The Shropshire 18U boys team travelled to Norwich last weekend to compete in the Aegon 18U County Cup event, After gaining promotion last year, the level of play was always going to be tougher, and with a young squad of players the aim was to consolidate that promotion.
We played Norfolk on the first day, and lost 7-2, with two excellent three set wins from Matt Lee (No. 2) and Sam Chapman (No.5). Day two and we played Northants with a slightly stronger team with Ed Gibbs (No.6) joining the squad. Again, with wins from Sam Chapman in the singles and doubles (With Finn Adams), as well as a singles win from Ed Gibbs we lost to the eventual wins of the group 6-3.
This left us with needing a win against Cornwall on the third day to stay in Divison 5. The team got off to a great start too, with Ed Gibbs, Sam Chapman and Finn Adams (No.4) winning their singles matches giving us a 3-0 lead. With Matt Lee adding to that list, Shropshire were 4-2 up after the singles, and needing only one win from the remaining three doubles matches to seal the victory and stay in the Divison.
And we didn't have to wait long before Sam Chapman and Finn Adams narrowly won their doubles match 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to seal the victory and keep Shropshire in the group. Sam Taylor and Matt Lee also completed their doubles match with a victory to give Shropshire a 6-2 win.
Pete Brown's (Captain) quote: 'These events are always extremely tough weekends with some fantastic tennis on show. The boy's worked hard to gain promotion last year, so I am absolutely delighted that we were able to beat Cornwall to stay in this Divison next year. As always, it was a complete team effort with the players supporting each other throughout the weekend. Saying that, despite it being his first year playing in the 18U event, Sam Chapman won five out of his six matches which was a fantastic achievement for the 15 year old.'