Team : Daniel Blackburn, Jack Mc Lachlan, Luke Ince, Gabriel Johnson, Anna Buckley, Moira Johnson, Millie France, Jasmine Ramsden.
This was the fifth and last meeting of this season’s competition. Overall, Essex were top with 30 points with Notts and Bedfordshire joint on 17 points and Hereford and Worcestershire on 15 points.
Our first round was against Hereford and Worcs, Daniel played well against a higher ranked player, playing some great tennis, but went down in straight sets. Jack had a good win, as did Luke in two sets. Gabriel was playing full sets in his two matches as Essex had only three boys in the team, he won the first 6-1, lost the second 6-7, but won the tie-break 12-4, in a well fought match.
Anna lost her first set 0-4, won the second 4-0, and then went on to win the tie-break 10-6. Moira had an easy win in straight sets. Millie lost the first set, came back to win the second, but lost in the tie-break 3-10. Jasmine had a tough match losing in straight sets. This gave us an overall win of 5-3.
The second round was against Bedfordshire. Our boys all played solid matches to win all four in straight sets, a great start. Anna had a close match which she lost 3-5, 4-5, Moira played solid tennis to win 4-1, 4-0, Millie also had a close match, she fought to the end, but lost 3-5, 4-5. Jasmine played very well to win 5-4, 4-0. Notts final score in this round was 6-2.
In the final round against Essex, Daniel had a w/o as his opponent had with been injured in a previous match, Jack and Luke both lost in straight sets to stronger players. Gabriel also had a w/o, giving the boys a 2-2 result. Anna played well to win in two sets, Moira had her toughest match, she lost in the match tie-break 8-10. Millie and Jasmine both lost to stronger girls. Our overall score being 3-5.
The Notts team all played well with great team spirit, my thanks to the parents for their support.
Jane Stokes (Captain)
A further note from the Tournament Organiser, Criag Howarth:-
This weekend was the culmination of the Hildon 12 Counties Champs, with 480 players taking part in 720 matches throughout the winter, and is down to you the County organisers for making the effort to give those children a terrific opportunity to play in a top quality team environment. As we witnessed up in Glasgow, the team environment is something our players clearly relish, so thank you for putting in the many hours required to secure your teams, and to the County Associations for helping to fund the entry. Hildon kindly provided all the players with a bottle of Hildon Water, and prizes for the winners, so a big thank you goes to them for their continued sponsorship. I must also thank Bridget Naidu for stepping in to referee for me on Finals Day, allowing me to go to Glasgow to watch the Davis Cup tie, and for doing such a good job, as always.
In Division 2B Essex dominated from day 1, and secured a quick return to the top flight by winning 7 of the 10 age groups. Notts pipped Hereford & Worcs into 2nd place although they were equal on points won. Courtesy of winning 2 age groups to H&W none, they took second position, with Bedfordshire coming 4th.