18U Girls County Cup Report
The Cambs U18 Girls team of Ellie Barker, Millie Hansgate, May Havard, Allegra Hodson, Sophie Johnstone, Olivia Kaser and Marennah Prempeh travelled to Sunderland for the group 3b county cup. The girls were in great spirits before the event and were ready for a tough group.
Friday we were facing a really strong Northumberland side. We started the match strong with a comfortable win from Millie at number 4, this was quickly followed by a win from May. Olivia quickly followed with a win at number 5 giving Cambs the 3-0 lead. We knew this was not over and we had to stay focused. Elli, Allegra and Sophie all had tough battles at the top. This meant that after singles it was 3-3 and all to play for in the doubles. Olivia and Marennah gave us a great start and boost in energy that we needed, taking the first set 6-1 and closing out the second 6-4. We were 4-3 up with two doubles left to play. Both of these matches went to a third set tie break. They finished at exactly the same time with Cambs winning one of them. A huge team effort to win the match overall 5-4.
We went in on Saturday full of confidence and excitement against Staffordshire. Three comfortable wins from Millie, Olivia and May put us 3-0 up yet again. Allegra and Ellie followed this with two more wins, making the overall score 5-0. Sophie had a tough battle at 1 and narrowly lost it, the score line did not reflect the competitiveness of this match. After the singles we were 5-1 but wanted to secure every single rubber we could as it was getting close between the other counties. This is exactly what the girls did, securing all three doubles matches for an overall 8-1 win.
It all came down to Sunday with three counties still in with a chance of winning the group and getting promoted. We needed an overall win for the promotion. The team was energetic yet calm. May secured a two-set victory at six which made us grow in confidence. However, Olivia and Millie both went down a set. Olivia kept calm and showed some maturity, pulling out a three set win. Cambs were now 2-0 up. Millie had a tough third set tie break. She played a great tie break and lost out narrowly. We needed 3 more points and that is exactly what we got. Ellie and Allegra had comfortable wins at 2 and 3, leaving us 4-1 up. This meant it came down to Sophie, she kept calm and played some great tennis to lead Cambs to the promotion with a 5-1 win.
Well done to all players. They worked as a team to gain the promotion!! We are excited to be in division 2 and ready for the challenge- up the bridge!
Jodie Tiley, Team Captain
