Essex got off to a fantastic start in this years U18 County Cup Campaign by beating a very strong Avon team in an extremely close 6-3 match. The pressure was on Sian Green and Rachel Porter at no.3 doubles to seal the deal which was a big ask for Rachel who was playing in her first ever county cup event and probably could have done with a gentler introduction! As always it came down to a match tie break but this was only after Essex had saved match point in the second set. It really could have all ended here but the girls stayed strong and won the championship tie break 10-8.
First days like this always make the evenings more fun and we celebrated with half of the team being launched into space on the bungee ball in the Cambridge leisure park - for the record the brave team members were - Shannon Newnes, Eva Dench, Alex Jones and Bronwen Perkins. It was a birthday present for Bronwen, but one I think she won't be repeating again!
On day two Essex saw off a plucky Devon challenge 5-4 and as a result, this year's team got a real experience of what County Cup tennis is all about.
About three years ago the LTA HQ made a brilliant decision in the scheduling of this event which meant the winners from the ties on day one play the losers of the first tie on day two. This results in there almost always being something to play for on the last day. When there are three of four equally matched teams, often on the last day there are many potential winners. Today was such a day. Cambridge, Avon and Essex could all go up, but if we won the match against Cambridge outright, the pleasure was all ours and we could spare ourselves the turmoil of counting back on sets and cursing any missed opportunities...
I have to admit that having gone down from division two last year by the smallest of margins (and a couple of matches lost after being up match point) I thought it would make this year easier - how wrong could I be. I'm not sure that the no.6 singles have ever been stronger, even when I compare all our years in division 1!
Cambridge had won at 5 and 6 every day and the matches started true to that form with Rachel Porter and Olivia Sofroniou losing their first sets 2-6 and 1-6 respectively. Rachel got her big game out and won some impressive points but Elizabeth Pam was just too solid for her on the day. Olivia who had spent the whole of the first set running around chasing her opponent's shots, started to take control of the points and began a truly impressive turnaround. Her opponent, Anna Loughlan, was somewhat confused at this change and Olivia stomped through the second set 6-1. The third set was all together a different encounter and went right down to the wire - with Olivia pinching it 6-4 and levelling up the tie at 1all.
Next up was Alex Jones and Eve Dench. Alex, who had lost to Stella Gordon in their last meeting, took control and the first set 6-0 in what can only be called an awful set of tennis which was a battle of nerves, while Eva struggled to find her rhythm and went down 3-6. In the second sets, Eva looked down and out at 1-3, 15-40 but she battled her way back into the match eventually taking the second set 6-3. Alex meanwhile was soon 1-4 down and it became clear that no match today was going to be easy viewing. With the balcony playing every point with them, Alex's match became more about tennis and she managed to win all the close games and take five games in a row to close out a 6-0, 6-4 victory. Eva meanwhile battled on in the third but Kira Reuter showed no signs of giving up, but Essex had the momentum and laid back Denchy made it three singles wins out of three in her last U18 county cup appearance taking the third 6-3. For a moment we thought she may celebrate the win externally, but after all these years, I think we have grown to love her customary trundle to the net after either a big win or an annoying loss!
Shannon Newnes was next up at no.2 and came into this match on the back of two good wins on the previous days. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm got the better of her as she threw herself into the match but couldn't find her solid base game. At game point up at 4-5 in the second set there was glimour of hope that she could turn it around but it was not her day and she went down 3-6, 4-6. Sian Green had played brilliantly on day 2 of this event and we were hopeful that she could repeat that against the Cambridge no.1 Zoe Douglas. She started well, using all corners of the court and hitting some fantastic winners to go up 5-2 but then countycup-itus struck as she went a little passive and let her relaxed opponent take charge. In what seemed like no time at all, she had lost the first set 5-7.
Meanwhile our third doubles pairing of Rachel Porter and Bronwen Perkins went on to do battle and to keep the pressure on Cambridge, but they were struggling to convert the chances they created against their higher rated opponents. Sian put the first set behind her and came out all guns blazing in the second to again advance into a 5-2 lead but there was no letting up this time as she made sure of it 6-2. The third set also started well with her going into a 3-0 lead but at 3-1 and game points down, the momentum could so easily change, but "muscles" fought hard and eventually came out on top 6-3.
With the no.3 doubles lost, we now stood at 4-3 needing just one doubles win to ensure our promotion. While we were confident in how this worked out for us, I've been in tennis too long to count any chickens and I knew Cambridge would be up for a fight. Shannon and Alex started their match playing some proper doubles and raced into a 4-0 lead against Alice Taylor and Nathalie Bacon without even losing a point! But as always when that lost point came it turned into a game and the match became much closer. After a few set points they won the first 6-2 and were very pumped. Eva and Sian were just starting their match and did well to stay focused on their court as we all knew we needed just one match to win. Predictably the second set was closer and tighter all round. As a doubles pair Essex looked more solid but could they do the business? Saving five game points at 2-1 up and taking the fourth game in the second was a buffer I was grateful for but every game was close and there wasn't much in it. Eva and Sian also took the first set to further apply the pressure but they were trailing by one game in the second when Shannon and Alex won a tight game to lead 5-2.
With Shannon serving the game produced some of the longest rallies in the match, and at deuce, this game could definitely go either way. But some serve-volleying and a strong presence at the net led to an Essex victory and a rather unusual Alex and Shannon body slam! Shoulders on the balcony could relax as we had finally earned our birth back in Division 2. Eva and Sian played their match out and won - meaning that we ended the day as 6-3 winners.
It would be easy to look at the league table for this group and think it was comfortable for Essex, but it really wasn't and it was only going into the doubles today that I could sense we were likely to win this thing. It was a truly great team effort and a wonderful team that made this happen. It really is the best form of competition with the chance to interact with the players between sets, the ups and downs of the majority of matches, the tension on the balcony, the sense of pride the players seem to have which is not always there when competing individually and the truly ridiculous conversations and bad jokes at dinner!
I would like to thank my co-captains Victoria Davies and Jo Ward who did a great job going on to court (while I remained on the balcony on crutches) and in some cases providing "magic dust" (as Eva would call it) and to all the parents who came to support and cheer on the team. Even those who doubted us on the last day - you know who you are...
So a very well done to my team made up of Sian Green, Alex Jones, Shannon Newnes, Olivia Sofroniou, Eva Dench, Rachel Porter, Eden Silva and Bronwen Perkins.