East Region Inter County Experience for the 8U Berkshire Teams
On Sunday 22nd June 2025, the boys and girls Berkshire teams descended upon Cambridge to take part in the East Region Inter County event. Captain Nigel Mann decribes how the event went for both teams below:
"The 8U Boys had an early start or an overnight stay to be at the Cambridge Tennis Centre for 8.45am (on a Sunday!).
A tough first match v a good Suffolk team which ended up with a 4-2 defeat. This put a little bit of pressure on the team to win their remaining matches including the favourites Hertfordshire. Great performance against Herts to win 4-2. They then recorded wins against Norfolk and Northamptonshire 4-2 and 6-0 respectively to qualify for the semi finals against Cambridgeshire, but they proved too strong leaving us with a 3rd place play off against local rivals Oxfordshire. The boys produced an excellent team performance winning 4-2 and securing a Bronze medal.
The Girls arrived for a 1pm start and looked sharp and in great spirit.
Three out of six player have never played any type of Inter County event. They listened to the Coaching advice excellently, and as a result played the matches tactically brilliantly resulting in winning 4/5 group matches and qualifying for the Semi Finals against and a chance of a medal. The semi Final against Hertfordshire was a close match which we lost 2-4. But the Girls quickly picked themselves up from the disappointment of the loss and had the chance of a Bronze medal if they could beat home county Cambridge. At 2-3 down with our No1 Annabelle at 9-9, she played an incredible point to win the match and give us a draw! It was now down to ‘countback’ on points, and with the Girls beating Cambridge 50 points to 48 this meant that by the narrowest of margins they won a very well deserved Bronze Medal!
With the Boys and Girls both finishing 3rd, Berkshire finished Runners Up in the overall competition. A brilliant performance against some of the top counties in the country."
Well done everyone! A huge thank you to the parents of players who ensured that they not only got to the event, but for their support and encouragement of each team member. Thank you also to Nigel and Lewis for leading the teams on the day as captains!