DAY 1
The Berkshire Girls arrived at Bolton Arena knowing they had already exceeded any expectations by reaching the National finals stage of this year’s competition. 8 counties divided into 2 groups of 4 would battle over Friday and Saturday. Depending on where they finish in the group, teams would then receive one more playoff match on Sunday. In our group were Yorkshire, Avon & Surrey.
Berkshire 1 - 3 Yorkshire
Up first for Berkshire were the strongest team on paper in our group, Yorkshire. Francesca Davis admitted she lost to a better player in the first singles rubber, whilst Catherine Cowper just missed out 10-7 in the third set tie-break meaning Berkshire had to win their third singles rubber to stand a chance in the match. Up stepped Phoebe (tie-break) Coleman winning 13-11 in 1hour 34mins to keep Berkshire in it. Francesca and Catherine couldn’t quite continue their heroics from the regional stage in the doubles, eventually losing out 10-5 in third set.
DAY 2
Surrey 3 - 1 Berkshire
After finishing at 7:30pm the night before the Berkshire girls were back on the practice court at 8:30am on Day 2. Surrey were our first opponents with Francesca looking to improve on her loss the day before by hitting less unforced errors. She did exactly that but was unable to stop a good player in Romana Bari losing 4-2, 4-1. Phoebe playing at player 2 this time fought hard and with the support of all Berkshire Players and parents claimed a 5-4, 4-2 victory levelling the tie at 1-1. Having waited patiently and supporting the team from start to finish Liliana Fleming looked ready to go in the third singles rubber. She battled for every point but lost out 4-0, 4-1 in just under an hour to leave Berkshire 2-1 down going in the doubles again. Catherine (rested in the singles) and Francesca took to the court knowing they had to win to keep Berkshire in the tie. The match last 1hour 56mins with the majority of the time spent on the vital first set which Surrey took 8-6. The also claimed the second set 4-0.
Avon 1 – 3 Berkshire
After a quick lunch break and team briefing the Berkshire girls took to the courts knowing they had to be more aggressive by moving up the court, using greater ball speed and taking time away from their opponents when the opportunity arrived. Francesca and Catherine executed their game plans perfectly both winning 4-0, 4-0. After losing the first set, Phoebe made adjustments to her game to take the second set to an inevitable tie-break. She showed huge amounts of bravery but just lost out 7-5 meaning Berkshire had to win the doubles to secure 3rd place in the group and therefor a chance to playoff for 5th/6th place on Sunday. Francesca and Catherine trying a new doubles tactic stuck to it and controlled the match winning 4-1, 4-2!
DAY 3
After a team outing on Saturday night Bowling, all the players looked refreshed and ready to secure a top 5 finish if they could beat Leicestershire in the 5th/6th Playoff. Francesca played her best match of the weekend showing she could adapt and put what she had learnt in her previous singles matches into practice. Emotionally she held in together which proved to be the deciding factor of the match. That, and an unbelievable hustle followed by an exquisite backhand passing shot up the line to give her match point in the third set tie-break. She duly completed the win which was met with a huge cheer from the watching spectators knowing they had witnessed a great match. Catherine also putting in her best performance of the weekend showed great composure to secure a hard fought 4-1, 4-1 win putting Berkshire 2-0 up. Phoebe, up to her old tricks again, after being one set up and 3-0 up just missed out in the third set tie-break 10-4. As her coach I know she will learn a lot from this match and weekend full of tie-breaks and will become a better player because of it. Catherine and Francesca produced some solid doubles points using the same tactics that won them their previous match and cruised to a 4-2, 4-1 meaning Berkshire secured 5th place at the national finals!
A top 5 finish for Berkshire is a fantastic achievement for all associated with the team. The girls showed great character, bravery and the ability to adapt by making changes to their over the weekend learning from mistakes and always wanting to improve. As team captain they were a joy to work with and the parents supported all the way to last point of the last match showing what a great TEAM they were.
Full results can be found here - http://lta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/team.aspx?id=B0B9A25C-F1AC-4230-B36B-33DD29072D15&team=4
Thank You
Luke Digweed
Proud Berkshire 10U Girls Team Captain
(R-L: Liliana Fleming, Francesa Davis, Luke Digweed (Team Capt), Catherine Cowper, Phoebe Coleman)