Derbyshire captain Dennis Archer said he was "bitterly disappointed" to see his side relegated in the AEGON Winter County Cup for a second year running.
The county's men lost all three of their matches at the three-day tournament at the Kingston Park Tennis Centre, in Hull.
Four players were making their debut for the side, after only three were available from the team which represented the county at Eastbourne this summer.
And Archer said this was probably too many, as Derbyshire lost their first Division 3B match against Nottinghamshire 7-2.
This was followed by a 9-0 defeat to Warwickshire and, in a straight fight to avoid relegation, a 5-2 loss to Berkshire.
Non-playing skipper Archer said: "It is bitterly disappointing to be relegated for a second time.
"Last year, we lost a lot of close matches 5-4 and, this year, it's particularly hard because I know what the team can do at full strength.
"But that's not to take anything away from the players who were making their debut, because there's a lot of potential there.
"I think it was a real-eye opener for one or two of them, because I don't think they quite realised what a high standard the competition was – but they were keen to come back.
"I knew we would be up against it before we went there and I think having four players making their debut is just too many."
Chris Archer, James Rushby and Simon Thornewill were the only players available to compete from the side which played in Division One at the AEGON Summer County Cup.
Tom Rushby and Steven Amey were unavailable due to other commitments, Chris Simpson and Chris McPherson were both abroad and Dan Cottier was ruled out through injury.
They were replaced by Mike Peel – a coach for the MyTennis programme at Loughborough University – and juniors Sam Ferguson, Jacob East and Ben Rushby.
Matches were the best of nine rubbers, with six singles and three doubles matches.
The team finishing top of the division was promoted for next year's competition, while the side with the fewest points was relegated.
Archer, who has been involved in county tournaments for 41 years, said: "I thought James Rushby and Chris Archer played very well throughout the weekend.
"Simon Thornewill had to play as our number one in the singles every day, so there was a lot of pressure for him but he really gave it his all.
"Those three had to play the really high-level matches that they don't always play normally, so they did very well.
"And there were some incredibly close matches played by the other four and a couple were showing signs of what they could do for us in the future.
"On the last day, we stopped once Berkshire had won five because that was all they needed but, ironically, I think we would have won the other two matches still being played at that point.
"And there was another match which Sam was playing where he was a set and 3-1 up and playing for 4-1.
"He just missed that and then it crept away from him but that could have been a very different game.
"It's unfortunate we lost a lot of players but it was a good experience for the team and there is some real hope for the future."
Meanwhile, Derbyshire's ladies' team were celebrating after achieving promotion from Division 4B.
The county finished top of the table by winning two of their three matches at the Graves Tennis Centre in Sheffield.
Their opening 6-3 victory against Somerset was followed by a tight 5-4 loss to Gloucestershire, before they beat Avon 5-4 to finish ahead of them.
Before the three-day competition, captain Jayne Allsopp had said she was confident of promotion as she had 20 players to choose from to take with her.
In the end, she selected herself – after being ineligible to play in the summer – Ena Ankutse, Jenny Batty, Sarah Allan, Kathryn Cook, Naomi Fellows, Amy Harris, Aggie Hau, Roisin Mullins and Gemma Praditngam for the team.
"I'm really pleased we were promoted because we had some very talented players," said Allsopp.
"They really impressed me and the only team we lost to was Gloucestershire, who were actually relegated in the end."