HOSTS St Olave’s School were victorious in their inaugural inter-school grass tennis tournament.

St Olave’s emerged as winners of the under-13 competition and runners-up of the U12s.

The U13 boys team, including Tom Hatfield, Sam Beighton, Marcus Taylor and Barney Baker, won all eight of their matches to top the group.

Taylor and Baker triumphed against the country’s number five U13 seeds from Trent College.

They took on the same side in the final and, after a nervous start, the York youngsters showed grit and resilience to win 6-3.

The second pairing of Beighton and Hatfield won their final match 6-4 to take the crown in the competition’s first year.

With the hosts’ U12 side finishing second to Trent College in their group, the final was well poised against the Nottingham-based school.

The first pair lost 6-2 while the second pairing narrowly lost in the tie-break, meaning a secondplace finish overall.

The U12s competition was graced by another St Olave’s team playing a year ahead of themselves, and the Year 6 boys gave a good account of themselves, finishing narrowly behind their elders in third place.

Dan Busby, the organiser of the event, said: “The tournament worked well and the school are looking to repeat the event and hopefully the success in years to come.”

An expansion of the tournament from four teams is likely to happen in the coming years, with the original date this year hampered by the weather.