2015’s Under 9 mixed County Cup saw Gloucestershire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire battle for the title at Gosling Sports Park. Gloucestershire was represented by the boys; Sam Austin, Ellison Minnaar and Fergus Franklin and the girls; Hannah Watkins, Alisha Tejrar and Serena Ihle-Matthews. On arrival, a mixture of nerves and excitement could be seen from parents, players and the coach. From the start of the event, all players displayed fantastic attitudes and went on court to warm up alongside all teams.
Round 1 saw Gloucestershire receive a bye, allowing players to observe the other counties and their specific opponents, drawing up game plans and strategies. After a battling first round it was time for Gloucestershire to play its opening tie against Essex. With a strong depth in the Essex team, Gloucestershire dug out the win with fantastic performances from all fighting for every tiebreak point. With a strong performance from Sam Austin and Ellison Minnaar to take the opening boys singles with comfort 7-3 7-2 and 7-2 7-2 Gloucestershire opened with a 4-0 lead. Fergus Franklin fought and displayed his intentions for the day pushing the third boys singles close, narrowly losing 7-5 7-4. The girls began their singles matches with nerves after supporting from the sidelines with great team spirit. Hannah Watkins battled hard alongside Alisha Tejrar in a three set match but the opening two girls singles went to Essex. Serena Ihle-Matthews produced a solid performance winning 7-4 7-1 moving 6-6 into the doubles deciders. Sam and Ellison started the boys doubles and produced what can only be described as unbelievable doubles throughout the event. After the boys and girls doubles the tie was squared up at 8-8 with the mixed doubles from Serena Ihle-Matthews and Fergus Franklin to decide the tie. With a mammoth first set 10-8 to Gloucestershire, the pair closed out the final set 7-3, winning the tie 10-8 overall.
Round 2 saw Gloucestershire encounter Buckinghamshire. The tie involving 4 three set matches was a tight affair and displayed the determination from the team to continue to push and fight with great support from the parents. Ellison and Fergus displayed fantastic performances with control, but the tie was not meant to be, with the remaining singles matches all going the way of Buckinghamshire. Serena Ihle-Matthews again produced a quality approach to the match, dispatching her opponent 7-5 8-6 with Alisha Tejrar again enduring another three set battle and Hannah Watkins displaying great emotion and presence around the court. Moving into the doubles, Gloucestershire had big work to do to win the tie and with great performances from all, lost the tie 12-6.
Round 3 saw Gloucestershire matched with Hertfordshire who’s strength and depth in the other rounds shone through. However, the Gloucestershire team played their hearts out with 5 of the 9 matches going to three sets. Sam Austin produced the stand out performance with a 7-5 6-8 7-5 victory over Freddie Simpson. Gloucestershire defeated 16-2 to the eventual winners.
The final round, matched Oxfordshire vs. Gloucestershire. With the players already giving so much to the event, the final match displayed the players passion and team spirit with a 10-8 victory. Gloucestershire finished the event in third position.
As captain, the attitudes from the players were impeccable, representing the county, captain, parents and themselves to the highest level throughout the day. The energy, focus and fight were evident in every point ensuring an unrivaled team spirit. I would also like to thank all the parents for their incredible support, understanding and passion to the event. I would like to wish all the players good luck for the upcoming year and have no doubt that the players will enjoy the involvement in future county cup events.
Jason Poole