The action got underway on Friday a little later than planned, after an especially strict briefing from tournament referee and officials on the level of sportsmanship they were looking for at this finals weekend
An attempt was being made to rid the game of deliberately intimidating tactics such as shouting "come on" after every point and also shouting while staring at the opponent and putting a fist in the face. Celebrating errors, bad line calls and calling out things like "second serve" and "game point" were also off the table but I have to admit the event was one of the fairest county cups I have ever encountered.
First up for us was Avon and right from the start it was apparent that we wouldn't be enjoying some of the express wins of the qualifying rounds. Annali got us off to a flyer with a 4-1, 4-1 victory over Connie Simpson, winning all of the deuce games, much to the supporters relief. At no.2 Arabella had to deal with some tricky spinny and slicey shots from Natasha Wraith and struggled to find her momentum in the first match, but she ended up the victor winning 4-1, 5-3. Ashlie then had the task of taking on Lucy Edwards to try and seal the victory for Essex. This tie produced the best tennis of the match and in closely fought, every-point-counts battle, Ashlie hit some fine winners to finish on top in a short set match that lasted over an hour and a half. Abigail and Arabella then played the doubles, which they narrowly lost but managed to keep us at the tennis centre until 8pm!
Having won our first match, the next opponents were the losers of their tie, which meant we started against Yorkshire. Once again Annali and Arabella got us off to a flying start with victories over Amber Woffindin and Jayanne Palma. Abigail played at no.3 today and was unable to match the consistency of Leona Clarkson, and so after the singles we were at 2-1. Annali and Arabella played the doubles in this tie and put the Essex supporters through it a bit with some unconventional doubles play, but true to form, they found a way to win and put Essex in a position to be playing for a 1st/2nd play off spot.
Our second match of the day didn't start until 2.30pm and Annali was up against Tamara Burdiashvili who on the day was just too strong and consistent and left us in the position of being 0-1 down. Arabella had to play against Lillian Mould, an opponent she hadn't previously beaten, but with the right tactics it was clear she could change that. It was a tough battle all the way through but her ability to find the court in almost any circumstance was too much for her opponent and she came out on top 5-4(4), 4-2. Ashlie started her match well at no.3 but ultimately was beaten by a very in-form Savannah Yardley to leave us trailing 1-2. Annali and Arabella tried to get Essex into a tie-break shoot out, but the opposition no.1 and no.2 were just too strong and more experienced with their doubles play. We lost the match 1-3, but it really was a good effort all round.
On the last day, we had to play host county Lancashire, who had lost to Sussex on the previous day. On paper, 1 and 2 were going to be tough with a good chance at 3. Annali, who was suffering from an elbow injury, (not helped by her 4 matches on the previous day) had a tremendous battle with Marni Banks which went on forever! She had set points in the first set and every point and game was so hard fought. As the match got tighter the rallies got longer, but in the end it was her opponent who held on to win 5-3, 5-4(5).
Arabella's opponent Holly Staff, started very strongly and quickly raced into a 3-0 lead. A re-think however at 0-3 and a change of tactic saw Arabella tough out the next 5 games to totally turn the match around. She followed that up with a great second set, which was always close, but a fine win for our no.2 which meant she was the only Essex player not to lose a singles match in the whole event. Ashlie also put in a great performance winning 4-1, 4-0 against Lily Hutchings to mean our bronze medal position would be in the hands of the doubles rubber.
Once again, the two As took to the court however, they lost the first 8 points and looked totally lost. However they then won a sudden-death deuce game and turned the momentum of the match around. Their plan was to draw them into rallies, which they knew they could win, and they did a marvellous job at it totally turning the match and coming out on top 5-3, 4-1.
So, after the longest weekend Essex finished in a worthy 3rd place which was a representation of a great team effort. Team competitions are so important both developmentally and socially for these girls, and I'm sure this bunch all greatly benefited from the experience and will hopefully be key team members for the U14, U18 and senior teams in the future.
Thanks to all the parents who also put in the long hours at the centre and clapped and cheered all different types of tennis throughout the weekend. For now though, we'll focus on the good stuff - we came 3rd!! Go Essex!
Helen Crook
U12 Girls Team Captain