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Lionel Cox U11/U12 Boys team report
After 4 months of preparation with training at three different clubs with three different surfaces, the team were better prepared than ever. It certainly didn’t seem 12 months ago that the team were runners up so expectations were high. In particular with the U11 & U12 teams seeded at 1 &2 in their respective compass draws. In addition to the two teams we also had an U11 b team made up of development players.
As usual at Lionel Cox, the first day was windy and wet. Like really wet. We had the biggest storm I had ever seen and this wiped the clay courts out leaving all play on the astro. With play running up to 4 hours late nerves were jangling.
First up for the U12’s was Herts B. Our team of Daniel Dean, Ben Smith & Jack Chapman came through a tough match. We were a little complacent and with this first match over it was in the semis against Suffolk on the Sunday. The U11b team started on the Saturday with a fine 3-0 win over Northants. Lucca Vujasevic, Ferdi Maintzer & Ethan Hague won three tight matches to move in to the quarters to play Bedfordshire. Ethan was replaced by Tim Ball for this match and even though the boys played some great tennis went down 2-1. We had chances to win but didn’t take them. The boys left Saturday disappointed but determined to achieve on Sunday. The U11 A team of Matthew Blood, Dylan Smith & Marcus Persaud had a very difficult first round match with Oxfordshire. The match played at 7pm in poor light and after some 3 hour delay was a very close affair. Dylan took his match to a match tie break and Matthew and Marcus both fought hard but it wasn’t to be and Oxfordshire win through. The team were despondent!!!!
Sunday brought fine dry sunny weather and the whole team were reinvigorated and ready for action. The U12’s, having struggled the day before beat Suffolk with ease to set a final against top seeded team Essex featuring two players in the top 10. A massive final in front of a large crowd. The pressure was on. Ben Smith fought hard for 2 hours and was edged out in a close affair against a top ten player a year older. Both Daniel and Jack played also played higher ranked players and took both matches into 3rd set tie break. The had chances but in the end the ‘Essex boys’ came though….just. A titanic match and very, very nearly a win for Bucks. The U11’s in their consolation beat Norfolk and then Suffolk to record a creditable 5th place. The B team however lost to Norfolk and then Suffolk to finish 8th.
The team had a great weekend and learnt a lot. They all bonded together and it was great to see those with bigger reputations helping along those, for whom this was the first time. A massive thanks to all the parents for their support as usual. The weekend saw 350+ three set matches featuring 10 counties and some of the top players in the country. A great learning experience and a whole load of fun.
Nigel Willard Bucks 12U/11U Boys team captain