S. Thomas’ down Royal for E.F.C Pereira trophy

By David Stephens

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A Thomian player in action. Pic by Amila Gamage.

Following an enthralling series of matches, the tennis team of S. Thomas’ College, which produced a spectacular team effort, edged out their opponents from Royal College 3-2 in their traditional clash, to claim the E.F.C Pereira Challenge Trophy after seven years, at the school courts yesterday.

The Thomian victory was built on the work of H. Wickramasinghe, who beat Druvi de Silva 9-4, Navin Gunawardene, who fought hard to move past Umesh Suriyabandara in a tie breaker and the doubles pair of V. Hulangamuwa and J. Edward, who got the better of R. Udisthran and S. Abeynayake.

Royal for their part, fought bitterly to avoid relinquishing the title which has for so long rested in their possession. They gained ground through a 9-0 win by Junior National champ Sharmal Dissanayake over Sachin Karunanayake and a 9-4 doubles victory by D. Abewardene and D. Fonseka over A. Perera and A, Muthgala.

By far the most entertaining and grueling of the matches was the two-hour battle between Gunawardene and Suriyabandara. Both boys went at each other relentlessly before taking proceedings to a deciding tie break. Gunawardene though proved to have just that added litre of gas in the tank, as he gritted his teeth and tore across the line for a fantastic finish.

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Thomian squib not enough to subdue the Royal charge

A Royal player crosses the line yet for another try. - Pic by Amila Gamage.

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