Notts Ladies and Mens teams both come top!
So proud of our Ladies and Mens County Cup teams who both came top of their divisions in County Week.
Ladies Summer County Cup Report
Nottinghamshire Ladies travelled to Ilkley for Group 3 Ladies County Cup this year with 3 of the counties top juniors in tow and Lucy Gill making her Nottinghamshire debut having previously played for Devon.
On Day 1 we played local rivals Derbyshire. Millie Rajecki teamed up with Millie-Mae Matthews, also making her senior county debut to win their 1st match in a close 3 setter against Millie Devey-Smith and Katy Wilson, Lucy teamed up with Sarah Wright with an easy win over the Derbyshire 3rd pair and Anna Buckley and Laura Cooper lost to the very experiences Louise Holtum and Olivia Nelms.
In round 2 Nottinghamshire pulled off all 3 wins giving us a 5-1 lead and the win in the bag. With Nina Luiggi subbing in for Millie-Mae, unfortunately the team lost 2 close 3 set matches and finished the day 5-4 up.
On Day 2 we played a weaker than usual Durham and Cleveland who had been left short due to injuries. Millie and Millie-Mae picked up their 1st round before Anna Buckley stepped in to play with Millie winning both of their matches convincingly. Sarah and Lucy also picked up their 3 rubbers giving us a 6-3 win.
Going in to Day 3 we were up against a very strong Northumberland Team so we were hoping to get a few wins to keep us in the running for promotion. Millie and Millie-Mae had a great match against the very experience team of Amy Hoburn and Lauren Jones, narrowly losing 6-4 in the final set. Anna and Nina lost to the first pair Emma Wilson and Stephanie Booth but there was a win for Sarah and Lucy. In the second round Millie and Millie-Mae had a great win over Emma and Steph 7-6 6-2 and Sarah and Lucy played a fantastic round against Amy and Lauren pulling off a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win to bring the match to a 3-3 tie going in to the final round where Sarah and Lucy were up against the Northumberland 1st pair. With wins from them and the Millies, Nottinghamshire pulled off a very unexpected 5-4 win putting us in line for promotion and the possibility of winning the group!
Fresh legs arrived for Thursday with Dr Emily Crowe coming in direct from her PhD graduation. We were up against Sussex who hadn’t been strong but had also had new players arrive. With 36 degree heat it was also incredibly humid playing conditions. 3 wins from Emily and Millie and 2 wins from Sarah and Lucy gave us a 4-5 win and guaranteed promotion.
So with no pressure for us against Buckinghamshire on the Friday but wanting the group win as it’s been a long time since the ladies have brought home a summer trophy the team went in to battle. With 2 wins each from team Millies and Sarah and Lucy and a win for Emily and Anna, the ladies collected the trophy and are heading for the dizzy heights of Group 2 next year with some incredible talent coming up to support the experienced players. The future looks bright for Nottinghamshire Team tennis
Finally a massive thanks to our sponsors Brenntag for our fabulous new kit that was commented on by the other teams and also to all the supporters who came throughout the week too. It was great to have so many people travel to come and cheer us on.
Team
Sarah Usher (captain), Sarah Wright, Lucy Gill, Millie Rajecki, Emily Crowe, Millie-Mae Matthews, Anna Buckley, Nina Luiggi and Laura Cooper
Mens report to follow.
See results here: Ladies Win Div 3 at Ilkley and Men Win Div 4 at Cromer