Team:
Top Row - L to R - Mike Wisner (Captain), Callum Chivers, Dan MacShane, Chris Wood, Rob Chambers, Scott Whitbread.
Bottom Row - L to R - Todd Johnsen, Andy Higham, Dave Barton.
Results:
Defeated Sussex – 5/4
Defeated Dorset – 5/4
Defeated Somerset – 5/4
Defeated Cornwall – 6/3
Lost to Berkshire – 4/5
View full results
Captain's report
A fantastic week for Nottingham Tennis!
The team started with a long drive to Felixstowe on Sunday with a hit and a chance to check out the competition. We had four rookies in the team this year along with some longer standing players, which for me as a captain created a good blend and balance for the team. On the Sunday we inducted the new guys into the team with each having to give a 1minute speech on what they were going to contribute to the team. This was very insightful if not a bit stuttery. (Well done Rob, Chris, Andy, and Todd)
Day 1 started with a typical Notts display with some really tight matches against a determined Sussex Team. The big result was a turn around from Dave Barton & Scott Whitbread who were down a set and a break and came back to win 7/6 in the third. This set us up for a tight 5/4 win. It was also the debut of Chris Wood & Andy Higham. The guys had a tough day at the office but did the county proud with a gutsy performance at 3rd pair and took away some good learning for the rest of the week.
Day 2 was much of the same with another tight 5/4 win against Dorset. We had another tough day of 3 setters winning 2 out of the 3 to get us home. Callum Chivers joined us after his relaxing break and partnered Andy Higham to narrowly miss out on their first win losing in 3 sets.
Day 3 was the day we really wanted to make a statement about our promotion chances, and Somerset was our target. Again we had 3 tough 3 setters and again we had a 5/4 victory. This was starting become a habit and one we were quite happy with.
Day 4 and the team were pumped. We all doubled up on the carbohydrates and were ready to explode with some scintillating tennis, and we sure did! Dan Macshane & Rob Chambers along with Dave Barton & Scott Whitbread took 3 rubbers each with an epic 3 setter that broke the back of our opposition, with our third pair still toughing it out. Todd Johnsen joined us today and made a valuable contribution adding his Aussie flare and mind boggling tricks on and off the court. This gave us a 6/3 win against the boys from Cornwall who weren’t too happy and made their feelings known during the day. Promotion was guaranteed and the boys from Nottingham were heading closer to the big time.
Day 5 was a wash of post match tiredness (that’s what they called it) injury and just a general satisfaction of being promoted. We lost on the day 5/4 but still managed to take 1st place in the group. So the team gained promotion to division 3.
The team were an absolute credit to Nottinghamshire County Tennis. They all conducted themselves in a professional manner, in every aspect of the week. We bonded and created a “do it for the team and the county attitude” that made us stand out from the other teams. I am very proud to say that I am the captain of a team that has great values, team spirit, and a desire to do the best for their county. These will be the reasons behind our ongoing success as we strive to develop our junior players into the team and continue our progression to division 1 County Cup tennis. I would like to thank all the team for a committed week of tennis and all the back of house team at the county office for your support.
Mike Wisner
Nottinghamshire County Captain