Gloucestershire 14U team lead by team captain Esther Walls, travelled to Southampton to take part in the AEGON 14U County Cup from the 5th to 7th May.
The team were: Georgina Barnes, Eleanor Findlay, Raffaella Mora, Elsa Pool, Megan Webb and Bethany Wilson.
Full results from the weekend can be found here, with a round up from Esther below. Information on the AEGON County Cup can be found here.
“Day 1 v Wiltshire
After some hard fought singles matches, in which Megan and Georgina were winners, the team went into the doubles tied at 2-2. Megan and Eleanor had a tough match against the Wiltshire 2nd pair. They held it close in the second set but were eventually overcome 6-2 6-4. Elsa and Ella did remarkably well in their doubles, coming back to win the second set 7-5 after losing the first. This took them to a Championship Tie-Break which, had they come out on top, would've taken the team to a nerve wracking Tie-Break Shootout. Unfortunately, it was not to be and the final score was 4-2 to Wiltshire.
Day 2 v Avon
After some good team building in the form of a ten-pin bowling expedition on Saturday evening, the team were ready and raring to bounce back after the narrow loss against Wiltshire. The Avon team were a little 'bottom heavy', having 2 very strong 3rd and 4th players. Therefore, Georgina and Ella were up against it in the singles. At 2-0 down the day was looking like going Avon's way, however, Megan and Elsa both put in very good performances and won their singles to take us, once again, into the doubles tied at 2-2. Megan and Bethany were unable to overcome the strength of Avon's 2nd pair, but Elsa and Ella looked like they had a real battle on their hands against the 1st pair. The first set was a nail biting tie-break, which unfortunately went Avon's way, and the opposing pair proved too strong as they closed out the second and we ended the day with another 4-2 loss.
Day 3 v Devon
We started the day with high hopes of clinching a win for Gloucestershire. The girls went into their matches in a positive frame of mind and this was reflected in their high levels of effort and determination. Georgina had a great match against a strong opponent, but couldn't quite manage a win. Ella played very well to secure a 6-4 6-1 victory, equaling the overall score. Megan and Elsa both had very close matches, and it was looking like we were heading towards another tie going into the doubles. However, the Devon numbers 1 and 2 eventually came out on top and we went into the doubles 3-1 down. Elsa and Ella were overcome by the strength of the 1st pair. However, Megan and Georgina played some good doubles to clinch our first doubles win of the weekend. The final score was, once again, 4-2 in favour of our opponents.
Overall, the girls produced some good performances, and there weren't any major disappointments. It was a shame that we were unable to get a W on the board, but we were up against some strong teams and did not leave the weekend too down hearted.”
Esther Walls
Gloucestershire U14 Girls Team Captain