Results

• 6 - 0 vs Berkshire
• 6 - 0 vs Nottinghamshire
• 4 - 2 vs Buckinghamshire
• 5 - 1 vs Oxfordshire

11&U Girls (North Oxford):

Rachael Baker (captain)

• Tanishka Naveen

• Lucy Prescott

• Xiaoyu Bai

• Petra Fabelo

• Ambreena Dhillon

Captains Report

The under 11s girls qualifying event took place at North Oxford Tennis Club with five players representing Warwickshire under the captaincy of Rachael Baker and assistant Joanna Vale. Warwickshire's event opened against Berkshire. Petra and Ella started proceedings with their singles. Both players displayed some nerves, but showed good mental strength to neutralise their shots and stay in the point, until they built their confidence to start hitting angles, high deep balls and move their opponents around to take Warwickshire to a 2-0 lead. Lucy also displayed a few nerves in her first match and after an unfortunate net cord dropped her head to lose the first set 4-2. However, with the help of good team spirit and encouragement off the court by team mates and parents, Lucy reset herself well to take Berkshire to a deciding Championship tie-break and take the victory. Tanishka faced a strong opponent with 3 of the games in the first set going to sudden death deuces, which thankfully went in Warwickshire's favour. This helped Tanishka keep up a good energy and momentum to take Warwickshire into a 4-0 lead. This took the pressure off going into the doubles enabling Tanishka/Lucy and Petra/Ambreena to relax and enjoy their matches more. They all displayed good communication and teamwork in their partnerships, securing Warwickshire a 6-0 win over Berkshire and a great start to the event.

Warwickshire's next opponents were Nottinghamshire. Tanishka, Lucy, Ella and Ambreena competed in the singles and all displayed very strong solid performances to give another 4-0 lead going into the doubles. Even a long rain delay didn't dampen Warwickshire's spirits and all the players kept their focus very well to display some great winners. Lucy/Ella and Petra/Ambreena played the doubles showing good mental strength, quality tennis and good teamwork to give Warwickshire another solid 6-0 victory. Going into the second day after a lovely evening meal together and being on a high after our success on day one our next opponents were Buckinghamshire. They had also won both their rubbers 6-0 6-0 the previous day, so we were aware they were the team to beat, which immediately put some pressure on the Warwickshire team. Overall there was certainly evidence of nervous tentative play, with lots of long rallies and neutralising shots down the middle just to stay in the points, after hitting more unforced errors than in previous matches. Lucy and Ambreena held their nerve to win their matches, however the pressure proved too much for Ella. Tanishka proved too strong against her opponent making light work of her match to give Warwickshire a vital 3-1 advantage going into the doubles. Petra and Ambreena being our 4/5 ranked players struggled in their match vs Bucks 2/3 ranked players in the doubles. They didn't quite display the same energy they previously did in their effective partnership in the first set. They did settle into it and a closer battle ensued, however it was unfortunately too late and the match was lost. The pressure was then on Tanishka and Lucy. Lucy was a little nervous to start with but with the encouragement of Tanishka and the off court supporters they both displayed some quality tennis, playing tactically and taking each point at a time. They remained focussed throughout and despite playing strong opposition they didn't drop a game. As a result that secured our victory over Bucks 4-2. Warwickshire's last opposing county was vs Oxfordshire. Petra had a nervous start in her singles, but calmed herself down to take the first set. After a controversial line call during the second set the court supervisor was called onto the court. Unfortunately Petra was too overwhelmed with the situation that caused her to drop her head and ultimately lose the match in a championship tie-break. Ella's singles match was much more positive than her previous one vs Bucks. She displayed good body language, took more time with her serve and built the points strategically to allow her to hit lots of winners. This took us to a 1-1 tie with Oxfordshire. Tanishka and Lucy again delivered very solid performances to give Warwickshire the 3-1 lead. Tanishka/Lucy and Ella/Ambreena played the final doubles matches of the competition. Both pairs comfortably won their matches to give the team a 5-1 victory over Oxfordshire and also to guarantee Warwickshire to be the overall event winners and earn a place at the National finals at Wrexham in 3 weeks time! Warwickshire's players should be incredibly proud of themselves for winning the whole event and for what they have achieved towards the teams success in securing a place at the Nationals. Despite a couple of moments, the girls displayed good mental strength and quality tennis. They all had good energy and all participated as part of a team. The girls all showed great comradery off the court too, from playing with Barbie dolls together, to doing 'cabbage' fist pumps, to supporting and cheering each other on and engaging really well not only with each other but also with the adults. The parents were very relaxed and a joy to have cheering on the team. Many thanks to the whole Warwickshire team from players, parents and captains for making this weekend a very enjoyable success. All the best for the National finals