NORFOLK GIRLS U/12 COUNTY CUP REPORT
Girls U12 County Cup – Whitney, Oxfordshire 16th & 17th September
The girls team of Amelia(1), Zoe(2), Jemima(3) and Christine (4 & her debut) set off to Oxfordshire to compete against Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, and Sussex. An opening day blessed with blue skies and sunshine saw us ending the morning 1-3 down to Oxfordshire, a close 3 set loss for Zoe, but Amelia giving us hope in the doubles by winning her singles. A tactical split of the pairings provided hope as Amelia (1) and Jemima (3) won thier match, but unfortunately Zoe and Christine couldn’t get the win required to go to a decider.
Next up were Cambridge, 0-2 down after 3 and 4 singles, Zoe and Amelia silenced a rowdy Cambridge crowd with 2 solid wins. With the light fading, a quick decision was made to ensure our top pair (Amelia & Zoe) would team up to win their doubles and secure at least a playoff. Jemima and Christine had some opportunities in their match but were unable to convert. 3-3 and with darkness set in at 7.35pm, the team returned back to the hotel for a late evening meal.
Sunday was an early start, with 4 singles against Bucks. Despite more battling performances, we went into the final singles 0-3 down. Amelia again stepping up and coming through with a good win to take the tie to the doubles. Sandwiched in between the remaining matches with Bucks was the all important day 1 tie decider with Cambridge! For those not in the know, we don’t like a draw in tennis. A 10 point, tie break doubles shoot out was played with Amelia and Jemima our nominees. They couldn’t have played any better and comfortably took the tie and win for the team 10-4.
The remaining doubles against Bucks got us a win and a loss resulting in a 2-4 defeat. Our final match was against Sussex who were on a mission to win the group, they proved too strong for our girls to win all 4 singles (with some close matches) before the rain set in and play was abandoned for the rest of the day.
Captains Chris Stocker & Sam Hickman were pleased with the effort and support the girls showed for each other over the weekend. Amelia grabbing player of the weekend with 6 wins from 7 in a very competitive county cup group.