Durham & Cleveland Ladies travelled to the Wirral over the weekend of November 23rd–25th to compete in the annual Winter County Cup competition.
The team was in group 4a after a successful second place in last year’s competition held in Welwyn. Eight players were selected, including: Jo Cunliffe, Caitlin Hindmarsh, Aimee Kirkup, Beth Laybourne, Lydia Perkins (now Morris!), Halle Pringle, Cara Todd and Nicola Tweedy.
Friday saw the North East based team competing against Shropshire, who had been promoted from group five the previous year. Cunliffe and Kirkup were on first, with both taking their respective matches. Although Jo’s match finished 6-0, 6-1 it certainly didn’t reflect the closeness of the match, with both players battling it out side to side. Aimee was playing her first County match since her Junior days and she showcased all the great things about being competitive. Although Aimee lost the first set, she moved on and dug deep to take the second set and close out the third 7-5. The team was thrilled for her and the result, which took D&C to 2-0 up. Beth and Lydia were on next in their respective fourth and third ranked order. Beth was on fire, playing positive tennis and finishing 6-0, 6-2. Lydia was also too strong for her opponent and took it 6-2, 6-0. An incredible start from the D&C Ladies! Nicola and Caitlin followed, which would conclude the Singles matches for the day. Nicola played out a two hour battle but once again the spirit and determination was overwhelming and she took the match 6-2 in the third set. Caitlin was simply too strong for her opponent and took it in two straight sets.
The teams then moved onto the Doubles. Halle and Jo played for the first time together and displayed some fantastic Doubles. Big serves and power shots from Halle set up Jo to finish at the net perfectly, which saw them win 6-1, 6-0. Caitlin and Lydia played solid Doubles, as they had done in the summer, and raced through the match in just over an hour. The last doubles was Nicola and Beth who continued their established partnership with a hard fought match. They took the first set 6-4 but then narrowly lost the second set 5-7, which meant it went to a match tiebreak. The points were so close and the opposition found a couple of winning shots to just edge them over the line.
With the final match score 8-1 the Durham & Cleveland team headed to Cheshire Oaks retail outlet for dinner and bargains!
Day two was against South Wales, who the team had narrowly beaten at Summer County Cup 5-4. The team knew it was going to be a tough day but went into it with positivity and focus. The team couldn’t have started off any better with Halle at six, Jo at five, Beth at four and Lydia at number three respectively winning all their matches. Nicola played a really tough match with long rallies and a determination to find a way to take her chances, but her opponent just got the edge at the crucial points and took the match 6-2, 6-4. Enter Caitlin Hindmarsh, playing as the number one ranked player for D&C. This was a critical match because their Doubles pairs were incredibly strong. Whilst Caitlin battled it out, Jo and Halle lost their match which was then followed by defeat for Beth and Nicola, which meant the score was 4-3. D&C needed one more win to complete the overall victory, so all the pressure was on the Sunderland based player, otherwise it would have gone down to the final one vs. one Doubles. The first set went to Caitlin’s opposition 4-6 but in true Hindmarsh style, she found everything she could to dig deep and keep competing. The rallies were tremendous, fight inspiring and her unwillingness to lose shone through. After another close set Caitlin took it 6-4 and the third set beckoned. The tension was unreal, but Caitlin took everything in her stride and remained calm and focused. With pure guts after a three hour epic, Caitlin secured the D&C win with a 6-2 third set. Everyone was ecstatic and incredibly proud of Caitlin’s achievement; a true warrior and invaluable team member for D&C! Strategically the team decided to rest Caitlin, so Cara Todd was given her debut for the Ladies team in the final Doubles match. What a debut it was from the young player, who played with one of the D&C legends Lydia Perkins! The pair played phenomenal Doubles with positivity, effective communication and court positioning which saw them win 6-0, 6-0 in just under an hour of play. So day two was concluded with D&C winning 6-3 overall and ready to face Avon the next day in a playoff for promotion.
The final day saw D&C vs. Avon to decide the group winners. Avon had been incredibly tough on the previous days, but D&C were going to give it their best shot. First on was Aimee, Jo and Beth. Aimee battled brilliantly against a very good player by focusing on making her opponent play balls and enjoying the challenge. The score certainly didn’t reflect the points and Aimee was as positive as she started the weekend and was thrilled to be representing the County once again. Another tough match between Beth and Avon’s number four player saw thumping rallies and thrilling winners, but the Avon player was simply too strong for Beth and took the tie 6-2, 6-0. On the adjacent court Jo was playing against Avon’s number five. Jo took the first set, but Avon came back strong to take the second. Then frustration struck when Jo hurt her foot and had to regretfully retire. D&C’s last three singles went on but again Avon were simply too strong and took the matches. With Jo out, Cara came in to play with Halle in the number three Doubles. It was fantastic to see them absolutely loving the experience and, even though the match had already been decided, they put in 100% to try and win! After 90 minutes of great play the Avon team clinched a 7-5, 6-3 victory. Both captains decided to finish the tie after the number three doubles, which meant Avon were crowned Group 4a champions and earned promotion into next year’s competition.
It was a shame we couldn’t quite manage promotion this time but the overall weekend was phenomenal, with every team member playing their part in a fantastic atmosphere. Aimee was a breath of fresh air with her positivity and encouraging everyone before, during and after matches. Halle showed how much she has been working on her game with solid play and creating plenty of hilarious moments off the court! Cara’s debut was one to be remembered, with her excellent team spirit and on court attitude. Jo continued creating her own whirlwind and was massively appreciative for Lydia doing a 445 mile detour to get the team home (when Jo was unable to drive the bus with her bad foot), before heading back to London on Monday! Beth was superb as always with her team work, bubbly personality and fantastic play throughout the weekend when stepping up into the fourth ranked spot. Nicola inspired the team with her relentless never give up attitude and always seeking a way to win, even against tougher opponents! Lydia’s leadership shone through both on and off the court, her ability to recognise the tactical and technical areas needed to change the momentum of a match are second to none; a real role model for the up and coming players! Caitlin, as always, displayed everything about being a tennis player - her grit, determination and focus was breathtaking and her knowledge about other players is invaluable! Every member of the team played their part in what was another great weekend for D&C Ladies…we are already looking forward to summer County Cup!
Jo Cunliffe (County Vice Captain) highlighted the team’s success:
"As one, the Durham & Cleveland Ladies are continuing to build upon an amazing journey and the team is looking forward to Summer 2019!”
All results from across the weekend can be found here.
Picture is:
Back row from left to right: Aimee Kirkup, Caitlin Hindmarsh, Beth Laybourne, Halle Pringle.
Front row from left to right: Lydia Perkins, Cara Todd, Jo Cunliffe, Nicola Tweedy.