11U Girls County Cup Report

Team:

• Mia
• Rose
• Grace
• Hannah
• Olivia
• Emily

Venue: Great Missenden
Captains: Mark Lunn and Laura Eales

Day 1

Gloucestershire had to play a very strong Hertfordshire team on the first day with Grace and Hannah playing first. Grace played Sophie Lin Adamson and after a very one sided first set to Sophie, Grace battled back to win 2nd set and force a champs tie-break. But unfortunately it resulted in a win for Hertfordshire.

Hannah played against the Herts no 3 player and she fought hard in a well contested match, however, the win went to Herts.

Rose competed very well and after sharing the first two sets lost a tight decider 10-7. Rose chased down every ball and began attacking her opponent, but the girl proved to be too good in the end.

Mia finally got on to court against Ivy Clarke who is ranked #21 in the Country. Mia played very well in the first set that went to a tie break, which was very close but sadly she lost 7-5. The second set also went the way of Herts 4-1.

Both doubles went against us, although Emily and Rose put up an entertaining fight against the second pair losing in two close sets.

Overall a tough day but a good effort from all players and they had a really good attitude to put towards finishing on a high on Sunday. They felt they learned a lot from the day.

Final score 6-0 to Hertfordshire.

Day 2

Gloucestershire took on Avon first. Grace played at 4 and lost 4-1 4-3 (5), Hannah lost 4-1 4-1, Rose lost 4-2 4-1 and Mia lost 4-1 4-1. The rankings of the Avon team number 1 was 20 in the country, 2 was 42, 3 was 55 and number 4 was 76. In comparison to our team which after Mia at number 50, the rest of our girls that were available were ranked between 200 and 300. The competition this year is fierce in the division with these counties battling to get into the national finals.

Gloucestershire then had to play the two remaining doubles against Avon. We paired Olivia with Grace at second pair and then Mia and Hannah at first pair. Both pairs lost but they showed some real fighting qualities.

Final score 6-0 to Avon.

With the team finishing 3rd in the group we took on Essex. We decided to shuffle up the team with Olivia at #4, Grace moved up to #3, Rose at #2 and Mia played at #1.

Olivia played a girl ranked at #161, 149 places higher than her. Olivia went down fighting but lost 4-1 4-1.

Grace was up next against a girl about 150 places higher and despite battling hard lost the match.

Rose played the Essex #2 who was 71 in the country. The Essex girl was firing on all cylinders from the start but Rose kept her out on court for 45mins.

Mia was determined to get a win for Gloucestershire. She played the #32. Mia started well and won 4-0 in the first set. The 2nd set was close but she lost 2-4. In the champions tie break decider Mia won 10-8. Great result!

Doubles next but unfortunately we lost both.

Final score 5-1 win to Essex.

Overall, we had a great team spirit and were very close to winning. It was a great weekend where we played some great tennis and are certainly getting more competitive against the stronger counties. Our players had good attitudes and fought hard against players who were all ranked higher in the head to heads. They have seen what they need to improve and were very positive at the end of the competition, feeling they wanted to compete more and play at a higher level more regularly.

Mark Lunn & Laura Eales, 11U Girls Captains