Team: Joe McCoubrie, James Findlay, Reece Ihle-Matthews, Monty Graveney
The team were really excited as it was their first county cup experience for most of them. We played at Landsdown in Bath and our first challenge was against Cornwall. The boys were nervous at the start and it took a while for them to become confident and play their best tennis. All of them lost their first sets although Joe played a fantastic match against Cornwall’s number 1 seed and went on to win his match. We then had to win the doubles match if we were to stay in the running. Joe and James played the match but the pressure got to them and unfortunately Cornwall had the edge.
Our next challenge was playing Wiltshire. Monty, Reece and Joe all played singles. Monty played brilliantly, winning in straight sets against Cornwall’s number 3 seed. Despite Joe playing fantastically well against Cornwall, both him and Reece were quite negative and they both lost their matches. After being 2-1 down after singles, we knew we had to win the doubles. Monty and Joe played much better in the doubles match and really showed that they understood what was required from them. Unfortunately Wiltshire had the upper hand and they went on to win the match
On the final day we played Devon for 5th and 6th place. The boys started off really positively winning all of their singles matches, so we were off to a great start. Monty and James both had very close matches but they persevered to win in three sets, and Joe won in straight sets. All the boys demonstrated a positive attitude throughout and they showed real determination. After winning all singles, this put us ahead of Devon in 5th place. Reece and Monty went on to play doubles and although they lost in three sets, they showed real tenacity throughout the match.
Well done to the team. All players had a great attitude throughout the weekend and it was a pleasure working with them and helping them. Well done boys!
Nick Edwards
Gloucestershire County Cup Captain