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The Lincolnshire Ladies team didn’t have the smoothest of arrivals at Ilkey Lawn Tennis & Squash Club; already a member down last minute in the form of Captain, Lianne Tapson.
And so, in rather damp and windy conditions, a change of thought and traditional pairings was needed, hence stepped up Jade & Charlie Windley, Lydia Walker & Laura White, Faye Button & new-comer Vic Beardsley to play South Wales on Monday morning. That said, two 3-set matches, two tie-breaks and a rain delay later, Lincolnshire emerged victors 5-4.
On day two, now playing indoors as rain had set in outside, Dani Smith stepped in to replace Faye and provide some fresh legs. Much thanks to two 3-set battles from Laura & Lydia (a common theme throughout the week), Lincolnshire came out on top again, with a bigger winning margin of 6-3.
Full of confidence and back on the grass, Lincolnshire Ladies swept North Wales aside on the third day 6-3, making three wins out of three, and promotion very much on the cards. After gaining promotion last year, the team would have been happy enough with survival in Division 4 this year.
Day four and now it’s getting critical; if Lincolnshire and Northumberland win today, the two will gain promotion with a day to spare, and battle it out for top place on the final day. Sure enough, Lincolnshire Ladies came out on top again, with each member finding their feet within the team, with Jade & Charlie on course to join the 15/15 club, Laura & Lydia giving their absolute all with great results, and Faye, Dani & Vic rotating in the third pairing, providing fresh legs and high energy.
And so, the all-important final day. With a bench full of spectators, there was no separating the two teams, as Lincolnshire and Northumberland (as could have been predicted) were tied 3-3 after two rounds, meaning the tie was going down to the all-important 2’s vs 2’s rubber. Laura and Lydia had a great start, winning the first set in a great tie-break, however fell in the second set, and could not repeat their heroics of the first set, thus falling 7-6(4) 3-6 3-6. A great effort was made by every single member of the team during the week, however special mention must go to Jade & Charlie Windley, for winning 15 out of 15 matches!
The team would very much like to take this opportunity to thank their sponsor, Totemic, for their continued support and backing. The girls would also like to say big thankyou to their trainer Jamie Rigby, for keeping the team in one piece throughout the week.
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