11U County Cup

National Finals - Girls

Results - 3 rd Place

Team

• Rachael Baker – Captain
• Charlotte Eaton – Assistant
• Nella Aulehlova
• Hollie Ruck
• Anya Cooner
• Esther Sun
• Jessica Parker

To view the full results please click here 

5-7 July 2024
The 2024 County Cup National Finals took place at Nottingham Tennis Centre, with the Warwickshire girls gaining automatic qualification to the event placed as the 6th seeds. Warwickshire's draw saw them have to face Berkshire, Middlesex and North of Scotland in their round robin group. Friday's play opened against Berkshire.

Berkshire was anticipated to be competitive match. After a slightly nervy start for the girls, they found their momentum in neutralising well and then building the point up to apply pressure and finish the points. The players were fired up with positive attitudes, chasing every ball down and showing good mental strength, to come through and win the tie 5-1 overall against some very tough competitors, that were ranked above the Warwickshire girls.
The next tie Friday afternoon was against the top seeds Middlesex resulting in a 6-0 loss. Despite the difference in ranking points, all the Warwickshire girls gave their all and made Middlesex work very hard for their wins. From Anyas solid forehand, to Esther mixing up her shots, to Hollie and Nella battling it out taking their opportunities, they all competed very well and had close games in the singles matches. The doubles were close scores, with Hollie and Jessica being unfortunate to lose 3 sudden death games in the first set, resulting in a 4-1 4-3 loss which could have gone the other way.
Friday was a long hot day in the sun playing two ties, so the girls were understandably tired. But throughout all the matches they gave 100% and soaked up the support of everyone watching from the sidelines, including parents, grandparents, their individual coaches, the county captain and assistant, and most importantly from each other.

After a good sleep and an unlimited breakfast at the hotel the Warwickshire girls were ready to take on North of Scotland Saturday morning. With rain threatening, the girls were assigned courts inside the Airhall this time. With the knowledge they would go in to the 3rd/4th play off's if they win this tie they were 'up for it' from the start. Jessica remained positive throughout her singles, even when her opponent started to make a comeback and remained composed to seal a victory. Esther and Nella displayed solid performances in their singles matches, with Nella being described by spectator and Warwickshire's County administrator Graeme Baker as a “brick wall” and “master of disguise”. Hollie was faced with a tight competitive singles match where she dropped her head during the second set. But she regained focus during the matchplay tie break to build her confidence and in turn hit lots of winners to win. The girls all played well in the doubles, with Nella and Esther in particular showing a great partnership and high energy to dominate a 4-0 4-0 victory.

This led to Warwickshire beating North of Scotland 6-0 and guaranteeing themselves 3rd or 4th place in the overall positions of the finals. As all the group stages were complete, play was adjourned for the day. This enabled everyone to have some downtime, then all meet up to support watching England in the Euro quarter final football match before dinner. As the meals were pre prepared for the group, the girls were able to have an earlier night ready for their play off against Kent Sunday.

The Warwickshire girls were due in the Airhall again for their playoffs vs Kent. Anya had a great start taking the first set of her match, hitting solid forehands. But then her opponent played smart putting pressure on her to force a championship tie break and take the match. Esther used tactical play and remained focus (even after a couple of unfortunate net cords) to take the tie to 1-1. Hollie used her power and aggressive play to take an early lead. Her opponent did start to read the play and come back but Hollie regained focus and positivity to take two crucial sudden death games to win. Nella had a tough opponent but started really well, chasing down every ball and making her opponent play one more shot. After losing a first set tiebreak Nella dropped her head. However with the support of the Warwickshire camp, as well as players from Dorset who had come to support her, Nella got back into the games. However the opponent was too good, making the overall singles results 2-2 going into the doubles. Throughout the weekend it was noticeable Hollie and Jessica, Nella and Esther made successful doubles pairings, so they were nominated to play the final two matches. Despite the importance of these matches and nerves at play, both pairs demonstrated great teamwork, using good communication and determination to win their matches and win the overall tie 4-2 vs Kent!

This meant Warwickshire had secured 3rd place and a bronze medal at the County Cup National finals! Nella, Hollie, Esther, Anya and Jessica should all be proud of themselves. They all contributed to finish the competition in 3rd place overall which is a massive achievement. There were times of nervousness, negativity and disappointment resulting in some learning curves for the girls. But more so there were moments of magic, with some quality tennis, great come backs and personal achievements. It was nice to share the experience with the Warwickshire boys, but a shame we were quite far apart at a big venue to be able to support each other more. The evening meals altogether was a highlight with all the children having smiles on their faces and enjoying the experience. The advantage to being at a venue not too far from home meant there were lots of visitors to support the girls, which was greatly appreciated. The girls behaviour on and off the court was good and they have all done Warwickshire proud to have them representing the county. Thank you to all the team involved from captains, deputy captains, players, parents and Warwickshire LTA for making the weekend so enjoyable and an experience the children will never forget.