The team was:               Timothy Farthing, John Martin Alexis Roche, Ashley Neaves, Paul Scullard, Simon Taylor

Team Captain:              Tom Perkins

Day 1 – East of Scotland

Day 1 was a delayed start due to the weather, which meant we had to go into battle v East of Scotland on Fast4 in tough windy conditions.

First up was Paul Scullard v Ewan Bell and this was a tight match, Paul played some great tennis and controlled the ball better than the Scot in the wind.  Hampshire & IOW lost a tight battle 2-4 4-2 and the curse of 10-point tie breakers 3-10 – tough loss as we were in the match.  Tim Farthing was up next at number 1 v Jamie Hunter and this match was tough for Tim as the Scot played amazingly and didn’t miss a ball.  This match was a tough loss at 1-4 0-4 to East of Scotland.  So, heading into the doubles we had it all to do.

Simon Taylor and our debutant, Ashley Neaves, were up v Neale Mcphee / Neal Harden and this was another tight match and the H&IOW boys played really well and the match score was 2-4 4-2 and unfortunately they lost 11-13 in an epic breaker, so we were now 3-0 down and needed to find some form.

Next up was our specialist doubles pair of Paul Scullard / Roche Martin Alexis, another debutant, v Neale Mcphee / Neal Harden.  Roche and Paul played amazingly with some real clinical serving and volleying and exceptional patterns of returning.  They took the match 4-0 4-3 7-3 in tie-break – a huge result for us and brought up the morale to get on the board.

Last up on a long day was Si and Ash v Ewan Bell and Jamie Hunter.  This was another tough match and again went to a 10 pointer and we came out on the other side again, 4-1,0-4, 3-10, but loads of positives for H&IOW.  Result 4-1 East of Scotland – tough one to take as 3 matches went to final set tie-breaks.  Boys were down but felt like better things were to come on day 2.

Day 2 – North Wales

Day 2 was a lot better day for the weather and a mouth-watering tie v North Wales who are a very strong team.  We made a change to team to bring Ashley in at number 2 singles v Gareth Wright of North Wales.  Ashley played amazingly and took the match to Gareth controlling play and not getting broken through both sets to win 6-2 6-4, a huge win – well done Ashley!  Next up was Paul Scullard v Si Morris, a top performer at 35s and super fit, this would be a tough task and Paul put up a great fight losing 2-6 2-6 so the overall match score was now 1-1.  Our new doubles pairing of Taylor / Farthing come out all guns firing v Sam Salt / Chris Evans and played some great tennis in their first ever match as a pair, they lost 3-6 4-6 but put up a good fight.  At 2-1 down, still all to play for and up next was Roche / Paul v Salt / Evans this was 2.5-hour epic and we lost in 3 super tight sets 7-5 3-6 1-10.  This meant we lost the tie but wanted to get another in under our belts.  Taylor / Farthing v Hemsley / Wright and the H&IOW boys played smart and clinical doubles winning 6-2 6-1 to take the overall score 3-2 North Wales, a tough one to take but huge improvements from Friday and Tim and Si really gelled as a pair and Ashley and Paul put up a great fight and Roche served amazing.

Day 3 – Berkshire

Day 3 was a relegation battle with Berkshire and we decided to stick with the same team to get a win and retain our position in Group 4.  Ashley was up first v Berkshire number 2 Rob Green.  Ash rode the storm in the first couple games and again held serve through both sets and gave us the 1-0 start with a 6-1 6-2 win – huge start for us!  Up next was Paul v Phil Downs at number 1 this was a tight match, and Paul did everything to unsettle Downs and give us 2-0 win but, fortunately, Paul lost 1-6 2-6 to make the tie 1-1.   Taylor / Farthing entered in good spirits and showed some great dubs returning and playing so good as a team and took down Downs / Warner 6-2 6-3 to give H&IOW the 2-1 lead, needing one more win to secure safety.  Taylor / Farthing stayed on and awaited Downs / Green to enter the court knowing that a win would seal our place in Group 4 for next year.  This match had it all, great serving from both pairs and some clever volleys and overheads, the match was won by the team that returned the best and that was H&IOW in a 4-6 6-2 10-4 win for Taylor / Farthing – a huge win and well deserved for the whole team, who fought so hard all weekend.  The last match was given as a walkover by Berkshire so overall a 4-1 win to Hampshire & IOW.

Tom Perkins – Team Captain