This year the 10 & Under girls travelled to Corby over the first weekend of June to compete against Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire.
The team – Abigail Wilkin, Prianka Dhokia, Anisha Sood and Eleanor Shaw started off with the toughest opponents of the group – Warwickshire. All girls approached the match with enthusiasm and commitment. We were 2-1 down going into the doubles but were overpowered by the experience of the doubles play of the Warwickshire team, losing 3-1. Congratulations to Anisha after a tight singles match in which she came out victorious.
The second match against Northampton resulted in the same score. This time Prianka won her singles which meant it was again all to play for in the doubles, but Northampton were the more confident players, winning the doubles and the match.
On Day 2, we decided to adopt a more aggressive approach in the doubles encouraging the girls to play at the net. Out first opponents, Nottinghamshire, faced a more confident team and we won 3-1 with singles wins for Prianka and Eleanor and a great doubles win for Abigail and Prianka.
The match against Lincolnshire was closer - Abigail won her singles and then went on to win the doubles with Eleanor as her partner. This meant that the match was tied at 2-2 and a tie break shootout was required to determine the winner of the match. Leicestershire shot out of the blocks to take a commanding lead but Lincolnshire were not going to make it that easy for them – the final score was 11-9 to Leicestershire. It was so impressive to see the girls dig their heels in and come out victorious.
It was a great experience for everyone in the team with everyone contributing to the team’s success. With 2 wins and 2 losses, we came 4th in the group.
Captain: Dave Carter