U14 Cambs Boys come 3rd in County Cup

The U14 Cambridgeshire team came 3rd in their group which was played at Lincolnshire over the bank holiday weekend.

Each match consisted of 4 singles and 2 doubles and Cambridgeshire played Yorkshire doubles on the 1st afternoon. We knew it was important as Yorks probably the strongest team in the group and it turned out to be right with Yorks winning the group overall.

Wardley and James played some great doubles with some intense net play and some big serves to come back from a set down to force a match tiebreak. Unfortunately we got off to a poor start and went 0-4 down and that was the difference as we lost 4-6 6-4 6-10. 

Chen and Ortonowski lost their doubles 2-6 6-7 and had a spirited comeback on the 2nd set. 

On the Sunday, playing singles against Yorks we still felt we could win as all the matches would be very competitive. 

Charlie James and Vincent Chen played first but both couldn't quite find a way through Yorks solid play. James going down to Josh Lazenby 4-6 6-7 despite getting 5-3 ahead in the 2nd set. 

Chen and Alex Wardley both lost in straight sets while Jan Ortonowski who was playing at number 4 took a set but couldn't get over the finishing line meaning the results was a 6-0 win for Yorks.

Playing for 2nd in the group of three, Cambs had to respond quickly and they did just that with a convincing 5-1 win over Norfolk. James, Chen and Wardley all won in straight sets before Samuel Clark eventually lost a close and tense 3 setter. 

Being 3-1 up and with two doubles to play, James and Wardley played some great doubles before Ortonowski and Chen also won in straight sets to make it a convincing 5-1 win for Cambs.

It meant that Cambs finished 2nd in the round robin group behind Yorks and so on the last day, it was a local derby against suffolk where friendships went out of the window on the court. 

Charlie James got off to a good start against Oscar Cutting winning a great 1st set 7-6 but couldn't keep his attacking play up and fell away in the 2nd and 3rd sets 2-6 1-6. Chen meanwhile took out Karim Shah 6-3 7-6 and Wardley took little time in a 6-0 6-0 win over Noah  cutting. Jan Ortonowski played Ross Spinner and won 6-2 6-2 which meant just one win from the two remaining doubles would guarantee a Cambs win.

The doubles was very close and Chen and Clark won 7-6 6-4 before James and Wardley came back from a set down to eventually win on a match tiebreak 4-6 7-5 10-6.

Cambs finished 3rd overall while Yorks won the group without dropping a match with a 6-0 final win over Hertfordshire.