A great weekend was had by all with Essex taking third place behind Middlesex and Oxfordshire. The Essex team was represented by Grace Leigh, Ananya Vartak, Kayleigh Hale, Iman Khan along with travelling reserve Azra Ozerin.
The first round of matches saw Essex drawn against Berkshire. Wins in the singles for Ananaya and Grace saw Essex take a 2-1 lead with all to play for later in the afternoon in the doubles.
Essex then had to overcome a singles tie against a strong Middlesex side.
After the singles we found ourselves 2-1 down , Iman keeping us in the tie with an inspired singles performance showing great mental strength as well as lots of positive energy.
Our doubles paring of Kayleigh and Iman against the Berkshire pair proved to be a good choice as they came from behind to win a close three setter 10-5 in the championship tie break resulting in a 3-1 win overall for Essex.
This left a final match of the day, a doubles against Middlesex our paring of Ananaya and Grace gave it a good shot but the Middlesex pair proved to be just too strong on the day and came out convincing winners, giving Middlesex a 3-1 win overall.
Day two saw us take on the two remaining counties of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
First up was Oxfordshire. Our first two singles of Kayleigh and Ananaya fought hard but were comprehensively beaten in straight sets . This left Iman to play the final singles to keep us in the tie. After a relatively straight forward first set the second proved to be a bit tougher however Iman finally coming through 5-3. We were in with a chance of snatching a draw if we could win the doubles.
Before then we had to take care of Buckinghamshire. At this stage it was pretty clear that Middlesex were going to be declared the winners , so with Kayleigh carrying an injury it was decided to save her for one of the doubles ties still to be played and to either ensure a win against Buckinghamshire or to draw against Oxfordshire!
With this in mind Azra was called upon to play her first tie as number three singles. After a nervous start she began to play well against a more experienced player , and although losing the tie I felt that this whole weekends team experience would take her a step in the right direction and prove to be positive for her in future events similar to this one.
Grace then put in a fine display with a convincing 4-0 4-1 win . The tie was finely balanced at 1-1 with one singles left. Yet again it came to Iman's match which after winning the first set went to a championship tie break in which she came through a 10-5 winner.
As a team we decided to ensure a win against Bucks for which Kayleigh and Iman played the doubles and sure enough came out convincing winners.
In the other doubles Oxfordshire came through as winners.
Overall Essex came third behind Middlesex and Oxfordshire.
I don't normally like to single out one player as it's a team event , however on this occasion I feel that after winning all five of her matches, Inman deserves a special mention and praise for the way she thought and showed great character in all her matches, well done!
Throughout the weekend my position as team captain was made easy by each girl demonstrating fair play and respect towards their opponents whilst maintaining their competitive edge, our county should be proud of them for this and the way they represented Essex.
I would also take this opportunity to thank the parents on behalf the county, the players and myself for their support and help over the weekend.
Paul Kitto Team Captain.