The Hampshire & IOW girls competed in South Group E against Essex, Dorset, and Kent over the weekend of Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May.
Team: Desiree Goller, Nicole Mak, Liliana Mawo, Kaley Mok, Roxanna Paul,
Team Captains: Lottie Howard & Isla Hignett
Scoring Format: Two Fast4 sets, with a 7-point tiebreak at 3-3. A 10-point match tiebreak was played at one set all. No-ad scoring was used throughout.
Day 1 vs Essex
The chosen singles line-up for this match was Serena (4), Roxanna (3), Desiree (2), and Nicole (1).
Serena and Roxanna took to the court first for their singles matches. Roxanna produced an excellent display of tennis, securing a convincing 4-2, 4-1 victory after seven months out of competition. Serena battled hard in an epic match and stayed mentally tough to come through 1-4, 4-2, 11-9.
Nicole and Desiree followed in their singles matches. Unfortunately, both girls narrowly missed out, with Desiree losing 0-4, 1-4 and Nicole falling 1-4, 4-0, 6-10.
At 2-2 after the singles, attention turned to the doubles. The pairings were Serena & Nicole at pair 1, and Desiree & Roxanna at pair 2. I was really proud of the girls for putting into practice what we had worked on during our doubles training sessions prior to the event. However, the Essex girls proved a little too strong, and we lost both doubles matches.
Final result: Essex won the tie 4-2.
Day 1 vs Dorset
The chosen singles line-up for this match was Kaley (4), Roxanna (3), Desiree (2), and Nicole (1).
Kaley and Roxanna opened the singles matches. Kaley, making her Hampshire & IOW County Cup debut, fought incredibly hard in an entertaining match but, unfortunately, couldn’t quite come out on top. Roxanna looked cool as a cucumber and delivered another outstanding performance, winning 4-0, 4-1.
Desiree and Nicole followed for their singles matches and both came out firing. Desiree produced some incredible rallies and points on her way to a 4-0, 4-2 win. Nicole responded brilliantly after her previous match, showing no mercy in a dominant 4-0, 4-0 victory.
Hampshire led 3-1 going into the doubles. Pair 1 was Desiree & Nicole, while Serena & Roxanna played at pair 2. Both pairs won their doubles matches, losing just one game between them.
Final result: Hampshire won the tie 5-1.
Day 2 vs Kent
The chosen singles line-up for this match was Serena (4), Roxanna (3), Desiree (2), and Nicole (1).
The weather on day two was typically English — grey, cold, and extremely windy! I prepared the girls for the fact that it might not be the prettiest tennis they had ever played, but that it would be a great challenge, especially against strong opposition. Serena and Roxanna took to the court first for their singles matches. Both girls fought hard and did their best in the difficult conditions but unfortunately lost their matches. Serena lost 0-4, 2-4, while Roxanna lost 2-4, 0-4.
Desiree and Nicole followed in the remaining singles matches. Desiree narrowly lost 2-4, 3-4(3), battling brilliantly right until the end. Nicole also competed hard but was defeated 2-4, 1-4, with the Kent girls proving too strong on the day.
Kaley and Roxanna had been asking all weekend to play doubles together, so they partnered up at pair 2, while Nicole & Desiree played at pair 1. Kaley and Roxanna may not have won their match, but they smiled throughout and gave everything. Nicole and Desiree produced an excellent display of doubles tennis, finishing the weekend with a superb 1-4, 4-1, 10-7 victory.
Final result: Kent won the tie 5-1.
The Hampshire & IOW 10U girls finished 3rd overall. The team gave every bit of energy they had throughout the weekend and showed fantastic competitiveness, resilience, and team spirit in every match.
Team Captains, Lottie and Isla, were blown away by the outstanding effort shown by both the players and parents over the course of the weekend. The girls kept their spirits high throughout and demonstrated exactly what a strong, cohesive team should look like.
Lottie Howard – Team Captain
