Captain - Jason Poole
Venue - Brighton & Hove (Group F) 27th - 28th May 2017
Gloucestershire Girls Under 10 County Cup Team -
Amalia Widdowson, Emma Howitt, Hannah Watkins & Briony Dando.
Match 1 - Surrey vs. Gloucestershire
1. Alexia Litten vs. Hannah Watkins - 5-4 4-0
2. Hana Doyle vs. Briony Dando - 4-1 4-2
3. Adele Liberov vs. Amalia Widdowson - 5-4 (7-2) 4-2
4. Christine Fourie & Adele Liberov vs. Briony Dando & Emma Howitt - 5-3 4-0
Opening day saw the Gloucestershire girls against a strong Surrey team. With the girls playing on synthetic clay, matches would be tough and require great tactical awareness. Hannah, Briony and Amalia represented our first singles matches, with all players battling in which Gloucester lost two close tiebreak sets. With game plans in place, the girls fought hard but went down to a very strong Surrey team. Emma and Briony opened the doubles with a confident 3-0 lead, displaying great work at the net and solid serving. With Surrey finding more consistency throughout the match, they closed the rubber winners.
Match 2 - Kent vs. Gloucestershire
1. Lois Newberry vs. Hannah Watkins - 4-1 4-2
2. Daisy Rowland vs. Briony Dando - 4-1 4-2
3. Eloise Newberry vs. Amalia Widdowson - 4-5 (5-7) 5-3 0-1 (11-13)
4. Lois Newberry & Daisy Rowland vs. Hannah Watkins & Amalia Widdowson - 2-4 5-3 1-0 (10-3)
Match 2 pitted Gloucestershire against another strong outfit in Kent. Hannah opened against a strong and powerful opposing number 1, Lois. Battling in a match where the score line did not reflect the play, Hannah struck with precision and matching the powerful exchange of baseline rallies. Amalia playing at 3 displayed grit, determination and fighting spirit to outsmart a clearly well grooved clay style player. After negotiating a tight opening set 7-5 in the tiebreak, Eloise battled back to level up, with Amalia taking the championship tiebreak 13-11, putting Gloucestershire 2-1 down following singles.
Hannah and Amalia represented the doubles team and played some impeccable doubles, with solid ground strokes and serving, providing opportunities for intercepting at the net. With a solid opening set 4-2 to Gloucestershire, Kent rallied to level up the sets and press the match to a third set Championship tiebreak. Hannah and Amalia stuck to their game plan and with some quality doubles fell 10-3 to the eventual Count Cup Winners.
Match 3 - Gloucestershire vs. Wiltshire
1. Hannah Watkins vs. Gigi Ifil - 5-3 1-4 (7-10)
2. Briony Dando vs. Phoebe Moloney - 4-2 4-2
3. Amalia Widdowson vs. Many May Kilford - 4-0 4-1
4. Hannah Watkins & Amalia Widdowson vs. Gigi Ifil & Phoebe Moloney - 5-4 (7-5) 1-4 1-0 (10-8)
Day 2 match 1 saw Gloucestershire face Wiltshire. The girls opened the day with confidence and a great self-belief, with all singles rushing to a one set lead. Briony Dando stood out in her match with consistent aggression, rushing her opponent and completed a well deserved victory 4-2 4-2. Amalia at three continued the trend with another solid performance, displaying great clay court tactics with a mixture of width and depth. The no1 singles was a big hitting situation, with Hannah defending and turning the points around very well. With a champ tiebreak to take the match, both girls displayed excellent tennis.
Finally the doubles displayed grit, determination and a solid game plan from Hannah and Amalia. Utilising great volleying and interceptions, the girls neutralised the big hitting with deep groundstrokes combined with short and precise volleying. A fantastic doubles match handing Gloucestershire team victory.
Match 4 - Sussex vs. Gloucestershire
1. Sofia Maine vs. Hannah Watkins - 4-1 2-4 0-1 (5-10)
2. Amber Sisman vs. Briony Dando - 4-0 5-4 (7-3)
3. Lola Lavandera vs. Amalia Widdowson - 4-5 (4-7) 1-4
4. Sofia Maine & Amber Sisman vs. Briony Dando & Emma Howitt - 4-0 4-1
5. Sofia Maine & Amber Sisman vs. Hannah Watkins & Amalia Widdowson - 1-0 Tiebreak Shootout.
The final rubber of the weekend pitted Gloucestershire vs. Sussex in a tightly fought contest. With the teams equally matches, Hannah, Briony and Amalia stepped out for the final singles. Amalia battled a tough first set in which the match had non-stop changes in tactics from both players, with Amalia's aggressive ground strokes being neutralised by great defensive clay court tennis. Battling through, Amalia became more clinical and closed out the third seed singles. Hannah also displayed fantastic fighting spirit after falling to a first set, in which Hannah played aggressive tennis with fine margins being the difference. With a focus on tactical changes in the second set, Hannah maximised angles opening up the court and finishing with some devastating backhands. Hannah fought back and closed the match in a third set champ tiebreak 10-5. Briony at two followed the same suit with aggressive tennis however just missing opportunities to close out games. The second set showed the teams fighting spirit to bring back the match with her opponent a game away from clinching the match to force a second set tiebreak. Unfortunately not meant to be with the doubles also falling to some solid tennis from Sussex and better work at the net. A tie break shoot out was required in which Sussex continued the dominant doubles display with tight doubles throughout.
The weekend was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to enjoy the battle of the event as a team, with success alongside defeat. I am very proud to have taken a hard working, fun and dedicated team who represented myself, the county and themselves impeccably. I hope this is an experience they will look back on with fondness, continuing to drive them all in their games and future competitions.
I must say a massive thank you also to the support of the parents for their dedication and travel to Brighton, understanding and supporting the girls throughout the weekend, enjoying the team meal Saturday evening and making the experience for the girls and myself very enjoyable!
Jason Poole.