11U Boys County Cup Report

The boys were busy competing in the 11&U County Cup in Division 2C this weekend. The boys were grouped up with Derbyshire and Oxfordshire with the other counties in the other group being Channel Islands, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

The boys team led by Captain Matt Tully and Assistant Josh Price consisted of Andrew, Ben, Luca, Ruben and Zander.

After a good warm up the boys were excited to get started with 3 and 4 going first against Oxfordshire. Ben started at 4 in a bit of an epic match which went right down to the wire. After winning the 1st set 4-3 with some excellent tennis, Ben couldn’t quite convert in the second set losing 4-0 meaning a 3rd set would decide the outcome of the match. Both players went up and down in the tiebreak and it was really close. Ben had a chance at 10-9 up but his opponent won the next 3 points taking the match 12-10 in the 3rd. Andrew at 3 played some aggressive tennis, never backing down and trying to consistently take the ball at the top of the bounce, attacking the second serve and going after his serves. His opponent dug down deep and was able to stay consistent and defend well against his attacks getting the 4-3 4-2 win against Andrew. Zander battled well at number 2 against an attacking player who played with lots of power but lost 4-2 4-1. Ruben came out firing and got H&W’s first win to keep hopes alive in the doubles winning 4-0 4-1 at number 1 singles.

The manor park duo of Luca and Andrew teamed up for doubles and Zander and Ruben teamed up at number 1. Luca was struggling with an injury to his shoulder so had to adapt when playing to using a slice on his backhand and adapting his ball toss on his serve. Luca and Andrew played brilliantly, they worked really well as a pair and volleyed really well at the net converting lots of clinical volleys getting the 4-3 4-2 win. Zander and Archer started really well in their doubles winning the first set 4-1 serving and returning well but their opponents found a way back in winning a tight second set 4-3 and then an extremely close championship tiebreak 10-8 to finish off the tie.

Result: 4-2 Loss vs Oxfordshire

Next up the next day was Derbyshire who had beaten Oxfordshire yesterday. This time H&W got off to an excellent start with Luca picking up a 4-1 4-0 win before Andrew took to court and picked up a 4-2 4-2 win. Zander really battled away against a strong number 2 but only just lost out after nearly finishing the match in straight sets but his opponent fought back and produced a strong 3rd set winning 10-2. Ruben faced a tough first set 4-0 but came back in the second nearly converting but falling short in the tiebreak losing 4-0 4-3.

H&W knew that a 4-2 win would probably top the group but anything else would mean that they would finish in 3rd in their group so both doubles points were needed. Andrew teamed up with Ruben whilst Zander and Luca teamed up. Andrew and Ruben had a really tight match but lost out in another 2 tiebreaks 4-3 4-3. Zander and Luca fell short 4-2 4-2. It was always in the balance and the day was very back and forth and all players did themselves proud but couldn’t convert on those big points and tiebreaks to get the wins.

Result: 4-2 Loss vs Derbyshire

Unfortunately the Channel Islands had to go home early as they had a plane to catch and so we couldn’t play that match against them. Therefore it was a 5th place finish for the boys.

Boys 11&U County Cup Standings
1. Derbyshire
2. Shropshire
3. Oxfordshire
4. Staffordshire
5. Herefordshire & Worcestershire
6. Channel Islands

Take homes for the team:
1. Great effort and team spirit for the weekend.
2. Can we take our opportunities more on big point, tiebreaks and close games. We only won 1 out of 11 tiebreaks over the weekend.
3. Can we ensure we have the right positioning in doubles and we are positive at the net.

Thank you to all the players and parents who came along to Stourbridge this weekend, it was a really enjoyable weekend and the boys all did a great job and were a credit to the county.

Captain: Matt Tully
Assistant: Josh Price