Qualifying 28th- 29th May
Venue – St Annes Lawn Tennis Club
Finals 10th – 12th June 2016
Venue – Sunderland Tennis Centre
LANCASHIRE TEAM
Vlada Kozak
Hannah Rylatt
Jadesola Cole
Hima Fernando
The girls starting their quest to reach the National Finals in a very sunny St Annes, the great weather made it a great weekend for all the players and their supporters. On the first day we took on Yorkshire local rivals winning with some straight forward tennis 8-0, then we took on Durham & Cleveland the team who would test us the most, we won all 3 singles with some great fight from the D&C girls but lost the doubles in a close 2 set match finishing with a 6-2 win. Another sunny day on the Sunday saw us take on Isle of Man who we beat 8-0 and rivals Cheshire who we also beat 8-0 with some great tennis and team work from the girls. Off to the National finals we go after a trip to St Annes beach to celebrate.
On a rainy Friday we set off to Sunderland with some very excited girls. In the afternoon we played South Wales, Hannah Rylatt started us off and was 0-3 down in a nervy start, she soon got into it and went on to win the next 5 games in a row setting the tone for us to win all 3 singles. After 3 tie break sets Hannah & Hima also took the doubles finishing off with a 8-0 win and some nervy spectators.
Day 2 saw us take on Buckinghamshire in the morning a match which we were confident we could win after the previous days win had given the team some confidence. After Vlada & Jade won the first 2 singles in touch tie break matches Hima then made it look easy with a 4-0,4-0 win the 3rd singles match. Jade and Hima then went on to win the doubles with some great team work and resilience. After a short break we then took on Avon our strongest competition in our group, a match we had to win to finish top of the group and be in the finals. Avon had one very strong player so we were hoping to win the other 2 singles and battle through in the doubles. Hannah started us off against their strongest player and played some great tennis but losing out in the end. Vlada and Jade then stepped up to secure is 4 points in 4-0,4-1 wins! Now to win the doubles so that we weren’t level on points. Hannah & Vlada started off strongly winning the first set 4-1, after a few tense points in the first game of the second set the girls got nervous and lost that second set 0-4. It was time to regroup for the match tie break, after a team talk with the captain the girls who were always ahead in the tie break went on to win it 10-6. Final score 6-2, we were into the National Finals!!!
The team’s excitement was soon damped as we looked at the team we were playing against, Leicestershire a team with 2 superbly strong girls, after a good night’s sleep the girls were ready for battle.
It was Finals day and the girls were bumped for battle, nothing to loose they kept saying. After a team talk with some chanting Hannah stepped up for her match, she made a great start in the first game, it was neck and neck 2-2, then Leicestershire’s pedigree came through they won the next 6 games to win 4-2, 4-0. 2-0 to Leicestershire, next up was Vlada against a girl who Vlada took to a match tie break last time she played her. It wasn’t to be with some excellent skill showed from both the girls Vlada lost in the match tie break again. 4-0 Leicestershire. Jade next getting out first points on the board with a 4-0,4-1 win over their number 3 player. If we won the doubles it would be square and it would be down to a match tie break shoot out for the title. Up stepped Hannah & Vlada with hope in their eyes. After the first few points it was very clear that their opposition knew how to play ‘proper’ doubles the girls looked very comfortable and won the first set 4-1. After a re group our girls were pumped for the next set but Leicestershire were too strong finding a way around everything the Lancashire girls threw at them. It wasn’t to be, we lost 6-2 and were crowned National Runners Up. A great achievement for the girls who never expected to get that far. Although the girls were initially disappointed they were very proud of themselves and so were all the supporters. Well done girls, excellent work. Bring on next year.
See all the results at: http://lta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/team.aspx?id=75A9F8AB-37D2-4892-B7C8-AE0C996887D6&team=9