Day 5 - "Maureen"
So "Maureen" will be travelling back to London with us after all. That's what we've been calling the trophy attached to the Maureen Connolly Challenge. We've been lugging her around with us for days now in a Fort Knox type box. So much so that she's become part of the team. Well she's ours for another 12 months till this annual girls fixture GB v USA is played at Eastbourne next June.
Got to say our girls - Well Dunne, Usain, The Dartist and Brogy Bear were "well good" yesterday. That's teenage speak for fantastic...:) Took all 4 singles to make it 7-3 then bagged one of the doubles to finish up 8-4. Impressive stuff.
Usain and Well Dunne with Sissy Jeffet, chairman of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation.
Great work too from the coaching team - Claire Curran and Lucie Ahl. And super sub - Elle Dean - who wasn't able to play coz of an injury but did a fab job supporting. Also had the best dress at the official dinner....:). She was also official "YouTu ber". Look out for Brogy Bears efforts in high heels and the Catwalk Queens....coming soon to a You Tube account near you!! Courtesy of Elle Spielberg-Dean.
Our pre match prep included some nail painting. Girls will be girls :)
Best bit was getting presented with "Maureen" on the stadium court at The New Haven Open just before the women’s semi between Kvitova and Errani. The whole team got name checked by the compere and had to step forward individually to acknowledge the crowd. Deal was everyone had to do a different wave - well, let's just say there were some Oscar performances including a bow a curtsey and some finger pointing to the sky......brilliant. Then the girls took off on their lap of honour with the GB flag....and "Maureen". Clearly watching too much tv :-)
Lucie Ahl acknowledging her public during the presentation ceremony. Too funny.
Back to the hotel. Hyper of course. Quick shower. Bling up. Off to Kudeta restaurant for a Japanese dinner. One of those tables with the spinning things. You know what I mean. You can whizz the food round and dip in and out. Don't know what they’re called but it was great fun.
Important to bling up for ur country. Well Dunne goes for the patriotic ear candy.
These team events are so important for young players’ development. Real bonus to have a captain sit on court with you and to play for your country instead of just yourself. And perfect prep for future Fed Cups.... Team spirit was excellent and winning was the icing on the cake. Yes I bring everything back to cake.
Anyway the team heads back tonight but not before a trip to the Mall y'all. Fully expecting to have excess baggage charges.......
Day 4 - All Evens
Well we are perfectly poised at 3-3 in the MoCo Trophy and ready to do battle again at high noon today. Talk about a duel in the sun .... yesterday was roasting and it’s fair to say I'm a healthy shade of beetroot after 3 successive matches in the courtside chair. I must also point out that Captain Curran had some shade on her court :)
Loving the golf carts that take you to and from the courts. Buggy on down, girls. Got involved in a chat about tattoos with one of the drivers following Bethanie Mattek Sands suggestion that I needed "some ink". Now that girl is wonderfully whacky (and great fun) but am I really gonna listen to someone with turquoise hair and black knee socks? Mmmmm.
Buggying on down to the MoCo Trophy!
Anyway, back to the tennis. Wins at 3 and 4 for the Dartist and the Brog. Dartist beat Nicole Frenkel while Brog took out last year’s 14U Orange Bowl champ Kat Stewart. I sense Scottish ancestry there ... our third win came in dubs for Usain (Bolt) and Well Dunne over Frenkel/Stewart. There's a change up today in the USA line up.
Vicky Duval (No.1) has blisters and a 1st round clash with Clijsters in US Open next week - she got a WC thanks to winning the USTA 18s nationals (nice incentive!!!) So she has been replaced by Tornado Alicia Black. Yep really. That is her name. How cool is that? A rival for Hurricane Heather Watson? Hahah. Hoping we are going to blow her away ... sorry couldn't resist.
GB and USA babes all glammed up for the official dinner. Box office, laydees!!!
Official dinner last night at resto called Kitchen Zinc. Funny stuff. Great food and a great speech by Brog (youngest player’s duty!!) And girls looking fab in their dresses. Possibly the shortest dresses I've ever seen but gorgeous all the same.
Highlight of yesterday? Meeting Rory McIlroy ... what a charming young man.
That's it for now folks. I'll fill u in again tomorrow. Oh - if it’s a 6-6 tie, we play a 10 point doubles match tie-break to decide who keeps the MoCoTro!
Day 3 - Thursday morning. Clash of the Titans
Let's get this party started! Its 7:30am on day 1 of the MoCo Trophy. Matches starts at high noon so we will head in to hit from 10:30-11.00, get dolled up for the on court Opening Ceremony at 11.45, then off we go.
Well Dunne (Katy) and The Dartist (Harriet) will kick us off in singles - that's GB 1 v USA 2 and GB 3 v USA 4. Then its time for the Bolt (Katie, not Usain) and the Brog (Anna, not the shoe). I'll leave u to work out the match-ups. I'm banking on you being smart enough to work it out :) And when the singles are over, its time for some double trouble. So 6 matches today on courts 1 and 2 at the Conecticut Tennis Center (US spelling y'all) on the spectacular Yale Uni campus.
That's 3 matches each for Captain Curran and me so get the cap and the Factor 50 out!!! Usually when I do the captains bit, I've got a chocolate stash in my bag - Kinder Schokobons are my faves - but I'm looking for a non-melting alternative out here......suggestions, anyone?
Yesterday was a scorcher - or as Alan our van driver calls it - "super hawt". Did a couple of practices on the match courts and a bit of spying on the US team. Great for the girls to hit alongside Tamira Paszek and Marion Bartoli. Watched 6 games of Wozza v Arvidsson on the stadium court - biggest point of interest was the height Wozza hits over the net. Our kids can learn a lot just from understanding how that affects consistency.
Dessert from last nights GB and USA team dinner in Geronimos. Aka "dining with the enemy". Tequila Lime Pie and Chocolate Pave (pron. Pavay) which had "a splash of chipotle in it."
We then headed back for some gyming and "dining with the enemy". I mean both teams were at one big table in Geronimos. A cheeky wee Mexican resto where the food had, let's say, "a bit of a kick". Even the desserts. I mean who puts chipotle in a chocolate pudding? There was also a Tequila Lime Pie. I'm a bit suspicious by nature so of course I had to test it before the team could indulge. In case the oppo were trying to get an unfair advantage.....attention to detail, people!!!
Oops last thing. Have to share. Misheard (old age?) the name of one of the US coaches and have been calling him Pretty all evening. Its Freddy.
Day 2 - Ruby Tuesday
Ok so here's a wee round up from Tuesday. Aka Ruby Tuesday. Yeah yeah. 80 degrees means red neck, red nose. Actually red everything. And before you ask...I did slap on the Ambre Solaire :)
Absolute bonus early doors today. Found Starbucks 2 blocks from our hotel. Life = complete again. Ordered up a small Latte despite Captain Curran and Lucie trying to persuade me to try an Americano with hot soya milk. I mean, whaaat? Sounded revolting.
"Pimping it up" in our black discobus en route to New Haven. Flashing lights, leather seats and The Hunger Games on dvd. Neat.
Took the 9am shuttle to the courts and arrived same time as the players laundry. That's a pretty important service for competitors and most tourneys provide this. You hand it in before 10am and it is back 24 hours later. Nothing worse than having sweaty kit festering in your room.
Players laundry. Can you make out the player's bag at the front? None other than Agi Radwanska
We had a quick chat with Laura Robson who had come to collect her laundry before she left for NYC. She was here as a Wild Card with new coach Zelijko Krajan but had gone out Sunday to Marion Bartoli. Good story from her : she left her Olympic medal in the back of a taxi the night she won it. But she got it back.....:)
Practice at the incredible Hopkins School close to the Yale Campus. 6 hard courts all to ourselves and our very own American footy pitch to do fitness on. Marvellous. Back for shower and lunch in player resto. Great pasta bar. You pick your own ingredients and sauce, then a very nice young chef rustles it up for you. Sorted.
Out to watch Bartoli v Stephens for a short while. In the shade of course. Always good for young players to watch this level of event. Bartoli is an interesting player to observe because she's got an unorthodox style and some rather OTT between point routines. Whatever works for you....
Captain Curran putting The Dartist through her paces in the warm up area.
Did another practice in the afternoon where we all came very close to melting. Very. Went for dinner later at Carmen Anthony's Steakhouse. Enough food to feed a small nation......was almost reacquainted with my filet in the taxi back. Is there any worse smell in the world than a Vanilla Magic Tree air freshner. I think not.
One more day to get ready for the MCT. The USA team arrived yesterday so we will be spying on them today too. Think we've got a little Q and A lined up with a top player. I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.....
Have a good day y'all......
Day 1 - So here we are...
So we are in New Haven, Connecticut for the Maureen Connolly Trophy. Who's we? And what's that? :) Well.....the MCT is a rather heavy piece of silverware :-) I know this because I had to carry it on and off the flights to New York in a very official looking box which got the Customs guys terribly excited. It's played for in a bi-annual match between GB and USA for junior girls.
The GB team of Elle Dean, Katy Dunne, Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Anna Brogan will be trying to claim the trophy on Thursday and Friday. That's if they survive all the white knuckle golf buggy rides to and from the player area to the courts at the stunning Yale University.
Brogue (Anna Brogan), The Dartist (Harriet Dart) and Well Dunne (Katy Dunne) get chauffeured to the credential office.
And talking of golf....Rory's here. Fresh from his USPGA triumph to watch his GF Caroline Wozniacki in action at the WTA Tour event here - she owns this event....has won it five times in a row. She really ought to be allowed to keep Ít.
Look who's here! The defending champ has her name on her racket bag "so I don't forget who I am". :). Too good, Caro!
We arrived on Sunday night and had a couple of practice sessions yesterday off site at Hopkins School. Claire Curran is the team captain and Lucie Ahl is here helping out too. I'm just hanging around to cramp their style.
It's great for our girls to rub shoulders with some of the world's top players. Watching them warm up, practice and compete is gold dust for this age group. They can learn loads from seeing how they go about their business. Because it is a business. It's not all about hitting balls. There's a whole other world of sponsors, media, agents, physios.... Not to mention all the hotel, transport, laundry, stringing, restaurant organisation that has to be done. It's our job to educate our girls in ALL the areas that relate to becoming a Tour player.
Enough for me for today. Look out for tomorrow's update which will feature some guest contributions. All part of their job.....:)
Follow Judy on Twitter - @judmoo
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