It was the turn of our 9 & Under players to take on our neighbouring counties in the regional AEGON 9 & Under County Cup on 21st July at Taunton.
Enjoying the nice weather for a change, the team of 3 boys and 3 girls took on Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall. Playing 3 girls singles, 3 boys singles, 1 girls doubles, 1 boys doubles and a mixed doubles per county match, stamina was the order of the day!
Team: Taylor Ingham-Hill, Dan Mountford, Matt Rutter, Emily Syms, Jessica Hill, Lauren McGinnis and Captain Mark Syms
The team got off to a good start, defeating Cornwall 14 points to 4. Both Taylor Ingham-Hill and Dan Mountford had close 3 set matches against Cornwall's Louis Davey and Albert Evans respectively but played great third sets to take the match. Matt Rutter achieved a solid win after a fairly close first set. Emily Syms, our number 1 girl, had an easier time and Jessica Hill in her first County match also got off to a good start in her singles. Jessica partnered Lauren McGinnis, also making her County Cup debut, in the doubles and both fought hard in a very close 3 set match but couldn't hold out in the end.
The boys had an easier time against Somerset, taking all their matches but the girls were unable to make enough of an impression on their opposition despite again some close 3 set matches and Somerset took the tie 10-8.
The final match against Dorset was always going to be tough. Dan and Emily were the only singles winners and Taylor and Matt partnered up to take the doubles comfortably after a shakey start. Dorset won 12-6 and were the overall winners of the competition.
Debbie Hale, LTA Talent & Performance Co-ordinator for Devon & Cornwall said, "The tennis in the boys’ matches was at an exceptional level with many matches going to 3 sets with just a matter of 2 points between winning and losing. This was not county level as expected, more like national standard competition in the boys’ singles so the boys did really well.
The team played with great team spirit and were excellent ambassadors for the County."