9U County Cup Report

The team arrived at Billesley Tennis Centre on Saturday 17th July to very windy and potentially wet day however it did turn out quite nice in the end. Team Captains were Kirk Woodall and Craig Unitt who guided the team of three boys and three girls:  Mae McCutcheon, Nancy Brand, Grace Doyle, Owen Smith, Thomas Lawrence and Oliver Rock.

The players had a warm up with an LTA coach followed by a team chat with Kirk and Craig, our main goal being to give 100% in every match and look for our support if needed at change of ends. The first match was against Hereford & Worcestershire where after the singles we where locked at 3 all, this was follwed by another 3-3 tie after the singles with Gloucestershire. Warwickshire were a very strong side and by far the best team at the event and they were 5-1 up after singles - we were only team to snatch a rubber from them! Once again when it came to playing Shropshire we were tied at three all after singles. During the singles we had some great performances from Oli Rock in his first county team event but what was most impressive was the atmosphere between the team and how well they kept together as a unit between breaks and during matches.

When it came to the doubles we managed to scrape a 2-1 win over H&W, had a narrow 2-1 defeat to Gloucestershire, Warkwickshire were strong but we managed to get a win from Nancy and Mae who where a very strong pairing and against shropshire we had a 2-1 win. During the doubles we had some great efforts from Oli and Grace who where brave enough to play mixed, also Tom and Owen got the win they deserved in the Shropshire match and Nancy and Mae were very solid and managed to win all doubles games.

It was a real shame at the end because we where level on points with H&W and Gloucestershire for second place but as our rubbers where a little lower we finished fourth. Both Kirk and Craig thought the day was great for the players as they met new faces and different competition. The captains are looking forward to working with all the players in the future as we have some great talent and characters to work with. The event was enjoyed by all.

Full results from all matches

Report by Kirk Woodall