Team : Jasper Riley, Ben Phillips, Hugo Dunn, Henna Quraishi, Kaitlin Waddell, Sophie Lager
The 9u orange ball County Cup was played at King’s Park Tennis Centre, Northampton. Nottinghamshire were in a group with Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. 3 boys and 3 girls singles were played in each round, along with a boys doubles, girls doubles and one mixed doubles, best of three set tie breaks.
Our first round was against Northamptonshire. The boys all had very close matches, Hugo lost in 3 sets, Ben lost in close two match, and Jasper won 7-5, 8-6. Sophie had an easy two set win, Kaitlin had a tough match losing 5-7, 6-8, as did Henna 4-7, 7-9. Hugo and Jasper played the boys doubles winning 3-7, 7-4, 7-4, Kaitlin and Henna lost in a close match 13-15, 7-5, 5-7, with Ben and Sophie winning 7-2, 7-5. These results gave Northants a 5-4 win.
The second round was against Lincolnshire. Hugo lost in another close match 13-15, 6-8 playing high standard tennis, Ben and Jasper both won in two sets. Sophie had another good win, Kaitlin lost in two sets, Henna played well but lost in three sets. Hugo and Jasper won their doubles again, Kaitlin and Henna lost 4-7, 6-8 in a close match. Ben and Sophie won in two sets, giving Notts a 5-4 win.
The final round was against Leicestershire. Hugo had marathon match, losing 7-5, 3-7, 4-7. Ben also lost in two sets, but Jasper had a great win 7-2, 3-7, 7-1. Sophie had another straight set win, Kaitlin played well but lost. Henna’s tennis improved throughout the day, winning the last singles 4-7, 9-7, 7-4. We were now dependent on the doubles, the boys again had a good win, the girls played so well, winning 13-11, 5-7, 9-7, Sophie and Ben also winning in three sets. This result gave Notts a 6-3 win.
The overall result ended with Notts and Northants on equal points. The win was awarded to Northants as they had beaten us 5-4.
The team were still very happy and proud to receive their silver medals. The whole day was played with great team spirit, my thanks to the parents for their support, and to the Referee for a very well organised long day.
Jane Stokes