Kim Schmider was Captain for the recent Ladies County Cup event that was held in Cambrideshire. Read her report here and the fantastic achievement of the young team.
Cheshire got off to a great start in singles against Cambridge on day 1 taking 4/5/6 singles- Maldini, Ella and myself. Ella Walker showed such grit and determination at number 5 singles by coming through a 166 minute match (the 2nd longest of the tournament) closing it out 6-4 in the final set. After losing the first set at number 2 singles and finding herself 4-1 down in the second, Rhona fought back to claim the final 2 sets in 177 minutes (the longest match of the weekend) to give Cheshire a 4-1 lead. Ellie Tsim closed it out for Cheshire at number 1 singles in another tight 3rd set. Ellie clinched it for the team with 3 doubles left to play. Amy Redman and Jemma Cave stepped in and stepped up for doubles. Cheshire won 2/3 doubles and lost 1 in a tight 3rd set match tie break. Although a little rusty on a few courts, we came through when needed and ended the day with an amazing 7-2 win.
Day 2 saw Cheshire face Derbyshire who lost to Buckinghamshire on day 1. Ella Walker missed day 2 as she had to leave to trial for the GB handball squad. Amy Redman stepped in at #6 singles. Although taking the first set comfortably, Amy trailed 2-5 in the second set but came back to win 6-2 7-5 to tie it at 1-1 in singles after a tough #5 loss. Cheshire then took singles #2-#4 to take a 4-1 lead. Olivia French found herself 5-1 40-0 down in the first set at number 3 singles, but came back to win the match in straight sets! Well done Olivia! Ellie Tsim closed it out for Cheshire again in another tight 3 set match, despite Derbyshire bringing in a new #1 player. Cheshire led 5-1 pre doubles. We mixed the doubles up as although we secured 2/3 wins on the previous day, I knew the standard of our opposition was only going to improve and it was important to split our strength. Myself & Amy and Rhona & Olivia won comfortably at #3 and #1 respectively. It was great to see some of the juniors crossing and really dominating the net. Cheshire closed out a 7-2 win on day 2.
Day 3 saw our opponent bring in yet another new #1 singles player. Ella jumped straight back into action at #5 singles and Amy played again at #6 following such a strong performance the previous day. Cheshire went to 3 sets on both courts and managed to secure #6 singles 6-2 in the third. Ella really challenged experience player, Jemima, on court 5 but just missed out. I closed out another straight set victory at #4 singles. Olivia narrowly missed out at number 3 in yet another 3 set match. After losing the first set comfortably, Rhona refocused and went on to win another 3 set match against rival. Ellie Tsim narrowly missed out to ex pro Laura Deigman. 3-3 after singles with everything to play for. After many discussions, I decided to keep doubles the same. Both Amy & myself and Jemma & Ellie won a set tie break and closed out two straight set victories for Cheshire to earn promotion to Div2. I was particularly impressed by Jemma Caves doubles play on the final day. She really challenged experienced doubles player, Jemima, at the net. Ellie and Jemma really stuck to the game plan I gave them and trusted my tactics. It was great to see them clinch it for the team in what I would say was a big upset. Cheshire concluded the final day with a 5-3 victory (one doubles unfinished).
Rhona Cook, Amy Redman and myself all finished in the top 3 on the player statistics leaderboard for the whole event. Rhona Cook went undefeated winning 5/5, matches, as did Amy Redman. I won 5/6 matches, only losing one doubles in a match tie break. As a relatively young team, I am so proud of the resiliency and maturity that each and every player showed on court. We came through some really tight matches. They had great team spirit and support and really stepped up on the sidelines when our teammates needed it. We all had such fun which made the weekend even more memorable.
Well done Cheshire!