Day one: We played one of the favourites, Hertfordshire, this was always going to be a tough one, the line ups were: Otto 6.1 v Jake Penny 3.2, Cavan 6.2 v Matthew Carroll 4.1, Euan Baker 6.2 v James Wilkinson 4.1 and Blake 7.1 v Zeke Kelly 5.1. We went down in all singles matches but I was really proud of our young team who did themselves justice, none of the opponents had the easy match they expected and we competed in every match, Euan Baker hit the shot of the weekend which had all the Counties cheering and applauding, after about 5 unbelievable volleys to stay in the point, Euan then dived half way across the court like superman and hit a drop shot angled volley for a winner and Eastgate exploded! Next up was the doubles, Euan and Cavan played 1 while Otto and Jake played at 2, both matches were fought hard for but we went down 6-0
Day two: Next up were Suffolk who drew 3-3 with Herts but lost in a shoot-out, so things weren’t about to get any easier! Our singles line up were Otto, Euan, Blake and Jake and once again we were miles behind our opponents on ratings, but the boys put in four fantastic performances going down in all matches but not without a fight Otto lost 6-3, 6-0, Euan 7-5, 6-3, Blake 6-2, 7-5 and Jake 6-4, 6-2. The doubles lined up the same as the previous day as both pairs played really well together and it paid off with Jake and Otto winning our first rubber 6-1, 6-7, 10-8 while Cavan and Euan went down in a tight match, so we improved but went down 5-1
Day three: The final day saw us doing battle with Norfolk we lined up for the singles the same as the previous day Otto and Jake went down in straight sets but again against high rated opposition and with a fight, Euan Baker got our first singles win and what a win it was outplaying his higher rated opponent 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, meanwhile Blake was struggling, he lost the first set 6-0 and 4-1 down in the second when he turned the match around with a fighting performance to take the second set 6-4 and go 2-1 up in the third, but he unfortunately lost the last set 6-2 so we were 3-1 down and needed to win both doubles. Euan and Cavan obliged with a fantastic performance to beat Norfolk’s first pair 6-4, 6-4, Jake and Otto unfortunately went down in a tight 6-2, 6-4 match, we lost 4-2 and finished 6th.
Overall I was delighted with our attitude, the boys had a great weekend, they behaved impeccably and their performances improved each day, a big positive is 4 of the 5 players will be eligible for next year and we have some other younger players who will be competing for next year’s team, this year was all about gaining experience and we will be all the better for it next year. The venue was Eastgate in Lincoln and I was proud of the club, there was a great atmosphere and all the Counties were impressed with the facilities and the organisation so that’s another positive for Lincolnshire Tennis!
Terry Hunt
14U Boys Lincolnshire Team Manager