AEGON County Cup 2012- West Worthing
Women’s Captain Report (Holly Richards)
Kent Team:
Holly Richards
Amanda Cunningham
Kate Green
Sarah Cantlay
Rebecca Finch
Nicole Daisley
Jacqueline Darby
Ellie Murphy
Devan McCluskey
The ladies team was newly promoted team to Group 2!
Kent vs Leicestershire
We started Monday morning on the hard courts of West Worthing as the grass was not ready for play due to the amount of rain the week before! We lined up Holly Richards/Amanda Cunningham, Rebecca Finch/Sarah Cantlay and Nicole Daisley/Devan McCluskey. With the weather looking extremely hot all week we knew today would be important, looking to get off the gruelling hard courts as quick as possible....and that’s what we did! Great performance from all the girls and a good start to the week put us 8-1 ahead by 4pm.
Kent vs Warwickshire
Warwickshire were going to be one of the toughest teams of the week, and they proved this early on. Day 2 the team of Holly/Amanda, Kate Green/Devan, Rebecca/Sarah were up for a battle, and we were on grass today. Kate had joined us on Monday evening and was eager to get stuck in. After 3 hours, Kate and Devan lost in a tight 3 setter, Holly and Amanda were still going into the 4th hour...and managed to scrape through 7-6 in the third – a marathon match!!
Warwickshire’s no.1 pair proved too strong for Rebecca and Sarah who lost in straight sets followed by Sarah managing to spill a packet of peanuts over Rebecca, who is highly allergic to nuts....which saw Rebecca take a trip to the hospital and Nicole take her place. Kent were 2-1 down at lunch time and there was all to play for in the next round. Sarah and Nicole had their chances but lost 6-4, 7-6. Holly and Amanda went on for another 2 and a half hours to see off their no.1 pair 6-4 in the third! Kate and Devan lost unfortunately, so Kent were 4-2 down after round 2. 3 out of 3 matches was what was needed from us, not an easy task but the Kent girls were fighting hard. Warwickshire took a win against Sarah and Nicole and with that the day was lost, Kate and Devan showed some heart but lost on a match tiebreak. Some very close matches but unfortunately they didn’t go our way and we lost 6-3 overall.
Kent vs Essex
Day 3 and the girls woke up ready for battle today, knowing Essex were out to get us back after beating them so closely in the Winter season! A change around in the team saw Amanda/Holly, Kate/Sarah and Rebecca/Devan step onto the grass courts in blistering heat, ready to play. Round 1 did not disappoint; Holly and Amanda fought hard to win 6-3 in the third against Essex’s potentially strongest pair playing at no.2. Rebecca and Devan rose to the occasion beating Essex no.3 pair in straight sets. With Sarah and Kate still battling away, at 2-0 up we were looking good. In the end they lost in 3 sets, but we made a great start. Round 2, all to play for and with Essex looking strong we knew we needed to win at least 1 out of 3 matches in this round. It all started going wrong for Holly and Amanda who did not play well and after another long match lost 6-3 in the third. Sarah and Kate beat Essex 3rd pair in no time at all, 6-0, 6-0 – excellent!
Rebecca and Devan went down easily, which saw us 3 all with one round to go. Captain Holly was disappointed with her loss and felt we had left too much to do to beat Essex....but she was wrong!! Amanda was not feeling well so Jacqueline Darby stepped up for her first match of the week, taking a win for Kent! 4-3 up. Rebecca and Devan were determined to beat Essex no.1 pair, but went down fighting 6-4 in the third. It was all down to Sarah and Kate against Essex very strong no.2 pair. No one had more confidence that Kent would win that match than Kate and Sarah....whilst the rest of us watched through our hands, they won in straight sets! 5-4 to Kent! A rivalry I’m sure will continue against Essex, but Kent came out on top this time....again!
Kent vs Cheshire
Cheshire had looked strong all week, with some great doubles players. Tired from the day before we knew this would be tough. With the team the same as the day before Holly and Amanda won comfortably, but Rebecca and Devan struggled and took a loss. Kate and Sarah, showing the same fight as the day before losing to Cheshire’s no.1 pair in a tight 3 set match. Kent were 2-1 down at lunch time. Rebecca and Devan played much better but lost; while Sarah and Kate took a 3 sets victory, which left Amanda and Holly in another long 3 set match with Cheshire 1 pair. Into a third set tiebreak and with a few loose points from us, we lost the tiebreak, 4-2 down after round 2. We knew a win looked unlikely but we fought to win as many matches as possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great day of tennis from Kent, we gave 100% but lost 6-3.
Kent vs Yorkshire
All still to play for on the last day, as it was not clear who was going up or down. We knew the importance of winning as many matches as possible. A new line up today, Holly/Sarah, Amanda/Kate and Rebecca/Devan. Kent were in a hurry to win and in no time at all we found ourselves 5-1 up. We stopped there as the day had been decided. After a long wait to find out our fate, we managed to stay in Division 2, narrowly missing out on promotion by a only few rubbers!!
A great effort from the Kent girls, and missing out on promotion by a small margin has made us eager for promotion next year! Bring it on!!