Notts were in a group of five Counties, playing Warwickshire and Northamptonshire on Saturday, and Leicestershire and Lincolnshire on Sunday.
In the first round against Warks, a strong team, Holly put up a good fight, but lost 3-5, 2-4 to Savannah Yardley, who is one of the strongest at 10U in the country. Anna played well but struggled with the weight and consistency of her opponent, as did Millie. We really were up against a far more experienced team. Holly and Anna also lost the doubles.
In the next round against Northamptonshire, Holly again had a great match - she won the first set 5-3, lost the second 4-2, playing a very nervous tie-break went down 10-5. Anna had a better game comfortably winning 4-0,4-1. Millie had a walk over as Northants only had two girls in their team. This gave Notts a 2-1 lead, just needing a win in the doubles. Anna played with Millie , they won the first set, playing well, then lost the second set, and then went down in the tie-break, bringing us back to 2-2. A match tie-break shoot out was then played to decide the winner. As captain, I was allowed to change the team, so Holly played with Anna, they played very well giving Notts the 3-2 win.
The Referee called a Captains' meeting mid afternoon. As the weather forecast for Sunday was rain, we agreed to play another round that day as the event has to be completed.
The third round was against Lincolnshire, Holly played well dominating the game, winning 4-1, 4-0. Chloe played a very consistent, solid match winning 4-1, 4-0, Millie played some of her best tennis to date, but just could not sustain a win. Anna came back in to play the doubles with Holly, producing a solid win and an overall 3-1 match win.
The girls had played a lot of matches in one day, and we were back on Sunday at 9 am in pouring rain!
Knowing we only had Leicestershire to play and doubles cancelled, I only had three players Holly, Anna and also Amelia, who had not been available for the Saturday. We were second round on, the first matches were played in light drizzle, Warks won yet again, so taking them through to the National Finals. We had a rain delay, but our girls also went on court in the drizzle, to only play one set. All girls played well having easy wins, putting Notts overall in second place.
The weekend was played with great team spirit, Sunday had been cold and wet, the girls were great laughing their way through horrible conditions. My thanks go to the parents who gave up their Bank Holiday Weekend to support.
Jane Stokes