Kent 14U Girls Aegon County Cup 2014 report
Team: Nell Miller – Tiegan Aitken – Phoebe Watton – Sasha Hill – Daphne Pratt
Captain – James Langford
Assistant Captain – Nicole Daisley
The Kent girls played the qualifiers at Loughborough Tennis Club & had 3 convincing wins over the other teams in the group seeing them into the National finals in Nottingham.
The boys & girls travelled up together on Thursday 13th May in a minibus which was creating team spirit from the start. After a long journey, we arrived & went straight out to practice, getting ready for Day 1 the next day.
The girls were up against Sussex on day 1. After having a good warm up in the morning, they were ready to play. Kicking off the morning was Phoebe playing at number 4 & Daphne at 3. Phoebe was putting in a lot of effort against her opponent but unfortunately lost 6-1 6-1. Daphne had a close first 3 games, but soon began to take the lead early on. She played really well and went on to win 6-3 6-0 which left Kent and Sussex at 1-1. Sasha was up next playing at number 2 and Nell at number 1.
Sasha won the first set convincingly but her opponent picked up her game in the 2nd set, leaving the girls tied at 1 set all. After discussing a change of tactics and huge support from the other girls, Sasha went on to play a brilliant 3rd set and won it 6-2. Nell was on the court next to Sasha and was putting in a good performance against Sussex number 1, winning 6-3 6-0 leaving Kent 3-1 up in rubbers. All we needed was one doubles to win. Sasha & Daphne were up first followed by Nell & Tiegan.
Both pairs were working very well together and competing to a high level but the matches were close! Sasha was being super consistent from the back and Daphne was fearless at the net! The girls won the match 7-6(5) 7-5 which meant Kent had won day 1. Nell & Tiegan were also in a battle against the second pair and the girls were tied at 1 set all. They put in a gutsy performance but unfortunately did not win after losing 10-8 in the tiebreak.
Kent win 4-2 against Sussex.
Due to a tight schedule, we had to play the doubles against the Hertfordshire the same day. The pairs had slightly changed for the doubles. Nell & Phoebe were paired at number 1 and Sasha & Daphne remained a pair playing at number 2.
Daphne & Sasha once again, played very well together. Sasha was solid from the back and Daphne was moving well at the next putting pressure on the other pair. They went on to win convincingly 6-2 6-2. Nell & Phoebe had a tough match against the pair from Hertfordshire. It was very close and after a long day the girls were still trying their best to get ahead but once again it went to 1 set all. Nell and Phoebe were keeping up with the other pair the whole way, but Hertfordshire girls managed to pull through and take the tiebreak 14-12. We were now drawing 1-1.
The singles would take place the next day.
On day 2 Tiegan and Daphne were up first. Daphne had a good start again and was playing very well following yesterday’s performance and won 6-0 6-1 quickly. Kent girls were now 2-1 up.
Tiegan was up against Indianna Spink who was a very good player. She hit the ball hard, was consistent and moved well. Tiegan competed with her in the first set getting it to 6 games all, but Indianna managed to win the tiebreak 7-2 leaving Tiegan 1 set down.
In the 2nd set Indianna upped her game and started to pull ahead and went on to win the next set 6-2. Kent and Sussex were drawing once again! Sasha & Nell were up next. Nell got stuck in straight away and was dominating her opponent from the start. She had lots of energy and great team spirit and quickly went on and won 6-0 6-0.
Sasha also was playing very well and took a lead straight away. She beat her opponent 6-1 6-2 which meant Kent girls had won Day 2, 4-2 against Hertfordshire.
But once again due to a tight schedule, there was still another team to play. We needed this one to win our group! Kent v Yorkshire. As well as Kent, Yorkshire had a boys’ team who were very supportive of the girls. Kent boys came to watch parts as well, which was nice to have some extra support and team spirit.
Tiegan was nominated again for singles number 4 place and Daphne at number 3. The girls were refreshed and ready to go. Once again, Tiegan had a tough opponent at number 4. She was a big hitter who liked to attack. Unfortunately Tiegan couldn’t find a way past her opponent in the first set and lost it 6-1 but went out with lots of energy and tried her best again in the 2nd set but lost it 6-4.
Daphne was on fire again. She saw the ball big and won again, only dropping 3 games 6-2 6-1. Nell & Sasha were up next. Nell was fired up again and took her opponent down 6-1 6-3. Kent girls were leading 2-1. Sasha also played very well and only lost 3 games winning 6-1 6-2. Once again, it was all down to the doubles. Kent were leading 3-1.
Nell & Phoebe were paired up again and Sasha and Daphne. Sasha and Daphne were keeping the pressure on their opponents the whole way through and took the match 6-1 6-4 preventing the other pair from coming back in the 2nd set. Nell & Phoebe were having a close battle against Yorkshire’s 1st pair. They lost the first set 7-6 and then went on to take the 2nd set 6-2. After competing well in the 3rd set tiebreak, the Yorkshire girls managed to win 12-10. Kent had won the day again putting them in first place in their group and playing Middlesex in the final!
The girls were over the moon to have got through to the final but knew day 3 would be tough!
The Middlesex girls had a strong team the whole way through and there was not a weak link.
Day 3 arrived and we had a team talk. The girls knew that even if we were losing, they had to support and be positive no matter what.
Phoebe was playing number 4 singles and Daphne at number 3. Daphne’s opponent was hitting the ball very well in the first 3 games and was not missing much. She went 3-0 down. After having a discussion at change of ends, Daphne had clear tactics and went out with a new attitude! She then did not lose another game that set. Her opponent looked down and Daphne was feeling positive and had loads of energy. After a toilet break her opponent came back and managed to win the one of the 1st 3 games. Daphne upped her game again and went on to win the set convincingly 6-1. We were 1-0 up but Phoebe was having a tough time against the number 4. She lost the 1st set 6-2 but was managing to keep up with her opponent in the 2st set, but unfortunately lost it 7-6.
Nell and Sasha were up next, both playing strong opponents. Sasha’s opponent Danielle was a big hitter. She knew that she had to keep the ball out of her comfort zone and she did this well, but went on to lose the match 7-5 6-4. Kent were 2-1 down. Nell was playing a good opponent, but she was so fired up and playing off her face and knocked her opponent off court 6-2 6-0.
Kent were at 2-2 with Middlesex. After a short break due to the heat, the doubles pairs went on. Nell & Phoebe, Daphne & Sasha. Daphne & Sasha were having a tough time against their opponents. They lost the first set 7-5 and looked very down. After a team talk and a change of attitude they went on to win the 2nd set 6-4. Championship tiebreak started off very close. The girls were working well as a pain again but the Middlesex girls managed to get a lead and won 10-7.
Nell and Phoebe were having a tough time as well. They had also lost the first set 6-3 and needed to be more positive and keep going. They went on to win the 2nd set and were both getting extremely pumped in the tiebreak. They won a few points in a row and were taking a slight lead which lead on to a 10-5 victory.
All down to the tiebreak shoot out. After a discussion with the players, we decided to play Nell & Daphne. Tiebreak to 10! The decider.
The boys had finished by then and came over to support. With a big crowd watching as many other teams had also finished and huge support for the Kent girls, the shootout began. We were all extremely nervous and there was cheering and support after every point. The Middlesex team had put out a strong pair as well but with both Nell and Daphne’s focus and drive to win, anything could happen.
It was close throughout but the Daphne & Nell went on to win the tiebreak shootout 10-7!!
The girls ran onto court to celebrate and the atmosphere was brilliant!!
Kent 14 & U Girls are National Champions 2014.
Both weekends were great fun, the girls worked well as a team and were always supportive of each other. Besides winning, it was a brilliant weekend and the girls did the county proud.
Nicole Daisley