Queen Elizabeth School (QES), Kirkby Lonsdale, has won the regional round of the prestigious Glanville Cup and qualified for the National Championship Finals in July which will take place over four days at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

The team consists of Oliver Meek, Louis Glaves, Byron Evans and Finlay Meek. Their route to the finals has been an incredible journey where they have beaten teams from Windermere and Sedbergh Schools before travelling to Perth for the semi-final where they enjoyed a tense and exciting match up against Strathallan School.

The final was played against the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, which was an incredibly closely contested match which in the end was decided by a 10-point shootout; QES came through to win 10-8 and finish as regional champions 2016-2017.

The players have been expertly developed by Jon Griffin who is the Head Coach for South Lakes Tennis and 3 of the team play at Heversham with Milnthorpe Tennis Club.

Glaves is particularly delighted to qualify for the National Finals as it is his final year at QES before heading off to the States for a tennis scholarship at Maryville University, St Louis. As captain, he has been a pivotal member of the team and found his influence as a leader of the team, as instrumental as his performance as a player.

He said: “Playing in the National Final will be a great experience for the team and a real honour for me personally, representing QES one more time at the highest level as my school days come to an end."

The team has been managed by Dan Williams, the Head of Sport at QES, closely supported by Lynn Glaves who has been instrumental in ensuring the boys’ team has had the opportunity to develop their tennis through school. It is an amazing achievement where QES is now in the top 16 teams in the country and they are extremely excited to perform against the top schools’ tennis teams in the country. It will be an incredible experience for all the boys who have worked so hard to earn the right to compete at this level.