January 22, 2024

14U Report from the 12 Counties Championships

14U Girls Captain’s Report

Team:
Kiah, Grace, Leila and Mia

H&W v Bucks:

The event started with our toughest tie of the day against the highest ranked team.

The level was high and the girls worked hard to compete well against higher ranked players. Kiah, Grace & Mia lost out in straight sets.

Leila lost her first set 1-4. There was a change of tactics needed, which Leila executed really well, making her opponent play from less comfortable positions at the back of the court. This helped Leila win the second set 4-1 and finish the match with a 10-5 tie break win.

Result: H&W 1-3 loss

H&W v Notts:

Kiah was up first against a strong number 1, ranked 18 in the GB. Kiah played some amazing tennis, using her athleticism to defend well. After a close set which Kiah lost 3-5 she came out with a positive mindset in the 2nd, fighting for every point and lost the 2nd set 4-5.

Mia had a battle in the 1st set with exchanges of power and Mia came out on top with less unforced errors and more winners with a 5-4 set to the good. Mia had to dig deep in the 2nd set and showed confidence in her attacking play to finish the match winning the 2nd 4-2.

Grace also had a close battle and stayed strong in the tie break to win 4-2, 5-4.

Leila had a comfortable 4-1, 4-0 win giving us the 3-1 victory.

Result: H&W 3-1 win

H&W v Beds:

Kiah secured the 1st rubber with a 4-0, 4-1 win, controlling the match with power.

Grace got off to a good start winning the 1st set 4-2. Her opponent came back and won the 2nd set 4-0. Grace showed great character in the match tie break and her mental toughness helped her pull through with a 10-6 win.

Leila and Mia wrapped up proceeding with straight sets wins to finish the tie 4-0 in rubbers.

Result: H&W 4-0 win

Final results: H&W 2nd

The girls worked really well as a team showing support for each other on and off the court. They did the county proud!

It was a pleasure helping the girls throughout the day.

Tony Ravenscroft
14U Girls County Captain

14U Boys Captain’s Report

The Herefordshire & Worcestershire 14U Boys and Girls County Team played teams representing Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Nottinghamshire at Corby Tennis Centre on Saturday 13th January 2024 as part of the 12 Counties Championships 2023/24 Division 2B.

Team:
Oliver S, Ayrton, Oliver A and Tom G

Arrival:

The team arrived at 9:30am in good time to have a good warm up, hit some balls and prepare for their matches. Thank you to their parents!

After a briefing by the referee the matches got underway at 10:30am.

Round 1 v Buckinghamshire:

Ollie S and Ayrton battled against tough opponents ranked inside the top 50. Both tried to attack, moving the ball around, finding spaces but both of the Buckinghamshire players had consistent defence and wouldn’t give up any errors. Both just needed to be able to sustain their attacking play with more consistency and for longer and they could have taken the wins but it was losing the big points which proved costly and the scorelines although the matches were much closer were 4-0 4-1 in both matches to Buckinghamshire. Next up it was Oliver A and Tom’s turn, they also gave it their all, raising their game and producing some excellent tennis. Tom in particular produced some of his best tennis, really manoeuvring his opponent around the court but again it was the big points where Buckinghamshire seemed to hang in there and were difficult to beat which meant both were beaten.

Score: H&W Lose 4-0

Round 2 v Nottinghamshire

Ollie had an extremely close match against his opponent. Ollie came back numerous times in the first set after being behind and forced the scoreline back to 3-3 before his opponent hit some big winners to win the first set 5-3. Ollie though with a never give up attitude, upped his level in the second set and won 4-2 forcing a tiebreak. Both players played well and Ollie just lost out 10-7. Ayrton played a consistent player who made lots of balls and his errors were costly in this match. Oliver Arch had an extremely close battle losing the first 4-2 before winning the second 4-2. In the champs tiebreak it was back and forth but he missed out losing 10-5. Tom played some great tennis using his big forehand to his advantage concentrating on trying to open up the court with big cross court shots. He won his first set 4-2 and finished the match winning the second set 4-1 claiming H&W’s first win.

Score: H&W Lose 3-1

Round 3 v Bedfordshire

Ollie S beats Seth 4-2 4-1 dominating the point, taking the ball early and not letting his opponent get into long rallies. Ayrton comes back from behind against Sebastian after losing the first set 2-4 he wins the second 4-0 and wins the tiebreak 10-5. This time he played with more consistency, using his attacking play to his advantage without giving away too many errors. Oliver A had a tricky opponent who got a lot of balls back and was a tough mental battle for Ollie who had to remain calm. He lost the first set 4-2 but won the second 4-2 before falling in a tiebreak 10-6 after some really close points. Tom completed the win coming from behind after losing the first set 4-1, winning the second 4-1 and with everyone watching at the end finishing off the must win match 10-3.

Score: H&W Wins 3-1

In short: