The 10U County Cup was held over the weekend of 20th – 21st May, with the Girls team at Sherborne LTC in Dorset.
The Hampshire & IOW Girls battled in South Group E, against strong Counties: Dorset,
Sussex, Surrey and Wiltshire.
The Team was: Diana Florence, Claudia Foss-Smith, Sara King, Abbygail Lu, Connie Soon
Team Captains: Lottie Howard and Assistant Jack Ison – who supported the girls through long days and tough weather conditions, in hopes of a victory.
Scoring Format: 2 Fast 4 Sets, with a tiebreak at 3-3 to 7. 3rd Set tiebreak to 10. No AD scoring.
Day 1 – Match 1 vs Wiltshire
The girls came out firing in the singles, with Sara King winning an epic match 11-9 in the 3rd set tiebreak. Following the singles, we were 4-0 up in rubbers against Wiltshire, with doubles later on in the day. The chosen doubles pairings for this match were, Abbygail & Connie and Claudia & Sara. With both pairs victorious, we took a 6-0 win over Wiltshire.
Day 1 – Match 2 vs Surrey
Surrey, (who ended up being the overall winners), was going to be our toughest competition. The girls played well and remained positive against their high level opposition, but unfortunately all came short in their singles, leaving us 4-0 down to Surrey. The chosen doubles pairings for this match were, Diana & Connie and Claudia & Sara. Hampshire & IOW managed to gain 1 rubber, with Diana & Connie putting on an excellent display of doubles. The final score finished, 5-1 Surrey.
Day 2 – Match 1 vs Sussex
Diana and Abbygail both were resilient in their performances, gaining the team 2 rubbers after being 2-0 down in the first round of singles matches. The singles finished off at 2-2, so we knew it would all come down to the doubles. The chosen doubles pairings for this match were Diana & Connie and Abbygail & Claudia. With both teams feeling the pressure, Sussex and Hampshire &IOW took one doubles match each… leading to a shoot out. The selected shoot out pair was Diana & Abbygail, who rose to the challenge whilst the rest of the team eagerly watched on from court side. After tensing all our muscles, for what seemed like hours, both teams having several match points, Hampshire & IOW won an epic battle 15-13!! We all needed a rest after that one!
Day 2 – Match 2 vs Dorset
Much like Surrey, Dorset came with very strong opposition. The girls gave it their all and the Captains were proud of their drive and determination, but Dorset were too strong on this occasion. Diana managed to gain Hampshire & IOW a rubber in the singles, leaving the score (after the singles) 3-1 to Dorset. The chosen doubles pairings for this match were Diana & Connie and Claudia & Sara. Both pairs competed hard and worked well as a team, but unfortunately fell short in both matches. The final score finished, 5-1 Dorset.
The Hampshire & IOW 10U girls finished 3rd overall, with Dorset runner up, and Surrey the winners. All the girls displayed valiant efforts, teamwork skills, and professionalism throughout the weekend. Captains, Lottie and Jack, were especially pleased with the girls’ competitiveness towards every match despite tough opponents and next year, hope to gain the victory!
Lottie Howard – 10U Girls Captain
