U-14 Boys Regional Qualifying, Graves, Sheffield
The U-14 boy’s county team were off to Sheffield for the regional qualifying. In what looked a strong group with Yorkshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire. First up was Cheshire and after Aaron Jinks of Market Bosworth winning at 3 singles, Alex Solonenko made sure Leicestershire went into the doubles level at 2 all beating the Cheshire no1 in 3 tough sets. These two teamed up to win the doubles at 1, a 3 all draw taking the match to what would turn out the be the 1st of many shoot out tiebreaks over the next two weeks. We lost the shoot out and lost the tie 4-3, Alex and Owen Wilson going down to a good Cheshire pair. It was to be the 1st of many penalty shootouts which are quite common in this format of competition.
After a late finish the boys were up against Derbyshire on day 2. Taking 3 of the singles. Again, Alex and Aaron battled hard to win, and Owen Wilson winning at no4 singles meaning we only needed one doubles to secure the win. The group was looking very close at this stage as Derby won on day one and Cheshire ended up losing to Yorkshire 4-2 so all were on one win. Our unbeaten Team of Alex and Aaron took Leicestershire across the line winning the 3rd set championship tiebreak 10-8 while Andrew Laurel made his U-14 county cup debut losing at 2nd pair with Owen Wilson.
On Day 3 we were up against Yorkshire. Just to reiterate how close the teams were matched, any team could still win the group and go to the national finals. We knew we needed rubbers. Owen Wilson won comfortably at no4. Alex Solonenko beat the no 4 in the county in straight sets in the windiest of conditions at one. The key match, however, was Aaron Jinks who won 10-8 in the match tiebreak after being well behind. Match tiebreaks had been brought in on the last day due to the forecast and this match was key as it meant winning the group was in our hands. If we beat Yorkshire 5-1 we could not be caught by Cheshire. Even if they won 6-0 which they did so the 3rd singles was vital.
We were a set up in both doubles in what looked like a 5-1 win over Yorkshire, Owen Wilson and Louis Marsden at 2nd pair and Alex and Aaron at 1st pair. Cheshire were 4-0 up and a set up in both doubles before the rain came. We were Champions by virtue of more rubbers won. Special mention to Alex Solonenko and Aaron Jinks going unbeaten on 6 out of 6 wins, although it was a real team effort to qualify.
National Finals Nottingham
In the 5 years I’ve been captaining the Leicestershire U-14 boy’s county team this was the 1st time we have made it to the national finals so the boys should be proud of themselves. Now up against Surrey, Hertfordshire and Hampshire before playing the team who finish in the same position as we finish from the other group on the final day.
What a first day it was. Beating Surrey (not often Leicestershire can say that) 4-3 in the match tie break shoot out. An inspired shoot out from Alex and Owen. Surrey went on to win the event and become national champions so it shows just how close we were. It’s fair to say we were in the tougher of the two groups as Surrey beat Lancashire 5-1 in the final, who topped group B.
The nature of the finals, two groups of 4, playing the team who finishes in the same position as us from the other group on the final day means you have to play 1.5 matches per day on the 1st two days, in order to fit all the matches in 3 days. I can’t help that think playing Surrey took a lot out of the boys mentally as we had a slow start against Hampshire and were 3-1 down after the singles overnight, with the doubles to finish the next day. Owen Wilson won at 4, Louis lost at no 2 and Alex and Aaron lost their 1st matches of the competition. We ended up losing 4-2 to arguably the weakest side in the group and Hertfordshire were up next the same day.
Yet again, this match went to the wire and we lost on a shootout tiebreak. 3 all after the singles and doubles but this time we didn’t quite have enough left in the tank. This meant we finished 3rd on one win but could have easily finished higher. The 3rd placed team in group B was Oxfordshire so we were back on Sunday to face them in the 5th/6th playoff.
The boys went on to beat Oxfordshire 4-2. 3-1 up after the singles and then both doubles going to a championship tiebreak 3rd set. The 2nd pair of Owen Wilson and Andrew Laurel having 3 match points before losing and the 1st pair saving a couple of match points before winning. Alex Solonenko won 13/14 matches over the 6 days which is just a huge effort playing at no1. I think the added incentive of not wanting to play another shoot out if we went 3 rubbers all was the deciding factor and Alex and Aaron sealed the tie and 5th place at the national finals.
Jack Simpson
U-14 Boys County Captain
