Norfolk Men Promoted to Division 1
It was another memorable weekend for the Norfolk Men’s side as they won Division 2A at Bolton Arena to secure promotion to the top flight at AEGON Winter County Cup.
Following July’s promotion and return to Summer County Cup Group 1 after a 35 year absence, Norfolk beat Cheshire, West of Scotland and Lancashire to complete a remarkable year and take their place alongside the elite of county tennis in both competitions for 2012.
An opening day defeat of Cheshire set the tone; Richard Bloomfield, Nicky Crawley and Barry Fulcher with singles victories before brothers Dan and Jonny Wynne added a doubles rubber. Bloomfield and Crawley paired up to win the all important decider for the perfect start.
Relegation candidates West of Scotland were brushed aside 8-1 on day two as Tom Spinks stepped into the line up and won his singles along with Bloomfield, Fulcher, Crawley and Dan Wynne.
Doubles successes for Bloomfield and Wynne, Spinks and Fulcher and Crawley and Matt Green completed the rout and Norfolk were sitting top of the division on rubbers won.
The final day was a straight shoot out for promotion with Lancashire who also had two wins under their belt.
A fast start was required and a powerful straight sets victory for Dan Wynne gave Norfolk a 1-0 lead with Crawley locked in a deciding set. The man from Caister remained steady from the back of the court and after 2 ½ hours finally served out the match to put his team 2-0 up.
The two oldest team members, Spinks at 36 and Fulcher, 31 were next on court and their matches would provide high drama throughout.
Spinks broke in the final game of the opening set but was pegged back in a second set tiebreak to send the match into a decider. His intelligent and economical style proved the difference in the final set as he broke twice before sending down a game of enormous first serves to close out the match.
Fulcher was quickly behind in his first set against 20 year old Rob Morgan but the Captain drew on his vast experience to outwit his talented opponent and come storming back to win in three sets, putting Norfolk on the brink of promotion at 4-0.
Chris Parker was given the difficult task of playing at number 2 due to his high rating and was beaten in straight sets by his opposite number.
A win for Bloomfield against Dan Smethurst, ranked 477 in the world, would see Norfolk over the line but the young Lancashire man had other ideas, recovering from a 6-1 reverse in the opening set to defeat the Norfolk number 1 in an exciting match of huge hitting.
After Fulcher and Green had lost their doubles, the tie was at 4-3 and the nerves had returned.
Norfolk needed 1 of the 2 remaining matches on court and with Parker and Dan Wynne 6-4, 2-3 down to Smethurst and Morgan, it was left to Bloomfield and Spinks who came through in double quick time to win 6-1, 6-1 at second pair and give Norfolk the all important 5-3 win.
It was another milestone for a Norfolk side which has achieved six promotions in the last nine county cup events and Captain Fulcher paid tribute to his side’s fighting qualities:
“These guys always seem to find something extra in the big matches and that comes down to the enormous pride we take in representing Norfolk. We haven’t lost on the final day of County Cup for the last ten events and there was something riding on the result on each of those occasions.”
“In 2012 this team will be the first Norfolk side ever to compete in the top flight of both County Cup competitions and it is the where we have all wanted to be since we began playing for the county.”
Norfolk’s success can also be attributed to the support given by Easton College Tennis Centre who provided several weeks worth of vital practice court time for the team in the build up to the event. The team would like to thank Matt Breese and Easton College, for without their help, promotion may not have been possible.
Picture, Back L-R: Dan Wynne, Matthew Green, Barry Fulcher, Tom Spinks, Richard Bloomfield
Front L-R: Chris Parker, Jonathan Wynne, Nicky Crawley, Tom Lamming.
Norfolk Ladies Secure Promotion at County Cup
Norfolk Ladies claimed an impressive promotion from Division 4A at AEGON Winter County Cup last weekend with an exciting final day win over Dorset at Redbridge Tennis Centre.
In a closely fought group, Norfolk defeated Leicestershire and Devon on the first two days to leave themselves in pole position as the only team on two wins. The clash with Dorset went right down to the wire but a strong doubles performance was the key and Norfolk eventually triumphed 5-4 to clinch top spot.
Against Leicestershire on day one, a young Norfolk side showed their battling qualities after falling 2-0 behind early on with defeats for Klara Moolman and Maddie Brooks. Amy Partridge and Olivia Nicholls restored parity at numbers 3 and 4 respectively before Captain Karen Highfield edged through a pair of tie breaks to give Norfolk the lead.
Lucy Brooks put in a strong performance but eventually fell in three sets to leave the match tied at 3-3 after singles.
14 year olds Moolman and Maddie Brooks were beaten at doubles but Partridge and Nicholls sent the match into a deciding rubber with an excellent win at second pair.
It was left to the experienced duo of Lucy Brooks and Highfield to take on the Leicestershire top pair and they completed a tense win, 7-5 6-2 to give Norfolk the ideal start.
The second day saw the arrival of veteran Karen Woodrow who slotted into the singles line up at number 2, moving the rest of the order down a place. Similarly to the previous day, Nicholls, Partridge and Highfield picked up victories to leave the match all square after singles.
A clean sweep of the doubles rubbers, including a gritty championship tiebreak from Lucy Brooks and Highfield, meant that Norfolk sat top of the group ahead of the final match against Devon.
Despite their strong position, only victory would be good enough against Devon on the final day and Norfolk got off to a mixed start. It was business as usual for Nicholls as she won again with ease but Moolman fell in three sets 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The second round of matches would be crucial with Devon’s strength at the top of the order and Highfield and Partridge produced the goods at 3 and 4 to give Norfolk a 3-1 lead. Partridge dropped the opening set of her match but came storming back to win 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 whilst Highfield was in top form to defeat her opponent 6-2, 6-3.
Woodrow fell to the Devon number 2 and Brooks faced a tough opponent in 1.2 rated Anna White, fighting hard without a great deal of luck. The Devon number 1 put the pedal down early in the first set and a chain of winners from White resulted in a heavy loss for Brooks.
Once again it came down to the doubles; Nicholls and Maddie Brooks wasted little time in putting their opponents away in straight sets.
Norfolk needed one of the remaining two matches on court and for a while it looked as though Devon would come through as Highfield and Lucy Brooks lost their opening set and Partridge and Woodrow found themselves 4-1 down.
Brooks and Highfield would go on to lose but a terrific fight back saw Partridge and Woodrow recover to win 6-4, 6-1 and secure promotion for a jubilant Norfolk team
Captain Highfield spoke afterwards of the unexpected success:
“We are now in the third tier of county tennis for both summer and winter county cup which is a real credit to how hard these girls have battled. We’re building a great team here with youngsters like Amy and Olivia and players like Pippa Horn (absent with illness) still to come in, so 2012 could be the year we push on even higher.”
Nicholls and Partridge remained undefeated all weekend whilst Highfield won 5 out of six matches.
Picture, Back L-R: Karen Woodrow, Lucy Brooks, Karen Highfield, Olivia Nicholls
Front, L-R: Maddie Brooks, Klara Moolman, Amy Partridge.