14U Boys County Cup Report

The boys were busy competing in the 14U County Cup in Division 1A this weekend. H&W’s 14U rankings meant that the boys qualified into division 1 and were grouped up with Buckinghamshire and Cheshire with the other counties in the other group being Leicestershire, Yorkshire and Warwickshire.

The boys team led by Captain Matt Tully and Assistant Andrew Griffiths consisted of Harry, Ollie A, Ayrton, Ollie and Tom.

After a good warm up the boys were excited to get started with 3 and 4 going first against Cheshire. Ayrton at 3 played some aggressive and confident tennis, moving his opponent around the clay courts using great angles and maximizing use of his forehand to gain advantage in this match winning 4-1 4-0. Ollie Arch battled away at 4 singles and hit some excellent winners with some aggressive tennis but decision making sometimes let Ollie down going for the wrong shot and the wrong moment causing a 4-2 4-2 loss. Next up was Harry at 1 and Ollie S at 2. After winning the first set in a tiebreak using his forehand to move his tricky lefty opponent around the court, his opponent came out strong in the second set winning 4-0 which meant Harry would have to come through a championship tiebreak to win this one. He upped his game, pumped himself up with the support of his teammates and parents watching and got the 10-7 win. Ollie Stevens produced a confident display at 2 proving too consistent for his opponent winning 4-2 4-2.

So, 3-1 up after the singles the boys needed 1 of the doubles to win the tie. Harry and Ayrton teamed up at 1 and got the first set 4-2. Tom and Ollie S battled away but lost their first set 4-1 so things were very close and tense. Tom and Ollie managed to pull things back in the second set with some really good tennis to win the second 4-0. Ayrton and Harry locked in a close battle lost the second 4-3 losing the second set 9-7 in a tiebreak. So, both pairs had to really focus and knuckle down. Both matches went back and forth. Harry and Ayrton thankfully pulled through and got the win 10-7 to get H&W over the line whilst Tom and Ollie had a really close finish just losing 11-9.

Result: 4-2 Win vs Cheshire

Next up was a strong Buckinghamshire with many players ranked inside the top 50 in the country. This time all 4 singles matches were on at the same time. Ayrton and Ollie Arch again featured at 3 & 4 singles. Ollie played a consistent opponent and couldn’t quite find his best level losing 4-1 4-1 despite some very close games. Ayrton battled away and managed to gain set point in a first set tiebreak but couldn’t quite convert losing the set 4-3 before losing the second set 4-0. Ollie Stevens battled at 2 singles but again the opponent seemed too strong and it was a 4-0 4-2 loss. Harry was in an epic match, the match featured 3 tiebreaks. Harry lost the first set 4-3, won the second 4-3 and then all eyes were on his match for the third set. Wow the boys produced some stunning tennis, and both boys showed great examples of determination, courage at big moments, exemplary movement and ball striking. The tiebreak went back and forth but Harry couldn’t quite get the win losing 11-9.

The doubles were a good opportunity to have a good go at practicing being more clinical at the net. Ollie Arch and Harry teamed up at 1 doubles but couldn’t quite find it against a strong Buckinghamshire pairing and lost 4-0 4-2. Tom and Ollie Stevens had another really close battle losing 4-1 3-4 10-7. Not the result we wanted but Buckinghamshire did go on to win the whole thing and if some results went the right way it could have ended up being a close match up.

Result: 6-0 Loss vs Buckinghamshire

Finishing second in the group meant we played second from the other box which was Warwickshire on the Sunday. The weather wasn’t good in the morning so the referee notified us of a delay. The team took part in some good team bonding by going to the arcade in the morning enjoying lots of different arcade games together. Many of the players regular compete/train with the opposition so this match presented different challenges. Ollie was involved in an epic. Ollie displayed great focus, determination and really brought his level in this match winning 1-4 4-3 10-8, a great comeback and display from Ollie. Ayrton was also involved in a close match up, many of the games went to sudden death deuce but his opponent always seemed to come up with great shot making on break points. He lost the first 4-2 but hung in there this time in the second set just losing out on tight games again losing 4-1. Harry’s opponent came out firing and Harry struggled to find his feet in this one losing. Ollie S came up with some great tennis racing to a 3-0 lead but couldn’t quite maintain that level and his opponent came back winning 4-3 4-0.

Therefore, it was 3-1 after the singles and it was going to be a tough ask to come back with the strong Warwickshire pairings. Warwickshire played their 1 and 5 at 2 doubles meaning Ollie and Tom at 2 had a really tough match up and the pair couldn’t quite get this one losing 4-0 4-1. Harry and Ayrton again reunited but fell slightly short losing 4-2 4-3.

Result: 5-1 Loss vs Warwickshire

Boys 14&U County Cup Standings

1. Buckinghamshire
2. Yorkshire
3. Warwickshire
4. Herefordshire & Worcestershire
5. Leicestershire
6. Cheshire

Take Homes for the team:

1. Great effort and definitely overachieved when looking at rankings and WTN compared to other counties so great performance.
2. Can we take our opportunities more on big point, tiebreaks and close games.
3. Can we more resilient when losing close sets to come back stronger next set, maintaining positive body language.

Thank for to all the players and parents who came along to Leicestershire 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