In a nail-biting girls’ final of the Aegon Team Tennis Schools competition, Talbot Heath were narrowly beaten in a tie-break shootout after they and Queenswood School, Hertfordshire, couldn’t be separated after the regular match rubbers.
Talbot had beaten Cheam High School in the semi-finals and were looking to win the title for the first time since 1968. Jodie Burrage got the team off to a strong start with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Rebecca Smaller on the first singles. Sophia Haine then put Talbot 4-0 up with a singles victory of her own against Corrine Blythe, she won 6-2, 6-3.
But Queenswood struck back, winning the next three matches to take a 6-4 lead; Lauryn John-Baptiste was beaten 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(10) by Ema Lazic in a marathon match. Eliz Maloney was then unable to stop her opponent as she was went down 6-1, 6-3 to Katarina Weymouth. Burrage and Haine were then beaten by Smaller and Weymouth in the first doubles match 6-4, 6-1.
John-Baptiste and Maloney showed their resolve in the second doubles encounter as they delivered in the must-win match. They beat Blythe and Mollie Reed 6-3, 6-0 to set up a tie-break shootout which was to be contested with a doubles match. Haine and John-Baptiste took on Smaller and Weymouth for the title.
A positive start from the Talbot pair saw them take a 3-1 lead in the first to 10 points breaker. The tense decider took a turn as momentum shifted in Queenswood’s favour and Smaller and Weymouth recovered and moved ahead to go 9-6 up. Spirited resistance from Talbot was not quite enough as they were finally beaten 10-8 to finish at runners-up.
Click Here for more information on Talbot Heath School’s experience in the Aegon Team Tennis Schools National Championships Finals
By Harry Lund