The courts were in incredible condition and we were welcomed to the club on the Sunday evening with a BBQ and drinks, all a great start!
Our team is pretty settled. We had Ben Dunbar flying back from the US specifically for this event again and Andy Higham re-joining the Men’s team along with the usual suspects.
Day 1 vs Hampshire & IOW
We started the week against one of the teams relegated from Division 3, so we knew that this could be a challenging day. However, Notts Men are renowned for their strong starts and after a couple of three set wins, we got a 3-0 lead to start us off. In our stride now, we went 6-0 up and was able to rotate the team a little using our subs. After the final round we got a strong 7-2 win to start the week. History was made in this round as Patrick Foley became the first Notts player to retire due to cramp on day ONE of County Week. He took the banter fairly well…
Day 2 vs Leicestershire
Next up was a local derby against the Foxes. We changed our line up to accommodate for the serious injury Patrick sustained the day before so Andy came in from the start. Yet again, we got the perfect start going 3-0 up after the first round. Ben and Dom West proving a formidable pair getting some quick wins on the board backed up by Eban and Marcus getting us to the vital 5 rubbers again allowed for rotation due to the tough temperatures. Ben Mactaggart and Patrick came in for the final round and helped the team to another 7-2 win.
Day 3 vs North Wales
We were back to our Day 1 line up and we were back in fine form. Jamie and Marcus had a topsy-turvy match but had too much class for their opponents in the end whilst Ben and Dom again looked strong and got a straight sets win. Patrick and Eban got a really important win against their strongest pair to give us a familiar 3-0 first round lead. That big win then helped us to get 3 quickfire wins to get us to 6-0. Phil Peters got his first run out of the week and by the end of play we were again 7-2 winners.
Day 4 vs Somerset
Today was an important day. On paper, this was always going to be the toughest match of the week and our history against Somerset hasn’t resulted in many wins so we were keen to put that right and secure promotion. It was unfamiliar ground after the first round of matches as we were only 2-1 up with Jamie and Marcus getting a vital win against Richard Gabb and James Marsalek. After round 2, the day was still live as we had battled to a 4-2 advantage. No rotation today, we had a job to do and so the team went back out needing a minimum of one win to get what we needed. Jamie and Marcus were in no mood to mess around and won 6/0 6/0 in less than 30 minutes! On the flip side, Dom and Ben got their best win of the week beating Felton/Manlow 6-3 in the third set leading the team to a 6-3 win and promotion guaranteed! We spent some quality time in the arcades in Cromer town and we accumulated a scary amount of tickets. All part of the week!
Day 5 vs Dorset
There were minimal celebrations the night before, we wanted the league title. We did rotate the team and give opportunities to those players that deserved more match time such as Ben M, Andy and Phil. We got the wins needed to secure the league title and came back to Nottingham to celebrate properly!
This year was without doubt my favourite County Week so far as captain. The winning helps of course but what also helps is the spirit within the team and the fact that everyone is willing to work hard for each other. You can see that it really matters, which is the most pleasing thing to see as captain. I would like to thank the players for all of their commitment and hard work throughout the week. To all the family members of various players that came to support the team and to Notts LTA for their continued support.
Callum Chivers
Notts Men’s Captain
Top Row: Marcus Walters, Phillip Peters, Callum Chivers©, Dominic West, Eban Straker-Meads, Patrick Foley.
Bottom Row: Jamie Praditgnam, Ben Dunbar, Ben Mactaggart, Andy Higham.