Hampshire & IOW boys 18U team were in group 3a which was held at David Lloyd Southampton over the weekend of Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th February 2018.
The team this year was Liam Hignett, Ryan Golesworthy, Henry Bowden, Miles Bromilow, James Blair, Outek Dinapala, Dylan Allenby Ryan and Mats Colling.
Looking at the other teams in the group which were Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Sussex, we knew it was going to be a very even group which realistically any team could win.
Day 1 – v Buckinghamshire
In the first round of matches we had a 2-1 advantage with wins from Outek and Miles with James just missing out. After round 2 with wins from Liam and Ryan we took the score to 4-2, meaning only one of the doubles matches was needed. This was won by James and Mats at 3 giving us the win. Outek and Henry just missed out at 2, but Liam and Ryan won at 1 giving us a very good 6-3 win.
Day 2 – Cambridgeshire
The singles order was the same as the previous day and we got off to a flyer with wins from 1-5 giving us the win. Liam couldn't quite get the win at number 1, but great singles results. We also won at 1 and 3 doubles, but Dylan and Miles narrowly lost at 2 giving us a 7-2 win.
Day 3 – Sussex
The final day was against an unbeaten Sussex team so we knew it was going to be close. The singles line up was unchanged from the previous matches and after the singles rubbers we were at 3 all with wins at 1, 2 and 4 for Liam, Ryan and Miles taking it to the doubles. Unfortunately we could only get the one win at number 1 so went down by 4-5.
I would like to thank the lads for a great effort on the court where every player gave 100% and to Karim Aouichaoui my vice-captain for his help over the weekend.
Mike Booth, Team Captain