The IAVI/Irish Times Tennis Tournament was as hotly contested as ever this year

A team from Hamilton Osborne King won the IAVI/Irish Times Tennis Tournament which was held at Lansdowne Tennis Club on August 24th.

The winning team - Mary Burke, Anne Kiernan, Robert Bloomer and Gerry McCarthy - were presented with The Irish Times Perpetual Trophy by Peter Dargan, Property Advertising Manager of The Irish Times.

Overall, 17 teams of four took part in this year's competition. These included: Arthur Cox, Hooke & MacDonald (three teams), HOK (three teams), Institution of Engineers, Daphne L Kaye & Associates, Ganly Walters (two teams), Sherry FitzGerald (two teams), DTZ Sherry FitzGerald New Homes, The Irish Times and The Law Society.

The teams were divided into three sections. The winners of Section A were HOK2, and the runners up Daphne L Kaye & Associates; winners of Section B were HOK1 and runners up Sherry Fitz1; and the winners of Section C were the Institution of Engineers and the runners up Arthur Cox.

The semi final match-ups were Daphne L Kaye & Associates v HOK1 (HOK1 came through); and Sherry Fitz1 v HOK2 (Sherry Fitz1 came through).

In the final Sherry Fitz1 played HOK1, and HOK1 won in an excellent contest.

A barbecue after the tennis was well attended.

Hooke & MacDonald's team won the tournament for a fifth time last year - drawing level with fierce rivals Sherry FitzGerald who won a fifth title in 2003.

The hotly contested tennis-fest is traditionally held before estate agents gear up for a busy autumn season.

Originally intended as a purely social outing, over the years it has become a bit of a white-knuckle event, with agencies taking the whole thing very seriously and bringing their not inconsiderable sense of competitiveness to bear on the proceedings.