It’s been a fantastic few days for Llantrisant Ladies with some great news to report.  With 2 wins from 3 already this season, the team travelling to Radyr on Sunday 15th were determined to make it 3 out of 4.  

Shân captained the team, pairing up Cath and Jules as 1sts, Clare and Amanda as 2nds and herself and Kate as 3rds. Things got off to a great start with Jules and Cath making short work of Radyr 1sts 6-1, 6-0 while Clare and Amanda saw off their 3rds 6-4, 6-1… or so we thought! After Kate and Shân finished their match, unfortunately losing out 6-4, 6-1 to Radyr, Shân was called over for a Captains’ discussion. It turned out that Radyr had sent their pairs to the wrong courts, meaning Clare and Amanda had in fact played Radyr 2nds in the first round, with Kate and Shân facing their 3rds. It was decided the only fair way forward was to play all 3 rounds. Not quite what the team had bargained for but it was a lovely evening for tennis so everyone settled in for the long haul. 

Round 2 saw Kate and Shân play Radyr 1sts with the home team taking the win 6-2, 6-2 in a tactically sound game. The others fared better, with Clare and Amanda serving up a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Radyr 3rds and Jules and Cath storming to victory over the 2nds, 6-0, 6-1. 

By Round 3 the sun was fading and the floodlights were on, setting the stage for the final showdown. It was Clare and Amanda’s turn to play Radyr 1sts and, after a very closely fought game, Llantrisant admitted defeat with a very respectable 6-3, 6-4 finish. Kate and Shân faced the 2nds and, with a much closer game than the score suggests, lost their final match 6-2, 6-2. So it came down to the wire with all eyes on Cath and Jules in their match against Radyr 3rds. It was unexpectedly this pair that presented our 1sts the greatest challenge as they were pushed to a first set tiebreak, but normal service was resumed in the second and the ladies finished things off in style 7-5, 6-1. 

While Tiger Balm was passed around aching bodies, the captains totted up the scores, confirming the win for Llantrisant by 5 events to 4, 10 sets to 8 and 81 games to 65. 

So Llantrisant remain top of the league for another week and, for a delightful cherry on top, our own Julia Geysen-Holley is currently ranked number one in the player statistics for the Women's Doubles 7 East; Congratulations Jules! 

Next up is Cardiff 5 at home on Saturday 28th May with Lynda as Captain. Let's keep this great momentum going girls, Team Llantrisant all the way!