The team for the 2013 summer cup was:
- Natalie Sayer
- Lisa Radford
- Hannah Crawford
- Hannah Keeling
- Harriet Piercy Jones
- Debbie Hale
- Taz Keens
- Sophie Nelson
- Captain Sue Espley
Hampshire were contesting in Division 2 this year in Cromer.
Day 1 vs Norfolk
On a very hot day, the Hants pairs were:
- Lisa and Sophie
- Hannah C and Taz
- Debbie and Hannah K
Sophie and Lisa won the only rubber in round 1, although Taz and Hannah went to 3 sets. Round 2, Lisa and Sophie won again. Going into round 3 we were 2-4 down, so Natalie came in as super sub to play with Hannah K. Sadly we were unable to win any of the round 3 matches and so we finished the day 7-2 down.
Day 2 vs Kent
Luckily it was a little less hot for our tie against Kent. The Hampshire team was:
- Lisa and Sophie
- Hannah C and Taz
- Natalie and Hannah K
Kent were a strong side, and every match was hard fought with many 3 set matches, victories came from Lisa and Sophie who won against their 2nd pair, and all the Hampshire pairs managed to beat their 3rd pair. Taking our end of day result to 5-4 to Kent.
Day 3 vs Essex
Both Hampshire and Essex were yet to win a tie, but with the arrival of Harriet Piercy, we made some changes to today's team. The pairs were:
- Harriet and Lisa
- Sophie and Hannah C
- Natalie and Hannah K
The Hampshire team really made the most of every opportunity today even though we had a couple of 3 set matches, the team managed a clean sweep winning 9-0. Taz came in and played the third round with Sophie after Hannah went over on her ankle.
Day 4 vs East of Scotland
We kept the team the same today against East of Scotland.
- Harriet and Lisa
- Sophie and Hannah C
- Natalie and Hannah K
Today was going to be a close day as East of Scotland had already had some good wins. Both Hannah and Natalie and Lisa and Harry had wins in the first round, and Sophie and Hannah in the second, taking us to 3-3 going into the third round.
A very hot third round led to a win from Harry and Lisa, and a very long three setter from Sophie and Hannah, however in the end they were unable to take the victory so the end of day result was 5-4 to East of Scotland.
Day 5 vs Middlesex
The final day and a must win match to avoid relegation. The team for the day was.
- Taz and Lisa
- Sophie and Hannah C
- Natalie and Hannah K
After the first round and a win from Lisa and Taz we were 2-1 down. Going onto the 2nd round the team were looking very tired, but somehow with a huge effort they all managed to turn their matches around to win all 3 taking us to 4-2 going into the 3rd round.
A nail biting third round could have gone either way, but Lisa and Taz managed to win their match giving us the last rubber needed win the tie and avoid relegation.
Another fantastic team effort to keep us in Division 2.
Kent and East of Scotland were promoted to div 1 whilst Essex and Middlesex were relegated.
I would lastly like to commend the team for their commitment to every match and team spirit which is bought to every county cup event.
Report by Sue Espley, Team Captain