GROUP 6a – Venue: Sunderland
Final Positions Wins Rubbers
- Cumbria 3 19
- Bedfordshire 2 11
- Channel Islands 1 11
- South of 0 10 Scotland
Cumbria`s Team:
Chris Edge, Louis Glaves , Ali Hassan, Albert Glaves , Joseph Wilkinson, James Hale, Harrison Savage & Nick Knowles
Foreword
Going into this year`s event, I knew we had a very young team but an experienced well prepared team so a top two finish looked a distinct possibility. Of the eight selected boys only Albert would be making his final appearance in the junior age groups with most of the team eligible for a good few years to come..
Our Team
Last year I paid glowing tribute to the team and again this year`s team ethos was outstanding. Their camaraderie, team spirit, togetherness and lively playful banter was simply outstanding. I never once had to pull anybody to one side for a `chat’, they were all on time, attentive and looked out for each other. All the boys were a credit to themselves, their families and the county. Off court the boys enjoyed two nights of bowling with Albert and Ali winning, Harrison`s record low of 23 was never threatened!
Team Selection
The below is what I considered my strongest singles line up and played on all three days winning 17 out of 18 rubbers (County Cup Record?) meaning that on each day the match was over after the singles.
Singles
1.Chris Edge 2.Louis Glaves
3.Ali Hassan 4.Albert Glaves
5.Joseph Wilkinson 6.James Hale
Doubles
Day 1.Edge/Louis 2.Albert/Hassan 3.Savage/Knowles
Day 2. “ “ 3.Wilkinson/Savage
Day 3. No doubles played
DAY 1 – Channel Islands, Won 6-3
James and Joseph were first on court with James making his first appearance at U18 level. Both boys played well winning in straight sets giving Cumbria the dream start. Albert was next up and never found his best game but Ali, Louis and Chris simple `smashed’ the Channel Island`s top 3 for the loss of 8 games between them 5 – 1 Cumbria match won. Harrison & Nick lost 6/2 6/3 to an older more experienced pair then Albert and Ali lost in a close three set match never really producing the form they had in training. Chris/Louis then produced a first class display of doubles to make the final score 6/3 Cumbria.
DAY 2 – South of Scotland, Won 7 - 2
From the moment the boys came down to breakfast you could see they were `in the mood’ and so it proved. James won convincingly, Joseph won `ugly’ playing at 5 and showed real character as he wasn`t playing his best but found a way to win. Albert then produced the best tennis of his life and the top three once again blew their opponents away losing only 4 games between them 6 – 0 Cumbria match won. Nick had the option of playing doubles at one with either Louis or Chris but had a slightly sore back so elected to rest so we teamed up Joseph/Harrison who lost a match which perhaps in a year they would win. Ali and Albert lost in three sets a very close match which could have gone either way then Louis/Chris won 6/4 6/0 against decent opponents. 7/ 2 Cumbria a great day`s tennis.
DAY 3 – Bedfordshire, Won 6 – 0 (doubles not played)
I kept with the philosophy of `you don`t change a winning team’ although if the score had been close after the singles I may have tinkered with the doubles arrangements/order. The boys were feeling confident and we felt 6/0 after the singles was best case scenario 3/3 the absolute worst so the pressure was on Bedfordshire as they needed to win all the potentially close match ups.
James played a very good match winning 6/3 6/2 which was never in doubt once we had got his tactics sorted and Joseph played his best match to give Cumbria a 2 – 0 lead. Albert then won a close match playing solid and Ali won comfortably at three making it 4 – 0 Cumbria. Louis then won 6/0 6/0 and Chris finished off the match with a three sets victory making it 6 – 0 Cumbria CHAMPIONS/PROMOTION!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bedforshire refused to play the doubles.
Conclusion
An excellent weekend both on and off court, the boys were an absolute pleasure to take away and should be proud of their achievements.The team spirit was fantastic and all players should be proud of the part they played, both on and off court. A special mention to James who stepped into the world of `big boys tennis’ and to Albert who now leaves the age group and will be missed both on court and off court (he plays the important role of making sure the coach always has a cup of tea. Trials for this vital task will be held at the next training session!).
All in all a fantastic weekend by the boys both on and off court, well done!!!
JON GRIFFIN
TEAM CAPTAIN/COACH