Gloucestershire Ladies Team travelled to Bowdon in Cheshire to take part in the AEGON Summer County Cup
Report from Team Captain, Esther Walls.
BOWDON 22nd – 24th July 2012
Group 5A
Results:
Day 1 v CORNWALL Won 8 – 1
Day 2 v NORTHUMBERLAND Won 7 – 2
Day 3 v WEST of SCOTLAND Lost 5 – 4
We started our County Cup journey with two convincing wins over the first two days. We proved too strong for the Cornish team on Day 1. Two of our pairs, Lucy Howitt and Vicki Hodgetts, and Gaby Hay and Lily Owen, had not previously partnered each other so this was a great accomplishment.
Day 2 saw us overcome Northumberland, and as Ellie Vicary had replaced Lucy, Vicki had to adjust to another new partner. They managed to secure a win against their opposing 3rd pair, and with our other 2 pairs winning all 3 matches each, it was another comfortable win.
Day 3 against West of Scotland was a straight up promotion battle. West of Scotland had won both previous days 5 – 4, which meant that our record up to this point was better than theirs. Elisha Hande and Esther Walls started this day unbeaten so far in the event. After the first round of matches we found ourselves 2 – 1 down, with a very strong W of Scotland 1st pair overcoming our 2nds (another new partnership of Gaby and Sophie Brazell), and a steady W of Scotland 3rd pair proving too strong for Ellie and Vicki. However, after the 2nd round of matches we had clawed it back to 3 – 3, our 2nd and 3rd pairs getting crucial wins, whilst Elisha and Esther suffered their first defeat 7 – 6 in the 3rd set against the W of Scotland 1st pair. We needed 2 wins out of the last 3 matches to secure an overall win and gain promotion. Unfortunately, this was just out of our grasp and we lost the final day 5 – 4.
Overall it was a good event for Gloucestershire Ladies, and we can hold our heads high knowing that, although we narrowly missed out on promotion, our overall statistics for the 3 day event were far superior to all other teams. The sun shone and we played on the grass for all 3 days, and a good time was had by all. A great effort by a great team who will be looking to go one step further and gain promotion next year!
Esther Walls