On a very snowy day in Corby the U18 girls arrived to do battle with the Northants, Bedfordshire & Leicestershire. The team was made up of Sian Green, Shannon Newnes, Alex Jones & Olivia Sofroniou. 
First up was Northants, with Sian playing at No.1. With her forehand firing she sealed the win 41 40 giving Essex a 1-0 lead. Next up was Shannon, just coming back from injury and looking a bit match rusty. She had a battle against Kate Clayson, who was playing well above her rating. Shannon dug in to seal a 2-0 lead with a 41 42 win. Alex put in a strong serving performance at no.3, coming out a 41 40 winner. Olivia topped the 4-0 win with an impressive 40 40 performance.
Next up was Bedfordshire, which turned out to be a repeat of the first rubber. Sian 41 40, Shannon (with another battle on her hands) 41 42, Alex 40 41 & Olivia, yet to drop a game sealing a 4 - 0 win to Essex with a 40 40 win.
With Leicestershire to come, Essex knew that a win would see them top the group . Sian opened up with a 42 40 win, a strong forehand and solid volleying proving too much for her opponent. Shannon up next in a real nail biter & the game of the tournament. Still struggling to find her form she lost a fiercely contested first set 42 to Sophie Matthews. After giving herself a real talking to, she won the second set 40. So into the match tie-break & with her game coming together at the right moment, she came through a 10 7 winner giving Essex a 2 - 0 lead. Next up was Alex, a dip in form saw her lose the first set 41, yet she came back strongly to take the second 40. Another match tie-break, but at 8-4 down it seemed all over, Alex managed to pull it back to 8-8 but lost out 11 - 9. Essex now lead 2-1. Olivia up last and we were looking for a repeat of her first two matches, she did not disappoint and proved too strong for her gutsy opponent, winning 53 40 to secure a 3 - 1 win and ensure that Essex topped the table.
Congratulations to all the girls and let's hope they can take this form into the JICC event coming up in early March.