The Sussex 14 & under boys county cup team travelled to Abingdon, Oxfordshire in a bid to win group 3A on the May bank holiday weekend.
The team consisting of Mohamed Morsi (Preston Club)  Julian Cash & Dan Little (Pav & Av), Sam Venn, (West Worthing), Ben Stride (Angmering), and Sam Oakley went into the weekend feeling confident that they could win on all three days and move into Division 2.

Day 1’s opponents were Avon, who on paper looked to be the toughest opposition of the weekend. This only seemed to spur the players on as Stride, Morisi and Cash picked up valuable singles wins, giving Sussex a 3-1 lead and needing to win just one of the doubles to seal the tie. With Morsi and Cash loosing comfortably to the Avon 1st pair, it was down to second pair Ben Stride and Sam Venn to ensure victory went to Sussex. The Sussex pair battled hard and ultimately took victory and gives Sussex the match 4-2.

Day 2   Was a much easier affair, with Morsi, Cash, Venn and Stride all winning their singles for a loss of only 10 games in total. This gave Sussex an unassailable 4-0 lead going into the doubles, which we split, making the final score 5-1.

Day 3’s match against Hampshire & IOW became the final after they upset Avon 4-2 on day 2. The day started well as Sam Venn gave Sussex a strong start winning his singles in straight sets. Ben Stride followed suit with a hard fought 3 sets win, likewise Julian Cash playing at Number 2 for the team. Unfortunately, Mohammed came up against a much tougher opponent on the day and lost the Number 1 singles match in straight sets. This left Sussex in a strong position, needing only to take 1 of the doubles rubbers to be the weekend’s winners. Venn and Stride playing the Number 2 doubles found their opponents to be tougher than expected and although fighting hard lost in straight sets. This meant that the 1st pairing of Morsi and Cash had to win their match or Hampshire & IOW would win the match and the weekend on sets. The Sussex pair started slowly and a straight sets loss looked likely with Hampshire & IOW taking a set and a break lead. However, the Sussex pair fought back strongly to take the second set. This meant that the rubber, the match and the whole weekend came down to a Match tie-break. Unfortunately, Sussex lost the first 4 points and never recovered eventually losing 10-7.