Team: Jasmine Ramsden, Evie Lopez, Lily Beiley, Caroline Smart
This event was held at High Ercall, a small tennis club between Telford and Shrewsbury. Millie-Mae Matthews our strongest player was unavailable to play. The day before leaving Emily Trease had to pull out of the team with a knee injury, Caroline came in at the last minute, which was great experience for her as she will have another two years to play in this age group, and we were all pleased to have her in the team.
The first round was against Lincolnshire, Jasmine played well winning 4-1, 4-2, Evie and Lily both a little nervous in their first match, played well but lost in straight sets to more consistent girls. Jasmine and Evie played the doubles winning, so bringing the match to a draw. A match shootout is then played. This tie-break was so close the whole way through, with Lincolnshire winning 12-10. The girls were disappointed, but the standard was good, the result could have tipped either way.
The second round was against Warwickshire, a very strong team of 5 players. Jasmine, Evie and Lily tried their best, but struggled with the strength and constancy of older girls. Caroline and Lily played the doubles, they played well surprising their opponents, they lost 3-5, 2-4 in a well fought match.
The third round should have been played on the Sunday, but with rain forecasted for the morning, we all agreed to play another round that first day. We were to play Leicestershire, Jasmine had a great first set, but sadly went down 4-5, the second set slipped away 1-4. Evie lost the first set 1-4, but fought back in the second to win 4-2, then confidently win the match tie-break 10-4. Lily had another tough match going down in straight sets. Jasmine and Evie played the doubles, they had a great match winning 5-4, 4-1. This result again took us to a match shootout to decide the winner. Jasmine and Evie just could not keep up the standard they had played in the first two sets and sadly lost 6-10.
Sunday morning was wet, the courts took some time to dry to be safe to play. The final round was against Northamptonshire, they only had two players on the Saturday, but were able to bring in a third to play us. They were physically strong girls, Jasmine had a long match, she lost the first set 0-4, the score not reflecting the standard of tennis, she won the second 4-1 keeping her concentration when her opponent was losing her temper, the match tie break was swinging from one to the other, Jasmine played some great points to win 11-9. Evie and Lily both lost to much stronger, consistent players. Caroline and Lily had a great doubles , but also lost in two sets.
The girls took defeat well, we had a young team, with other Counties playing all 12 year old players. There was great team spirit throughout the weekend, my thanks to the parents who were there to support and transport to this venue.