Girls Team – Alice Hill, Amber Williams, Etianna Whitaker, Holly Mellors.
In Division 2A, the girls played Hereford & Worcs first. Alice Hill played well, but at only 11 years old the game was dominated by a tall, strong Nicola Clarke who won 4-1,4-2. Amber Williams played well, a lot of unforced errors crept in but she won 4-1, 4-2. Etianna had a tough first match, playing rather nervously she lost 1-4,0-4. Holly Mellors had a tight first match, she won the first set 5-3, fighting on all the important points. She lost the second set 2-4, but in the match tie-break she held it together again winning 10-5.
The second round was against Cheshire a strong team. Alice played a girl again two years older; it was height and strength that Alice struggled to sustain. She played some excellent tennis but lost 1-4,3-5. Amber was out played 0-4,1-4. Etianna had a much better match, she did lose 2-4,4-5 with the tie-break going to 4-10.Holly played her usual fighting tennis but could not cope with the consistent accuracy losing 1-4,2-4.
The last round was against Northants. Alice yet again had a tall girl to play. She gave it her all, taking her to a tie-break 3-5, 4-2,7-10. Alice was not phased by her defeats, just said it was good experience! Amber had a good match just a few too many errors, she lost 4-5, 1-4. It was the same for Etianna she played her best match, but lost 3-5,1-4. Holly again had a good match, playing consistently winning 4-0, 4-2. The quality of tennis the girls produced did not reflect 4th position.
Boys Team – Ben King, Jonathan Burke, Eban Straker-Meads, Mark Jarrett.
The boys team had some last minute changes with Marcus playing at Bolton and Taylor in hospital with a kidney infection. The first round was against Hereford & Worcs, Ben played a good first match, but too many errors put Ben down 1-4, 2-4. Jonathan had an easy win 4-1, 4-2, as did Eban with the same score. Mark had a nervous first set, but won the second 4-1 and went on to win the tie-break 10-2, so giving the boys a 3-1 win.
The second round was against Cheshire, Ben had a tough match as he was having problems with knee pain, he lost 1-4, 2-4. Jonathan had another good match, pushed a bit more but won 4-2,5-4. Eban played a great first set, but then found himself quickly 1-4 down in the second, he pulled a win back well in the tie-break 10-6. Mark played well, but lost the first set 4-5 but was outplayed 4-1 in the second, giving the boys a draw.
In the final round against Northants Ben had to give them a W/O as his knees were too painful. Jonathan had a comfortable win 4-1, 4-1, Eban again won the first set 4-0, lost the second 2-4 but again came back to win the tie-break 10-6. Mark also had a good win 4-0, 5-3 giving them another 3-1 win. Unfortunately it was not enough to give them 1st place, Cheshire beat them by one set.
There was great team spirit from both teams, my thanks also go to the parents for their support.
Jane Stokes