U12 Girls County Cup – Sutton Tennis and Squash Club
Dorset’s qualifying division had 6 counties which were split in to two boxes of 3 and we faced Kent and Gloucestershire in ours. On the Saturday we faced Kent who had a strong team and were seeded two overall so we knew we’d be in for a tough battle.
Due to an injury to Iraja Nigam, the Dorset team consisted of Daniella Britton, Grace Watson, Freya Matthew, Sophie Morris and Sayuri Chigwa. With the number 3’s and 4’s starting the match off, it was Sophie who put in an excellent performance beating the Kent number 4 to put Dorset 1-0 up. Meanwhile on the adjacent court, Freya put in a brave performance against a player in the year above and after coming so close to pulling off an upset, fell short in the match tie-break to leave the match at 1-1. Next up for Dorset was Grace and Daniella. Strong starts from both of the Dorset players put them a set up and the upset looked like it was well and truly on however the Kent number 2 came back stronger and clawed her way back into the match v Grace and we were in another match tie break. Again, the strength of Kent prevailed and whilst Daniella had come through as the winner in the number 1 battle, Grace couldn’t quite get past the finish line.
2-2 and into doubles. Kent knew they had a match on their hands and stacked their order trying to take both matches. However, again it was Dorset who drove closer to victory. While Daniella and Grace dispatched their opponents in clinical fashion, Freya and Sophie were a set and 3-0 up, just one game away from clinching the tie. A smart Captain’s decision from the Kent bench though meant a change in tactics and suddenly, they had some hope. The Dorset pair stuck to their guns and kept trying to do the exact right thing, but the match swung and suddenly they were in a match tie-break and running out of steam. A great fightback from Kent was completed and the match was tied at 3-3 and a shoot out was needed.
Daniella and Freya were the pair that Dorset went with and whilst Kent’s pair also looked strong, they also stuck with the defensive tactic that had seen them through their previous match. Dorset had to be brave as they continued to stick to their game plan and it was a super performance from the girls to get through and win the tiebreak and the overall tie with a 10-7 scoreline. Some superb courage from both Daniella and Freya at the net showing some excellent volleys and Dorset were primed to go through to the final.
On the Sunday, Dorset faced Gloucestershire who had been beaten comfortably by Kent on the previous day and in all fairness they suffered the same fate. The Dorset team remained the same for singles and it was a dominant display from all 4 of the girls, losing only 4 games in total in the singles to put us 4-0 up. Sayuri came in to make her debut for the girls and played some superb doubles, matching what we had seen on the previous day and got her first win of the trip and with both doubles going in Dorset’s favour, it was a 6-0 whitewash, and we went through to the final to face Surrey.
While Kent had a very strong team, Surrey’s pool of players was even tougher. With their number 6 nominated player ranked at 50 in the country, it just showed the strength and depth they had. We knew we were the underdogs, however, we also knew that there were some chances there.
Dorset stuck with the same singles line up and it was almost a perfect start when both Sophie and Freya led 3-0 and 3-1 in their first sets respectively. Playing against girls a year older and much bigger and stronger, they were doing everything right and fighting with consistency and chasing every ball down. Just as the hope of going a set up in both matches was climbing, the Surrey players tightened up their games and started fighting even harder and before long had both turned the set around and were leading. A brave fight in the second set from both of the Dorset girls, but unfortunately, Surrey were too strong.
Next up was Grace and Daniella, again in matches against girls who are in the top 5 of their country for their age groups and while both were potentially winnable, it was going to need some great performances. Again the Dorset girls competed neck and neck and while the levels dipped from both sides of the court, Surrey were there for the taking. However, the experience prevailed and while Grace fell in a tiebreak in the second set, Daniella was in a 3rd set match tie break and played some of her best tennis of the weekend but was matched by her opponent who after saving 2 match points, rose up for Surrey and got the win and sealing the division for the home club.
Overall a superb weekend and I would predict only losing against the team who may well win the whole event at the National Finals next weekend so was a shame to come up against them. The girls had a fantastic time as a team and managed to have some fun dinners and even a game of mini golf to really maximise the weekend.
Richard Irwin
Captain
U12 Boys County Cup – Southdown LTC, Lewes
The Under 12 boys team travelled to Lewes in Sussex with Captains Rob Booth and Brett Townsend to compete in group E which consisted of five teams – Dorset, Hants & IoW, Sussex, Kent and South Wales.
Representing Dorset were
- Zayn Bellazrak
- Noah Rogers
- Ruen Comins
- Barnaby Gant
- Nathan Green
Competing against such big counties was always going to be a challenge which the team were very much up for.
Day 1 saw the team up against Hants & IoW and Kent. Zayn won a superb singles at number 1 against Hants & IoW and Noah, at number 2 had a convincing 4-1, 4-2 win in his match v Kent. A tough day of tennis for the boys losing overall to both teams.
The team were up against Sussex on Day 2. Noah secured another great win in the number 2 singles and Barnaby and Ruen dug deep to win 12-10 in a nail-biting match tie break in the number 2 doubles.
The last match of the weekend was against South Wales. Zayn and Noah, the number 1 doubles pairing, put in a superb performance securing a win in a closely fought tie-break.
Although the weekend did prove to be a challenge for the team, it was a great learning experience playing against some very highly ranked opposition. They showed great determination and team spirit offering each other support, a fantastic weekend was enjoyed by all.
Big thanks to Brett for his excellent captaincy and to the parents for their support.
Rob Booth
Captain
