OKEHAMPTON ladies' tennis team started off their search for promotion last week, with a home match against Teign Valley. Despite new captain Becca Jarvis being unable to play, she was present with vocal support for her team. Second pairing Penny Holman and Carolyn Rayner had a disappointing start, losing the first match 1-6, 1-6. However, they began to establish a strong partnership, battling in the second match to win more games, losing overall 2-6, 4-6. The first paring of Jackie Jarvis and Angela Herrod-Taylor fought strongly in the first match, with Jackie dominant at net and Angela covering the back of the court. They took the visiting team to a championship tie break, winning overall 6-2, 2-6, 10-8. The second match was more dramatic, with Jackie taking an early fall causing injury, but valiantly played on, with Angela rallying for England. Once again they took Teign Valley to a championship tiebreak, managing to clinch the match 4-6, 6-1, 10-7. Despite losing 4-6 overall, Okehampton made a strong start to the season, gaining points to boost them up the leader board.