The Team was: Liliana Mawo (1), Esther Wycherley (2), Elizabeth Nwaduwu (3), Astrid Tilley (4)
Team Captains: Lottie Howard and Simon James
Scoring Format: Two Fast 4 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.
The Hampshire & IOW 11U girls were placed into Group A, along with Surrey, Essex and Lancashire.
Group B consisted of Middlesex, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Warwickshire.
Day 1 vs Surrey
The girls were full of energy and excitement on day one, proud to have qualified for the National Finals and still buzzing from their radio interview. On paper, Surrey were the strongest team in the competition, so we knew it would be a tough challenge.
Astrid and Elizabeth were first on court, both battling hard despite their opponents proving too strong on the day. Esther and Liliana followed, producing some competitive tennis and pushing their opponents throughout, with Liliana taking the first set to a tiebreak before narrowly losing. After the singles, Surrey held a 4-0 advantage.
The girls showed great character to regroup for the doubles. Elizabeth and Astrid continued to develop as a partnership, while Liliana and Esther displayed some excellent net play, with Liliana recording an incredible 29 volleys during the match. Despite the effort and determination shown by both pairings, Surrey completed a 6-0 victory. Although the scoreline was tough, the girls competed with great spirit against one of the tournament favourites.
Day 1 & 2 vs Essex
After a long lunch break filled with pasta, sunshine and card games, the girls were ready to face Essex. Elizabeth and Astrid took to court first and both were involved in brilliant battles. Astrid played an incredible match, producing some of the longest rallies of the weekend before narrowly losing a dramatic deciding match tiebreak 12-10. Elizabeth also fought hard, displaying some fantastic forehands before just missing out in a close third set tiebreak. Esther and Liliana responded superbly in the top singles, both playing with confidence and composure to record impressive straight-set victories. Their wins levelled the tie at 2-2 heading into the doubles the following morning.
After a good evening of refuelling and recovery, the girls returned ready to fight for day 2. Liliana and Esther produced an excellent performance to win a deciding match tiebreak 10-6, while Elizabeth and Astrid battled hard but couldn’t quite find a way through. The match finished 3-3, which meant we were to face a shootout. Nominated for the shootout was Liliana and Elizabeth. It was a nail biting ten point tiebreak, but Essex performed really well, winning 10-7.
Day 2 vs Lancashire
After a disappointing finish to the previous day, the girls recovered well and turned their attention to Lancashire. Astrid was involved in another competitive singles match, while Elizabeth produced a fantastic three-set battle, narrowly missing out after fighting back to force a deciding match tiebreak. Esther showed outstanding resilience in her singles, coming from a set down to secure an excellent three-set victory, while Liliana battled hard against a strong opponent. Trailing 3-1 after the singles, the girls knew they needed another big doubles performance.
Elizabeth and Astrid continued to grow as a doubles partnership, showing increasing confidence at the net despite falling in straight sets. Liliana and Esther produced another superb performance, recovering from 3-0 down in the opening set before winning it in a tiebreak and going on to take the second set. Their victory secured a second point for Hampshire & IOW, but Lancashire claimed the tie 4-2.
After another day of hard-fought tennis, the girls enjoyed a well-earned evening of good food, recovery and swimming, ready for the final day of competition.
Day 3 vs Warwickshire
The girls returned for the final day to face Warwickshire, playing for 7th/ 8th place. Astrid was involved in yet another deciding match tiebreak, just missing out after a tremendous fight. Elizabeth then continued her momentum with another excellent performance. Liliana was narrowly beaten in the top singles, but Esther quickly levelled the match with a confident straight-set win. With the singles shared 2-2, we yet again came down to the doubles.
Liliana and Esther combined brilliantly to secure an important straight-set victory. Elizabeth and Astrid gave everything in the second doubles, forcing a deciding match tiebreak before Warwickshire edged it 10-8. The tie was 3-3 and again forced into a shoot-out. Liliana and Elizabeth nominated themselves for the shoot-out tiebreak. They fought really hard and gave it everything they had left after a long weekend. Unfortunately, the shoot-out did not go our way losing 10-3, but Simon and I were so impressed with the grit, determination and gamesmanship on court all day.
The girls should be incredibly proud of everything they achieved over the weekend. They competed with determination, resilience and fantastic team spirit throughout, representing Hampshire & IOW brilliantly. To finish as National Finalists against the strongest counties in the country is an outstanding achievement and one they should all be immensely proud of.
Thank you to Simon and all the parents for the support, time and energy they gave over the weekend and in the lead up to the event. I look forward to next year.
Lottie Howard – Team Captain
