Durham and Cleveland (D&C) Ladies travelled down to Welwyn Garden City to compete against Bedfordshire, Berkshire and Nottinghamshire in Group 4b, November 24-26 2017.
With 6 travelling players for the first day: Catilin Hindmarsh, Nicola Tweedy, Lydia Perkins, Lois Page, Joanna Cunliffe and Beth Laybourne, we knew we would have to start sharp and ready to battle it out against Berkshire. The first 3 singles went on with Beth, Jo and Lois kicking off this years Winter County Cup. Beth played fantastically well and played a corner to corner 3 set match, which she narrowly lost 4-6 in the third. On the next court was Jo, who after a close first set finished off the match 7-5 6-1. Lois then took the tie to 2-1 up with a victory against their number 4 player.
Next on court were Lydia, Nicola and Caitlin. Nicola and Lydia’s matches went to 3 sets and could have gone either way with thrilling rallies, but the matches were split between the respective ranked 2 and 3 players. Caitlin played unbelievable tennis but her opponent simply didn’t miss with aggressive play and unreachable volleys at the net, which took the overall tie to 3 matches each with all to play for in the doubles.
The D&C pairings consisted of Caitlin and Jo, Lydia and Lois, along with Nicola and Beth. The team knew how difficult it was going to be and Nicola and Beth played a perfect doubles match, being positive at the net and moving forwards. Caitlin and Jo followed suit with some sublime rallies and net play, which saw both pairs take their respective matches. Lois and Lydia’s match went down to a third set tiebreak, after they had lost the first set and dug deep to take the 2nd. However their opponents stepped up a gear and finished the match tiebreak 10-4. The overall tie therefore went D&C’s way with the 2 out of 3 doubles wins taking it to a final score of 5-4 and the team was absolutely buzzing!
Saturday was another tough day with Bedfordshire
the opposition. The team welcomed Jo Garvey and although she didn’t play on the day she nevertheless gave tremendous support from the side lines to help cheer the team on.
With an early 8.45am start, Beth and Jo went straight off the blocks with focus and determination. This saw both players winning their matches in convincing fashion. Lois’s opponent was tough, and although Lois tried her best to find a way to break her momentum, the girl was simply too strong and won the match in 2 straight sets.
Next on was Lydia and after the previous days disappointment, she was absolutely determined to focus on the new match and bring in a win for the team. Well 6-0 6-0 later, the spectators were full of praise for her having played the perfect match, which took the team to a 3-1 lead!
The top 2 ranked matches remained with Nicola playing on the adjacent court to Caitlin. Caitlin’s attitude was to simply enjoy the experience because she knew how tough her opponent was going to be, with her huge backhand, sensational power and shot speed. The mastermind of Caitlin knew exactly what to do to break her opponent’s rhythm with mixed spin, pace and placement. This saw her take the first set 6-1, with the crowd impressed with her tactical awareness and effectiveness. The second set was closer but Caitlin finished it off to take the match and a big and much needed win for D&C!
Nicola dug deep right till the end of her match with a never give up attitude, but her opponent was simply too strong and took it in 2 sets. This left the tie at 4-2 to the Northerners with only one doubles win needed to take the match! Knowing the strength of our doubles pairings, all 3 matches went on around the same time. However at one point all 3 matches were heading towards victory for Bedfordshire. This snap shot gave Lydia and Lois the kick they needed to dig deep and start fighting back from 2-5 down in the first set. Incredibly they came back to take the set 7-5 and smashed the 2nd set 6-1 to take the tie! However it didn’t stop there, the focus then turned to Caitlin and Jo, who were playing well but their opponents were too clinical and took the first set 6-2. This then saw a mammoth first service game for Caitlin at the start of the 2nd set, that seemed to go on for ages with both sides having game points. However after smart net play Caitlin and Jo won the game, which totally swung the momentum. The 2nd set went by with D&C taking it 6-1. Crunch time, with a match tiebreak to take place of the regular 3rd set! Once again the D&C pair started off really positive, which saw earlier breaks. At times the rallies were immense, with power, finesse and sheer commitment to get everything back from all 4 players, however Caitlin and Jo continued their positive play and took the tiebreak 10-4, which was a superb win against very strong opponents. All attention was then on Beth and Nicola to see if they could see off their opponents when their match also went to a 3rd set tiebreak. The duo could not have tried or fought any harder but they just lost
out 8-10. This saw the end match result being a great 6-3 win for D&C.
A bit of downtime followed the matches with team dinner a visit to the cinema for some to watch Battle of the Sexes. A very insightful and apt movie to highlight how women’s tennis has got to where it is and how fortunate the game is to have had pioneers like Billie-Jean King and the WTA! The Team were also joined by Halle Pringle who had been unable to make Friday or Saturday but was ready and raring to go,in her first Senior County match the next day.
Sunday saw the team playing Nottinghamshire and having come up against them a number of times before knew it was going to be a tough battle
, but it was a great opportunity for Halle to come in for her first match, along with welcoming back Jo Garvey after a few years absence to play in the doubles.
The first 3 matches went on and although Jo, Beth and Halle put up strong battles their opponents were simply too good. Next on was Lydia, Nicola and Caitlin. Unfortunately Caitlin had to pull out due to injury whilst mid way through the first set. Lydia and Nicola had great matches against their respective numbers. Although losing the first set Lydia came back to take the 2nd and played some unbelievable tennis in the 3rd to upset their number 3. Nicola was playing a Durham University teammate and took the first set, but lost the 2nd, so they both embarked on a 3rd set to decide the contest! It could not have been any closer with both players having chances to edge ahead. Nicola’s opponent went 5-2 up, but Nicola was playing to keep the overall match live and so with pure grit and determination Nicola found a way to claw it back to 5-4. The last game couldn’t have been any tenser with rallies lasting an eternity, but Nottingham ‘s player just clinched it which also won them promotion!
With the tie already decided the 2nd and 3rd D&C pairs doubles decided to concede due to injuries suffered across the 2 days. However in true team spirit and dedication from acting joint captain Lydia she teamed up with Jo Garvey to take on the Nottingham 3rd pair. What an amazing way to end a fabulous weekend that saw both teams battling it out right to the end! After losing the first set 4-6 Lydia and Jo continued to believe in their game and played some outrageous points, which saw them take the 2nd set. With momentum heading back up North the girls took a strong lead in the tie break and managed to closed it out 10-6. The whole team was so proud of how Lydia and Jo had played and were delighted to finish on such a high!
So it was 2nd place for D&C Ladies for winter 2017 and the team could not have fought any harder. What was particularly great to see was the spirit and positive attitude in which all the girls approached the matches and how much they supported each other both on and off the court throughout the weekend.
The team also introduced an Award over the weekend in memory of Margi Tweedy, who had an insatiable zest for tennis, particularly in the North East and the Durham & Cleveland County Teams. Margi was such a selfless and positive person so it seemed fitting to begin a ‘Players Player Award,’ which would be awarded to the player who had played in the best spirit over the weekend and displayed truly what tennis is all about. Following the team casting their independent votes the winner of the inaugural award was Nicola Tweedy. Nicola had a simply brilliant weekend and showcased everything that the game is all about. Determination, desire, hard work, focus but also compassion and control and pure enjoyment of playing the game! Nicola was awarded with fine trophy from Tesco (worth a mint!), along with a voucher from all the players to treat herself!
Acting joint captain Jo Cunliffe said,
“We couldn’t have been more proud over the weekend for everyone’s efforts and achievements. This is what County Tennis is all about…Enjoyable matches, team work and fun! One of the most rewarding things I heard all weekend was how nice the Durham & Cleveland County Team were, and how we’d created such a fab atmosphere.! Proud of the team….next stop Summer 2018!”