The 14U Boys County Cup team were in Play-Off Group 1B at The Weald LTC, Hassocks, over the weekend of Saturday 27^th and Sunday 28^th April.                               

The Team was:                 Ben Coxon, William Durman, Samuel Fussell, Edwin James Vopson, Ollie Wright, Scott Yates

Team Captains:               James Neate and Callum Li

Day 1 v Avon

In the first match we played against Avon and won the singles 4-0 with Edwin, Sam, Scott and William.  In the doubles we played Ollie and Ben at 2 pair and unfortunately, we lost both doubles, but this was more experimental as we had already won the tie. We rested our 1 and 2 players for this reason.

Day 1 v Hertfordshire

In the second match we beat Hertfordshire 4-2.  It was 2-2 in the singles with Edwin and Sam winning and Scott and William losing close matches.  In the doubles, we played Edwin and Sam together and William with Ollie at 2 pair and they all won and played great in the pouring rain!

Day 2 v Sussex

Having finished top of Group B on day 1, we had to play Sussex (top of Group A), to see who would go through to the Finals.

Edwin lost a very close match at 1 and Sam lost at 2.  Luckily Scott and William played superbly and tied us at 2-2 after the singles.  Edwin and Ollie lost at 1 doubles and William and Sam worked miracles to come back from a set down to win in a champions tie-break.  So it was 3-3 and a match shoot-out!  Edwin and Sam then came from behind, so the boys were over the moon as we qualified for the Finals.

14U Boys County Cup Finals – Nottingham Tennis Centre – Friday 10^th – 12^th May                                                     

The Team was:                 William Durman, Samuel Fussell, Edwin James Vopson, Ollie Wright, Scott Yates

Team Captains:               James Neate and Callum Li

Day 1 – 1^st match v Buckinghamshire

In the first match we played against Buckinghamshire and played our first 4 in the singles.  Edwin lost in a championship tie-break at 1 and then the others all won with Scott and Sam winning in a championship tie-break, so we were 3-1 up after the singles.

In the doubles, we played Edwin and Sam at 1 and they lost in a championship tie-break after being a set up.  We chose to play Ollie with William after the success of the qualifiers, but they unfortunately lost.  In the match shoot-out, we played Sam and William together and they lost so we lost the tie, which was a shame, but with good knowledge for the next matches.

Day 1 – 2^nd match v Suffolk (singles)

In the afternoon we played singles against Suffolk and played the top 4.  Although Sam and William went to a third set tie-breaker, Edwin and Scott won convincingly, so we led 4-0 against Suffolk overnight.

Day 2 – 1^st match v Suffolk (doubles)

We had to start day 2 with the doubles as the singles had been played pm on day 1.  We changed the pairings around with Scott in at 1 pair after his good attitude from the day before with Edwin.  They won dropping 1 game and Sam played with William at 2 and they won 4-0 4-0. Callum and I did a lot of work on their doubles in the morning, and they responded really well.  It meant we beat Suffolk 6-0 and then went into the match with Surrey in the afternoon.

Day 2 – 2^nd match v Surrey

We found ourselves 3-1 down after the singles with Edwin winning in a great effort.  We went into the doubles with the same pairing as the night before and they performed miracles winning both doubles and taking it into a match shoot-out.  Edwin played with Sam and they were 5-3 down, but turned it round and won so we beat Surrey, who eventually won the event, so a fabulous effort –  the lads were buzzing!  We finished 2^nd in the Group just missing out on first.

Day 3 – v Middlesex (3^rd / 4^th Play-off)

We had to play Middlesex for the 3^rd / 4^th place play-off.  William lost in a championship tie-break 8-10 and Scott lost in straight sets.  Sam won a very close match 10-6 in the match tie-break and Edwin also won in a third set tie-break meaning we were 2-2 after the singles.  So, all down to the doubles.  Edwin and Scott tried so hard but lost in a tiebreaker in the 3^rd and Sam and Will lost in straight sets, so we finished 4^th overall, which I think was a great effort.

The team spirit was incredible, and Callum was a brilliant Assistant Captain, who wanted to win so much.  I loved working with the boys and we had an incredible time.  I feel they need to work on more doubles at training, as that let them down a bit at times, but was excellent otherwise.

James Neate – Team Captain