In an intense 3 days of competition at the Bromley Tennis Centre at the beginning of the month, the Devon 18 & Under boys team held on to their place in group 3A.
Day one saw Devon go down 8-1 to pre event favourites Suffolk who were stronger on paper in every rubber. Only team captain Lewie Parker playing at no.3 was able to win a set in the singles, going down to Ben Jones 3-6, 6-4, 1-6. Patrick Daykin and Buzzy Avis secured the lone rubber for Devon with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Thomas Belton and William Wharton Cooke.
Day two pitted Devon against Buckinghamshire which resulted in a tight 5-4 loss to leave Devon battling relegation on the final day against Hampshire and IOW. Ben Robbins, playing his first U18 County Cup, fought hard before losing 5-7, 3-6 to Lee Tribe. Patrick Daykin then produced a great performance to win in the No.5 singles in straight sets. With the tie level at 1-1, Devon then went down in the next three matches courtesy of straight sets defeats for Parker, Bradley Dobson and Erik Wilson. However, Emerson Styles playing at No.1 was able to upset the form book to defeat Thomas Schmidt 6-4, 6-4, rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the second set. With the tie poised at 4-2, Devon needed to win all three doubles rubbers, which they nearly accomplished. Daykin and Avis teamed up again to win in the doubles where there was also a superb win for Parker and Wilson in the No.1 doubles. However, Styles and Dobson lost to a strong No.2 pairing to round off a 5-4 defeat.
The final day saw Devon use the momentum they had gained from the previous match to show more hunger, desire and team spirit than Hampshire and IOW to win 5-3 and retain their place in division 3 for the following year. The No. 6 singles saw a key win for Devon with Daykin producing a calculated display to defeat George Barfoot 6-3, 6-4. There were also wins for Buzzy Avis and Erik Wilson, who both took down higher rated opposition - Wilson’s match against Cem Ortel proving a vital win. This left the tie at 3-3 following defeats for Styles and Dobson in the singles. Daykin and Avis again produced a win to maintain an unbeaten partnership and give Daykin five out of a possible six wins at his first County Cup. Styles and Robbins then teamed up for the first time in the event to secure the tie with a battling 6-2, 6-2 win in the No.2 doubles.
Devon captains Will McNally and Simon Huddart commented: “The team grew stronger and stronger in confidence as the event went on. On paper we were up against it in nearly every match so to secure a place in the division for next year is a great achievement from the team. They can be proud of the fight and team spirit they showed to come through”.