Injury-hit Warwickshire women’s side struggled in blistering sun as they lost to hot favourites Surrey 5-2 on the final day of the Aegon Inter-County Tennis Championships, Group 1 at Eastbourne. Ultimately though, their heroic victories earlier in the week over Kent and Norfolk paid dividends and Hertfordshire’s win over Kent ensured that the Midlanders avoided relegation. The top Warwickshire pairing of Emily Smith and Manisha Foster again battled valiantly, clinching a gritty straight sets win over the Surrey second pair but could make little impression on the powerful Surrey firsts, junior international Emily Appleton and Katie Morris.
Doubles specialist Soumeya Anane exacerbated a knee strain and looked down and out when she and fellow-Coventrian Natasha Hillyer were pegged back to set-all by the Surrey third pair in the crucial rubber that would make Warwickshire certain of staying up. They reasserted themselves in the deciding set, however and went for their shots brilliantly to clinch it 6-4, to the delight of captain Katie Shaw and Warwickshire’s highly vocal band of supporters.
Edgbaston Priory rackets manager Leyla Ogan produced some fine touch-play, partnering the big-hitting Lilly Mould, 16, the British Junior champion but the sheer experience and consistency of the well-balanced second and third Surrey pairs proved too much for them. With Surrey leading 4-2 after the first two rounds, Alannah Griffin replaced Ogan for their match with the Surrey firsts who duly inflicted a straight sets defeat to take the County Championship and the remaining rubbers were abandoned. Mould, making her County Week debut, improved throughout the week however and learned first-hand the level of guile and concentration required to succeed in the elite group.
“I’m so proud of how all the girls played this week,” smiled former England international Shaw, who although a month off her 50th birthday, turned out on Day 1 when two players were struggling with injuries. “We had a real mixture of youth and experience, including two 16-year-olds, Lilly Mould and Tamara Malazonia, plus our wonderfully supportive reserve Holly Reid and our stalwarts Leyla, Emily, Soumeya, Natasha and Alannah who all gave it 100% and fought back time and again to beat higher-ranked opposition. They also backed one another up and encouraged each other in tight matches, which I think often made the difference between winning and losing. It’s a long old week but I’m pleased and relieved we managed to stay up – and with a bit of luck and this kind of team spirit, we might well be in the hunt for the title next year.”
Sadly Warwickshire Men in Group 5 at Cambridge failed to clinch the win over Nottinghamshire they needed for the long-awaited promotion to Group 4. Their top pairing Mason Recci and Oliver Nolan won their opening match against the Notts thirds but the next five rubbers all went Nottinghamshire’s way, most of them agonisingly close three-setters. After Notts took a winning 5-1 lead to clinch promotion along with unbeaten Dorset, the final rubbers were abandoned, so Rooney’s young side, must wait until next year to try to climb back up the divisions. Despite the disappointment, captain Nathan Rooney praised the commitment shown by his young side which included two 17-year-old debutants Dan Bird and Alex Griffiths from Birmingham, who were called into the team at the last minute after several established players were ruled out by injury
“It was really tough today,” Rooney admitted, “particularly to have got so close to promotion but just not managing to cross the line and get the job done. Notts was a good, strong team with slightly more depth than we had and virtually every match was a tight one. Our youngsters certainly learned a lot during what is a long, gruelling, though enjoyable, week.”
Day 5 Results: Eastbourne AEGON INTER-COUNTY CUP, Group 1 Women’s Championship. Warwickshire lost 2-5 to Surrey (Warwickshire names first.)
Warks 1st pair: Manisha Foster/ Emily Smith lost to Surrey 1st pair Emily Appleton/ Katie Morrison 3-6 1-6
Beat Surrey 2nd pair Laura Slater/Camilla Verden-Anderson 6-2 6-4
Warks 2nd pair Lilly Mould/ Alannah Griffin lost to Surrey 1st pair 2-6 0-6
Lilly Mould/ Leyla Ogan Lost to Surrey 2nd pair 4-6 6-7
Mould/Ogan Lost to Surrey 3rd pair Jodie Lawrence-Taylor/ Alessandra Ruggiero 4-6 4-6
Warks 3rd pair Soumeya Anane / Tamara Malazonia lost to Surrey 1st pair 4-6 2-6
Soumeya Anane/ Natasha Hillyer beat Surrey 2nd pair 6-4 2-6 6-4
Remaining rubbers abandoned
Surrey are Group 1 Inter-County champions.
Runners-up: Essex
Warwickshire Women finished 4th.
Norfolk and Kent are relegated to Group 2.
Week’s results:
Warwickshire women lost to Essex 4-5,
Beat Kent 6-3
Beat Norfolk 6-3
Lost to Hertfordshire 2-7
Lost to Surrey 2-5
Group 5 Men’s Championship at Cambridge
Warwickshire lost 1-5 to Nottinghamshire
Warwickshire names first.
Warks 1st pair: Mason Recci/ Oliver Nolan lost to Nottinghamshire 1st pair Ben McTaggart/ Cameron West 6-4 4-6 4-6
Beat Nottinghamshire 3rd pair Patrick Foley/ Eban Straker-Meads 6-4 6-1
Warks 2nd pair Nathan Rooney/ Luke Hammond lost to Nottinghamshire 1st pair 7-5 4-6 2-6
Lost to Nottinghamshire 2nd pair Jamie Praditngam/ Marcus Walters 2-6 7-6 1-6
Warks 3rd pair Cameron Malik/ Alex Griffiths Lost to Nottinghamshire 2nd pair 0-6 6-4 4-6
Lost to Nottinghamshire 3rd pair 2-6 5-7
(Remaining rubbers abandoned.)
Dorset and Nottinghamshire are promoted to Group 4.
Warwickshire Men finished 3rd.
Week’s results:
Warwickshire beat Oxfordshire 8-1
Lost to Dorset 4-5
Beat Staffordshire, 8-1
Beat Hereford and Worcestershire, 5-4
Lost to Nottinghamshire, 1-5
Warwickshire sides progress at Inter-County Week (Coventry coverage)
The longstanding Coventry pairing of Soumeya Anane from Earlsdon and Natasha Hillyer (Binley) clinched the crucial rubber against Surrey that ensured Warwickshire women avoided relegation from the elite Group 1 of the Aegon Inter-County Tennis Championships at Eastbourne. With Surrey virtually assured of the title and already leading 4-1, Warwickshire needed just one more rubber to send Kent down to Group 2 along with struggling Norfolk. Doubles specialist Anane exacerbated a knee strain and looked down and out when she and Hillyer were pegged back to set-all by the Surrey third pair. They reasserted themselves in the deciding set, however and went for their shots brilliantly to clinch it 6-4, to the delight of captain Katie Shaw and Warwickshire’s highly vocal band of supporters.
The injury-hit Warwickshire side had struggled in blistering sun as they lost to hot favourites Surrey 5-2 on the final day of the Championships. Ultimately though, their heroic victories earlier in the week over Kent and Norfolk paid dividends and Hertfordshire’s win over Kent provided extra insurance that the Midlanders would stay up. The top Warwickshire pairing of Emily Smith and Manisha Foster again battled valiantly, clinching a gritty straight sets win over the Surrey second pair but could make little impression on the powerful Surrey firsts, junior international Emily Appleton and Katie Morris.
Edgbaston Priory rackets manager Leyla Ogan produced some fine touch-play, partnering the big-hitting Lilly Mould, 16, the British Junior champion but the sheer experience and consistency of the well-balanced second and third Surrey pairs proved too much for them. With Surrey leading 4-2 after the first two rounds, Alannah Griffin replaced Ogan for their match with the Surrey firsts who duly inflicted a straight sets defeat to take the County Championship and the remaining rubbers were abandoned. Mould, making her County Week debut, improved throughout the week however and learned first-hand the level of guile and concentration required to succeed in the elite group.
“I’m so proud of how all the girls played this week,” smiled former England international Shaw, who although a month off her 50th birthday, turned out on Day 1 when two players were struggling with injuries. “We had a real mixture of youth and experience, including two 16-year-olds, Lilly Mould and Tamara Malazonia, plus our wonderfully supportive reserve Holly Reid and our stalwarts Leyla, Emily, Soumeya, Natasha and Alannah who all gave it 100% and fought back time and again to beat higher-ranked opposition. They also backed one another up and encouraged each other in tight matches, which I think often made the difference between winning and losing. It’s a long old week but I’m pleased and relieved we managed to stay up – and with a bit of luck and this kind of team spirit, we might well be in the hunt for the title next year.”
Sadly Warwickshire Men in Group 5 at Cambridge failed to clinch the win over Nottinghamshire they needed for the long-awaited promotion to Group 4. Their top pairing Mason Recci and Oliver Nolan won their opening match against the Notts thirds but the next five rubbers all went Nottinghamshire’s way, most of them agonisingly close three-setters. After Notts took a winning 5-1 lead to clinch promotion along with unbeaten Dorset, the final rubbers were abandoned, so Rooney’s young side, must wait until next year to try to climb back up the divisions. Despite the disappointment, captain Nathan Rooney praised the commitment shown by his young side which included two 17-year-old debutants Dan Bird and Alex Griffiths from Birmingham, who were called into the team at the last minute after several established players were ruled out by injury.
“It was really tough today,” Rooney admitted, “particularly to have got so close to promotion but just not managing to cross the line and get the job done. Notts was a good, strong team with slightly more depth than we had and virtually every match was a tight one. Our youngsters certainly learned a lot during what is a long, gruelling, though enjoyable, week.”
Day 5 Results: Eastbourne AEGON INTER-COUNTY CUP, Group 1 Women’s Championship. Warwickshire lost 2-5 to Surrey (Warwickshire names first.)
Warks 1st pair: Manisha Foster/ Emily Smith lost to Surrey 1st pair Emily Appleton/ Katie Morrison 3-6 1-6
Beat Surrey 2nd pair Laura Slater/Camilla Verden-Anderson 6-2 6-4
Warks 2nd pair Lilly Mould/ Alannah Griffin lost to Surrey 1st pair 2-6 0-6
Lilly Mould/ Leyla Ogan Lost to Surrey 2nd pair 4-6 6-7
Mould/Ogan Lost to Surrey 3rd pair Jodie Lawrence-Taylor/ Alessandra Ruggiero 4-6 4-6
Warks 3rd pair Soumeya Anane / Tamara Malazonia lost to Surrey 1st pair 4-6 2-6
Soumeya Anane/ Natasha Hillyer beat Surrey 2nd pair 6-4 2-6 6-4
Remaining rubbers abandoned
Surrey are Group 1 Inter-County champions.
Runners-up: Essex
Warwickshire Women finished 4th.
Norfolk and Kent are relegated to Group 2.
Week’s results:
Warwickshire women lost to Essex 4-5,
Beat Kent 6-3
Beat Norfolk 6-3
Lost to Hertfordshire 2-7
Lost to Surrey 2-5
Group 5 Men’s Championship at Cambridge
Warwickshire lost 1-5 to Nottinghamshire
Warwickshire names first.
Warks 1st pair: Mason Recci/ Oliver Nolan lost to Nottinghamshire 1st pair Ben McTaggart/ Cameron West 6-4 4-6 4-6
Beat Nottinghamshire 3rd pair Patrick Foley/ Eban Straker-Meads 6-4 6-1
Warks 2nd pair Nathan Rooney/ Luke Hammond lost to Nottinghamshire 1st pair 7-5 4-6 2-6
Lost to Nottinghamshire 2nd pair Jamie Praditngam/ Marcus Walters 2-6 7-6 1-6
Warks 3rd pair Cameron Malik/ Alex Griffiths Lost to Nottinghamshire 2nd pair 0-6 6-4 4-6
Lost to Nottinghamshire 3rd pair 2-6 5-7
(Remaining rubbers abandoned.)
Dorset and Nottinghamshire are promoted to Group 4.
Warwickshire Men finished 3rd.
Week’s results:
Warwickshire beat Oxfordshire 8-1
Lost to Dorset 4-5
Beat Staffordshire, 8-1
Beat Hereford and Worcestershire, 5-4
Lost to Nottinghamshire, 1-5