County Cup Grass Court Championships of 2013, Group 6B, was held at Bowdon, Altrincham – another new venue and one of the oldest clubs in the country dating back to the 1880’s.
The team comprised Katherine Fisher, Joanna Kondratowicz, Monika Kondratowicz, Charlotte Lines, Katie Miles, Lauren Whiteman and myself.
Having had 2 weeks of perfect weather prior to the event I was wary of another washout but was pleasantly surprised to see the rain stayed away for most of the event resulting in the first 2 days being played on the grass courts. Our group comprised the counties of Isle of Man, Cumbria and Durham and Cleveland.
On Sunday we faced the Isle of Man – the team performed to a very high standard and provided a convincing 9-0 victory with all team members competing in at least one match following an excellent change in the rules that allows a player to be substituted during the day. On Monday we expected a tough match against Cumbria and knew that this was likely to be the difference between relegation and staying in group 6. The match went down to the last round where we edged to a 5-4 victory that ensured we were safe. On Tuesday there was everything to play for as we faced Durham and Cleveland who had also won the previous 2 days and therefore this match was to decide promotion. Unfortunately some extremely heavy thunderstorm downpours during the night had rendered the grass courts unplayable and the Astroturf was used instead which did not favour our team. Durham and Cleveland were extremely strong and secured a 5-1 victory placing them as winners of the group and we were placed 2nd. Well done to Lauren and Joanna for getting their first 3 match win against Isle of Man.
Well done to everyone for such a fantastic effort over the weekend and the short week and for the excellent positive team spirit that is always displayed – it is a pleasure to captain such a team.
I would finally like to thank Katie Miles, Charlotte Lines and Wendy Bill for assisting me with the team selection and supporting me during the events and the County LTA for their support. Thank you also to our supporters.
Jo Shepherd