Day 1:
Our trip began with trying to squeeze everything into Ollie’s car, three smallish suitcases and three tennis bags. We only just managed to fit everything in. We set off on our long journey. Well not that long, we had only been in the car for two minutes then realised we had left the balls behind. Not one of the greatest starts I know. On the way there we heard some professional singing by Ollie Bendall himself. It was class. Finally we got there. It was a very nice hotel. We had a chilled afternoon/evening. Lucy arrived later that afternoon with her mum Nikki and her little brother Ossie. Dinner was most delicious at Bella Italia.
Day 2:
Friday morning was busy, but we managed to fit in a swim after warm up. We got down to serious business after that, which included a French plait on Natasha!
Our first match was against Essex, which was a very strong team. Unfortunately, we lost all of the 3 singles. Nevertheless, Natasha and I still went out fighting for our double and won! It was a long day but Martyn’s eccentric dancing cheered us up!
Day 3:
On Saturday morning it was an early start after a late night. The second match of the weekend was against Warwickshire. We lost our singles, 2 of which were very close tie breaks. We won our doubles in straight sets.
Next match was against Yorkshire. We lost 3 singles, 2 in tiebreaks - it was very close. The double was lost in a tiebreak yet again. Let’s just admit we don’t like tiebreaks.
Day 4:
Disappointed with our result against Yorkshire, we wanted to beat Hertfordshire. We had a good start by winning the first singles. We managed to win another single but lost the 3rd one in a tiebreak. The icing on the cake was when we won the doubles … in a tiebreak!
It was a very exhausting weekend but an amazing exciting experience. It was our first National event as a team. We have learned a lot. I hope we will be able to take part again next year and improve our results, especially in tiebreaks!
I was very glad to be part of this team. Well done everyone!
