Venue: John Charles Tennis Centre, Leeds
Teams in Group C: Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire
Team: Leo Harbey, Rory Fitzgerald, Archie Harrison, Chantal Griffiths, Isabella Mauro and Laura Monk
Captain: Simon Thornewill
Event Format: Best of 9 rubbers (3 boys singles, 3 girls singles, 1 boys doubles, 1 girls doubles, 1 mixed doubles)
This had to be the toughest year arranging the team, the county seem to be lacking quality players who can compete at this level, I only managed to find 4 boys and 4 girls which was eventually cut down to 3 girls and 3 boys. For 5 of the team it was their first experience of representing Derbyshire. This was definitely a learning curve for all the players and a bench mark for the players and myself.
Again, Derbyshire found themselves up against 3 tough counties, Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. We started the day against Lancashire. Rory Fitzgerald and Archie Harrison were over powered by good opponents and struggled to find a way into their matches. Leo Harbey lost the first set, but managed to battle back and win the second set, unfortunately he lost his momentum and lost in 3 close sets. All the girls struggled against very strong opponents which meant the team were 0-6 down before the doubles. As always, Derbyshire managed to make the doubles competitive. The boys lost in 2 close sets, the girls lost in 3 close set (match point up) and the mixed lost in 3 tight sets.
The great thing about this county cup event is the players didn’t have to wait long to get back into action. Next up for Derbyshire was Yorkshire, who again had a very strong team. The team has a whole performed better in this match, there seemed to be a few nervous players floating around before our first match against Lancs. The boys were up first followed by the girls. Leo and Archie lost in straight sets, with a little more experience at this level they could have easily won a set or the match against their opponents. Rory was the only boy this round to win a set, Rory did extremely well against a lad who is a year older. Isabella Mauro and Chantal Griffiths both lost in close matches, our first win of the weekend came from Laura Monk our number 1 girl, who won in 3 competitive sets. Unfortunately Yorkshire showed their class and won all 3 of the doubles. Derby 1 - Yorkshire 8.
Last up for Derbyshire was Cheshire, who just lost a close match to Lancashire. The team had nothing to lose and played at their highest level all day. Laura won another singles in a close match. Isabella lost in 3 close sets, she was so close to winning it just wasn’t to be. Chantal lost in 2 sets, I don’t think any of the scores reflected her performances today. All 3 of the boys lost in 2 sets, again they were just lacking experience at this level. They all had chances but failed to convert any. The boys doubles and girls doubles were both exciting matches, the girls managed to win in 3 sets and the boys lost in 3 sets some really good doubles being played at times. Unfortunately the mixed doubles lost in 2 sets.
For the majority of our team it was the first time they had played at this level and with a little bit more experience I’m sure they would have won more points, sets and matches. It was a tough weekend for the myself and the players. They showed unbelievable fighting spirit throughout the day especially in a tough division. My challenge to all these players is, can they go out there and play more competitions at this level so they understand what is required to compete at this level. I said this last year, this event will have been a eye opener for all of the players and hopefully they will want to compete at this level in the future. We have some talented players coming through, as a county we need to support them and help them develop.
Also, I would like to thank Diane Gibson for her help throughout the day. U9 county cup is non-stop and it helps that someone else is there to keep the team happy.
Simon Thornewill