Aegon 14U County Cup Report - Boys

14 & Under County Cup 2017-Qualifying

Squad - Jack Pinnington Jones, Tommy Harrison, Luke Ralph, Archie Turner, Vaughan Watson, Freddie Dear (in for injured Isaac Jochim)

Saturday 29^th April                                          Kent v Cornwall

1. Luke Ralph                                          1. Harrison and Watson
2. Archie Turner                                    2. Ralph and Turner
3. Vaughan Watson
4. Freddie Dear

Again with such a solid squad we would try to make sure all of the boys played as much as possible, whilst maintaining our best chance of qualifying. We knew that we would be without Jack for the first two days and the injured Isaac Jochim, so the boys were going to need to step up without them. Freddie and Vaughan had tough first sets with Vaughan coming back from 1-5 and Freddie 3-5 to level at 5all, however one set would go our way whilst the other went to Cornwall. Freddie went onto win his match 7-5 6-3, with Cornwall levelling up the tie as Vaughan lost 6-7 1-6. 1-1

The next two singles started off similarly to the first two as both boys lost their opening sets, causing the tie to appear like a bit of uphill battle at this point. However both boys dug really deep and swung the match on it’s head with three set wins! 3-1 Kent Only needing one doubles meant we could be tactical with our line up and really strengthen our second pair. Both pairs stepped up and won both doubles. 5-1 Kent

Saturday 29th & Sunday 30^th April            Kent v North of Scotland

1. Tommy Harrison                               1. Harrison and Watson
2. Luke Ralph                                          2. Ralph and Dear
3. Archie Turner
4. Vaughan Watson

Due to the format of 6 counties it meant that we had to play the doubles of the next match on Saturday evening. After a short rest three of the same four boys went back on and finished off the day winning both doubles and taking a 2-0 overnight lead. 2-0 Kent Luke made short work of his opponent winning 2 and 0, Archie fought off a resilient opponent in the first set to win 4 and 1, whilst Vaughan was in a battle. 4-0 Kent With the match already won it was left to Tommy and Vaughan to finish off the tie, but unfortunately both boys looked a little tetchy with themselves and allowed their opponents to come back from being down in the match and lost both, Vaughan 6-1 6-7 6-7 and Tommy 6-3 5-7 (1-10). 4-2 Kent

Monday 1st May                                              Kent v Norfolk

1. Jack Pinnington Jones                   
2. Luke Ralph                                         
3. Archie Turner
4. Freddie Dear

We were very fortunate and grateful to have Jack with us for the final match today. He had been in Slovakia all week and had just won the TE C2 on Sunday, landed at 7pm and joined us bright and early for the team practice on Monday morning. A tremendous show of commitment and loyalty to the County!

The boys knew the Norfolk team very well having only just played them In an Aegon match the week before, this had a bearing on our line up. Freddie and Archie got us off to the best of starts by winning in quick time 6-3 6-0 and 6-2 6-1. 2-0 Kent Luke continued his unbeaten record all weekend by working hard for his 6-2 6-4 win at the number 2 slot, whilst Jack adjusted to the change of surface and conditions well winning 6-0 6-4! 4-0 Kent

A very solid weekend from all of the boys, who responded very well to the difficult hour on the first day when we found ourselves at 1-1 and a set down at no 2 and no1 singles. In the end they were convincing and deserve their place in the finals once more.

14 & Under County Cup 2017-Finals

Squad - Jack Pinnington Jones, Tommy Harrison, Luke Ralph, Archie Turner, Vaughan Watson, Freddie Dear (in for injured Isaac Jochim)

Friday 12^th May                                                 Kent v Essex

1. Jack Pinnington Jones            1. Harrison and Ralph
2. Tommy Harrison                       2. Pinnington Jones and Dear
3. Luke Ralph
4. Archie Turner

Due to bad weather the group stages of the event were reduced to short sets and started indoors. Archie had a very tight match and unfortunately went down 5-4 5-3. Luke was able to start his match outside whilst Tommy played inside, both boys were in a ruthless mood as they stormed through their matches, Tommy 4-1 4-0 and Luke 4-1 4-2. 2-1 Kent Up next was Jack to give us a strong lead heading into the doubles, he didn’t disappoint and won 4-1 4-1. 3-1 Kent

Archie opted to rest out of the doubles as there was still a chance that we might have to start the second match of the day later on. Freddie stepped into partner Jack whilst Tommy and Luke looked to continue their strong Aegon partnership. Jack and Freddie blended well together winning 4-1 4-2 and Tommy and Luke overturned a first set loss to win 3-5 4-1 10-5. 5-1 Kent

Saturday 13th May                                          Kent v Lancashire

1. Jack Pinnington Jones            1. Pinnington Jones and Dear
2. Tommy Harrison                       2. Ralph and Watson
3. Luke Ralph
4. Archie Turner

With an almost dry day ahead play went back outside with the 4s and 3s up first. Archie bounced back from the disappointment of yesterday and recorded a 5-3 4-2 win, whilst Luke in normal fashion disposed of his opponent 2&0. 2-0 Kent Tommy and jack followed suit taking little time in beating their opponents in straight sets. 4-0 Kent With the match already wrapped up it gave us the opportunity to rest a couple of players and bring in Freddie and Vaughan. Both pairs both won in straight sets, finishing off a clean sweep in the match. 6-0 Kent

Saturday 13^th May                                           Kent v Sussex

1. Jack Pinnington Jones            1. Not played
2. Tommy Harrison                       2. Not played
3. Luke Ralph
4. Archie Turner

It was to come down to a showdown with Sussex to decide who played Middlesex in the final tomorrow. All of the matches would be a battle but we felt confident in at least two of them, however county cup can throw up all sorts of curve balls. Archie struggled to find his form and lost 1&0. Luke clearly not at his usual best let a first set lead slip losing it 5-3, but fought back to take the second 4-2, only to lose the match tie break 10-4. Tommy very much the underdog took the first set 4-2 before losing the second 4-1. Another match tie break would decide the outcome, with both players having a few match points and Tommy thinking he had won it with a forehand winner only to be dubiously called out by his opponent the match finally went to Sussex 14-12!! Jack’s match also needed to be decided by a match tie break and despite fighting hard again we were to come up short with Sussex taking all four singles and three by 3^rd sets! 4-0 Sussex A heartbreaking way to finish the day, but sometimes things just don’t quite go your way. Like last year the boys will play for the bronze medal tomorrow.

Sunday 14^th May                                              Kent v Hertfordshire

1. Jack Pinnington Jones            1.  Pinnington Jones and Turner
2. Tommy Harrison                       2.  Harrison and Ralph
3. Luke Ralph
4. Archie Turner

In the five previous years of the Kent boys team reaching the finals weekend they had only managed to win on the last day on two occasions, once in the 7^th/8^th play off and the year they won it. We had played Hertfordshire in the 3^rd/4^th play off in 2016, so the boys were desperate to get the bronze medal this year.

Archie got the team off to the best start winning 6-2 6-2, Luke despite winning the first set found himself being taken to a 3^rd which he ultimately won 6-1. 2-0 Kent Tommy continued his impressive form over the finals weekend winning 6-3 6-2 to extend our lead. Jack was to come across another tough opponent and maybe the incentive to stay in the tie was enough to motivate his opponent further. Despite his best efforts with clear fatigue from a busy few weeks, Jack went down 6-3 6-2.  3-1 Kent After much deliberation for doubles  it was decided to go with the four boys who had played in all of the singles matches. Tommy and Luke came across a very lively and determined opponent in the 2^nd doubles and went down in straight sets. Jack and Archie after winning a very quick first set were taken to a deciding match tie break. With the potential of a shoot out looming the boys were keen to get the match done at the first opportunity, which they duly did. Archie stepped up and played a great tie break along with the support and resilience of Jack as they won 10-7! 4-2 Kent

It was a fantastic achievement for this group of boys to come through and qualify for the national finals and walk away with the bronze medal. All seven (Isaac’s support) of the boys played their part from qualifying to the finals. Particular thank you to Freddie for stepping in at the last minute and going undefeated in the whole competition! Also thank you to the parents that came to support the team both at the qualifying in Oxford and the finals in Nottingham.

Craig and Mark