Nottinghamshire Ladies Over 40 County Tennis Report 2017
The Notts ladies team were in division 2B for the 2017 season, which meant a lot of
travel as the opposition included 2 Scottish teams and South Wales. The squad
included the usual solid stalwarts of Lisa Knowles, Jackie Thomson, Katherine Hales
and Caroline Milns with fantastic contributions from Gina Ofield, Sarah Usher and Jo
Higham.
The team made an excellent start in the first match at home at West Bridgford,
winning by 4 rubbers to 1 against the West of Scotland, who were in need of some
Glenfiddich after their thrashing, which unfortunately we were unable to provide.
Less than 2 weeks later the team made the long journey up to Edinburgh to play the
East of Scotland and came away with a 5-0 victory for the loss of only one set, which
made the long journey worthwhile. Despite the long distance from home, the Notts
team not only won the match but also had the biggest team of supporters.
The third match was more challenging as the team travelled to Draycott Sports Centre in
Staffordshire, where the sports centre and social facilities felt like a throw back to
the 1970s, with paisley patterned carpets in the bar and triangle sandwiches for the
post match tea. Despite the difficulties of the strange, fast indoor courts, the team
managed to win 4-1, in a match that was much closer than the score reflects.
The penultimate match against Bedfordshire, was at home and given previous match
results, we were expecting an easy ride; however, the match was much closer than
expected with Bedfordshire pulling some new players out of the woodwork.
Nevertheless, a good team performance ensured a 3-2 win, which meant
Nottinghamshire were in 1st place in the group with just one match to play.
The final match away in Cardiff against South Wales was the deciding match to
determine the group winners as both teams had won all their matches to date.
Unfortunately South Wales proved to be too strong (and the Captain was of no
assistance having to drop out at the last minute due to an aging body), having come
down from Division 1 the previous year due to injury and Notts came away with a 4-
1 loss.
Overall it was an excellent season with Nottinghamshire finishing in second place
and therefore a likely promotion to the giddy heights of division 1.
Thank you to theentire squad for fantastic commitment, camaraderie and performances and also for
the amazing supporters who came to watch both at home and away matches.
Aldona Greenwood (Captain).
