18U Girls County Cup Report
Venue: Nottingham Tennis Centre
Division 2a: 1-3 March 2024
Teams: H&W, Middlesex, Avon, Lancashire
Captain: Tony Ravenscroft
Assistant Captain: Katy Lewin
H&W Team: Josie, Oliwia, Macy, Marina, Holly, Beth, Maddie and Caoimhe.
We travelled to Nottingham on Thursday afternoon for a practice session before the event.
The girls knew this was going to be a strong event, after being promoted 3 yrs in a row from Div 5 to Div 2.
The first day was against Lancashire.
We had lots of mini battles and some close sets. Holly lost out in 3 sets lasting 2hrs and 40 minutes. Macy got through her match with aggressive tennis to take the only win of the day in straight sets.
We lost 1-8.
Lancashire were strong and it was tough to get the wins. There were some areas we could improve, so we stayed late for a short training session in anticipation for the ties against Middlesex & Avon.
We had Middlesex on day two. Although they are ranked way ahead us, the girls performed well and with intensity. Lots of close battles within the games. It was a great effort with Macy losing out in 3 sets to their number 3, Oliwia & Macy losing in a tie break to their number 1 pair and Beth & Holly having two close sets.
Josie, Oliwia, Beth, Maddie & Caoimhe in the other singles and Marina & Maddie in the other doubles worked hard to compete well against strong opponents but the level from the Middlesex team was high and difficult for us to gain any wins.
0-9 was the score in rubbers but lots learnt and improved on from the first day.
We had some down time on Saturday evening, we went bowling and to Nando’s for dinner. Marina surprised us getting the highest score in bowling after saying she’s never bowled without this sides up(hustler).
The girls were fast to sleep after two busy days and ready for action on Sunday morning.
The final tie against Avon was to decide who would stay in Div 2 and who would move to Div 3.
We had a great start in the singles with Holly & Beth both putting in good performances to secure two singles rubbers against their number 5 & 6 respectively.
Marina lost out at number 4.
Macy dropped the first set after some great battles. This didn’t faze Macy who loves a fight, and fight she did, with relentless attacking and grinding her opponent down to win the following two sets. It was survival of the fittest, both physically & mentally, and Macy showed what a great competitor she is to get the win.
3-3 after the singles with 3 doubles to play.
Holly & Beth took control early against their no.3 pair with consistent groundstrokes and attacking volleys when they had chances. They won the first set 6-3. Their opponents changed their tactics, but Holly & Beth kept the momentum going with a 6-2 set to put us 4-3 up in rubbers.
Oliwia & Marina lost the first set 3-6 against their no.2 pair playing some great tennis. In the 2nd set the girls competed at a high level maintaining the groundstroke tempo and then taking control of the net to win the 2nd set 7-6. The match tie break was close but didn’t go our way making it 4-4 in rubbers.
Josie & Macy went 2-5 down against the no.1 pair, fought back and lost out in a 1st set tie break. The level of the groundstroke battles was really high, and it came down to who could maintain this quality from the baseline and who could take the volley to change the rhythm and control the point. It was so close, with the Avon pair edging it with a 7-5 2nd set giving Avon the 5-4 victory.
The girls were gutted, they worked so hard, and they were so close to gaining the victory on the final day.
The effort and support from the whole team was amazing and to make it this close on the final day against higher ranked players just shows how well they did.
This was the last year for Josie, Beth, Holly & Caoimhe. They will be missed. We have a good bunch of younger players coming through and we will be fighting for promotion once again next year.
The level of this event is the highest we have faced and a great challenge for the team.
The girls did themselves and the county proud. They are a great group and it’s been a pleasure once again for myself and Katy to captain this team.
Thanks to all the team for all their efforts over the three days. It's been fun.
Tony Ravenscroft
18U Girls County Captain