subsequent years.

The team will be celebrating their latest triumph with a curry.

 

FULL TENNIS ROUND UP IN THURSDAY'S ECHO