10U Girls County Cup Report
On the 28th May the girls 10 & under county cup commenced with the Leicestershire squad of Talia Neilson-Gatenby, Tabitha Holmes, Emily Pollard and Fallon Reid headed to Eastgate Tennis Club in Lincolnshire to start the regional campaign.
All of the girls were in fine form for the regional stage claiming victories over Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire respectively. The girls were in such fine form they managed to win the division to secure qualification to the national stage whilst only dropping one rubber (match) along the way. Opposition parents and coaches alike commented on the girls’ fine play, great attitude and team spirit which was great to see.
The national stage was set - Sunderland to be the venue where the 8 counties who had all won at regional stage would battle it out over three days to be crowned champions of Great Britain. The format was to be 2 boxes of 4 counties playing 3 ties across two days, which would leave a playoff on the final day to give the final placings of 1-8 in the UK.
The Leicestershire squad for the national finals was Talia Neilson-Gatenby, Tabitha Holmes, Fallon Reid and Sophia Middleton. The draw was completed and the girls found themselves in a strong group of Kent, North of Scotland and Hertfordshire.
The first match on Friday was Leicestershire vs Kent. Talia playing at 1 got the team off to flying start with a comfortable 4-1 4-1 victory with Tabitha backing it up with a 4-0 4-1 win both over strong opponents, which left Fallon Reid to seal the victory for the team. The 3rd singles match was tied at 1 set all with a match tie break to determine the victor, Fallon found herself 9-6 down in the match tie break but dug deep to win 5 consecutive points to clinch the match and tie . Then Talia and Tabitha completed the win in the doubles with a 4-2 4-1 win demonstrating a phenomenal combination of power and skill.
Saturday’s match was against North of Scotland. Talia and Tabitha both in incredible form again got the tie off to a flying start both with emphatic 4-0 4-0 victories. At no.3 Sophia Middleton came in for the singles and came through a hard fought match 5-4 4-1 showing great heart and determination. Talia and Tabitha then sealed the victory in the doubles with a 4-0 4-1 win for our 2nd 8-0 victory in the group.
The final match of the box would be against Hertfordshire who had a very strong team on paper. The winner of the match would qualify in top position to compete for the national title so the pressure was on!! As the girls had been demonstrating amazing team spirit both on and off the court I was confident they would stay together as a team in the big match situation.
Talia was the first player out at no 1 vs Hertfordshire and found herself up against a formidable opponent who was also undefeated in the competition to this point. The match was of an extremely high level and Talia's opponent stormed into a 4-1 lead to take the 1st set. However Talia demonstrated great character and fortitude to bounce back and clinch the 2nd set 4-0 to set up the 3rd set match tiebreak which she dominated and won 10-3. Tabitha and Fallon at 2 and 3 respectively also facing a stern test both managing to claim victories 4-1 4-2 & 4-0 5-3 to confirm Leicestershire’s place in the National final. This was the tie where each of the girls had to overcome some form of adversity in their match which they did with flying colours. (Talia and Tabitha won their final doubles of the group stage 4-1 4-0.)
The final was Leicestershire against Lancashire, the winners of the other group. The tension was high around the centre with players, parents and coaches alike all on the edge of their seats for the whole of the match ahead. Talia managed to settle everyone down with a 4-2 4-0 victory over strong opposition , then Tabitha stepped up for maybe the crunch match of the tie against a very tough and resilient opposition who made very few errors and was tough to break down. Tabitha lost a hard fought 1st set in a tie break in which she faced some tough mental tests but stuck in there. Tabitha was unfazed by this and persisted with her attacking brand of tennis to bounce back and win the 2nd set 4-0. She emphatically won the 3rd set match tie break 10-4. Fallon also faced tough opposition in the 3rd singles match, which unfortunately she lost. This left the team 4-2 up in rubbers going into the doubles, with Talia and Tabitha in the zone and ready to go out there and finish the job. The team was in a confident mood and the girls stormed through the match 4-0 4-1. Euphoric scenes ensued - the girls were the champions – great team effort!
As captain of this great team, aside from the outstanding level of tennis played, the girls showed how team tennis should be played with great fight and team spirit. The FairPlay shown by the team was exemplary. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of such a historic victory for the county.
Well done girls and parents!
Leicestershire 10& under girls’ squad:
Talia Neilson-Gatenby
Tabitha Holmes
Fallon Reid
Sophia Middleton
Emily Pollard
Captain: Sam Preston
