12 Counties 10U Report
10U Boys Report
Teams have generally found it tough this winter in a challenging group with Berkshire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire and Leics.
For the 10U boys, this was no different. This is the team’s first of 3 events this year, so hopefully some useful experience gained.
Without Alfie, who was playing 9U county cup for us instead, which unfortunately clashed on the same day, the Northants team was;
- Freddie
- Momo
- Leo
- Lucas
Playing the strongest team first (Berkshire) was a real wake up call for the boys. It’s worthy of note that Lucas on debut, put in a really good performance to extend the first set against his opponent before finally succumbing.
Freddie did a good job throughout the day, despite playing some very strong opposition (always the challenge playing at the top of the order). He held himself together very well and competed hard. He was creative in his play and continued to try and find ways to make it uncomfortable for his opponents.
Momo – got stronger as the day went on and will definitely be better for this experience. His level was really high by match 3 v Leics. He just couldn’t hold on long enough to get that elusive set for the team on the board.
Leo delivered a solid competitive effort at number 3 for the team. A great team player who battled for everything he could. He was totally exhausted at the end!
I think the boys were a little disappointed not to get more reward in terms of sets and wins for their efforts, but it was an excellent opportunity for them to see what’s necessary to succeed at county level and will hopefully increase their energy to continue developing their games at speed in their training programmes.
Justin Chacksfield, Boys Captain
10U Girls Report
Yesterday marked the first County Event of the year for the 10U Girls! Kamilah, Ellie, Esme & Matilda all made their debut for the 10U Girls at the 12 Counties Event at Corby.
The Girls had a long day ahead taking on Berkshire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire and Leicestershire.
Our first round was against Berkshire, who were the strongest of the counties! Kamilah (playing at Number 1), had a very tough first match, battling against a Top 20 Player! Matilda (playing at Number 4), Esme (Playing at Number 3) & Ellie (Playing at Number 2) did a great job picking up a couple of games against their opponents. It was a difficult start to the day, but the girls competed hard and remained in high spirits.
The second round saw us take on Herefordshire & Worcestershire. The girls had shaken off their First-Round nerves and settled in more comfortably against H&W. Ellie (Playing at Number 2) had a gruelling match, particularly mentally. Ellie faced a unique opponent, and fought right to the end, in a very tight match, just missing out 5-3 5-3. Matilda had a monumental match! Matilda fought for every point and showed fantastic resilience throughout the match, with a final score of 5-4 (4) 2-4 11-9 to H&W.
Our final round, the girls really stepped up and put the pressure on Leicestershire. Kamilah got stronger as the day went on and did a brilliant job in getting her opponent in uncomfortable situations. Kamilah kept applying the pressure to her opponent from the start of the match through to the end and just missed out of the tiebreak 9-7. After a tough 2nd Round Match, Ellie really put in a great performance to finish the day. Ellie played some solid tennis, making some fantastic soft spin angled backhand winners, finishing with a final score of 4-2 4-2 to Leicester. Esme took it up a gear in the final match snatching the first set 5-3! Esme was very creative in her play and kept competitive throughout the match. Esme pushed all the way to a third set tiebreak, sadly just missing out 10-4. After a marathon 2nd Round Match, an exhausted Matilda put on another great performance in her final match (with her whole team cheering her on)! Matilda did not let her tiredness stop her and she chased down every ball and made some incredible winners during the match! It was a long, tense, see-saw match, with the final score of 4-2 5-4 (4) going to Leicester.
Kamilah, Ellie, Esme & Matilda were a pleasure to Captain. I am very proud of all the girls’ efforts! I know they were slightly disappointed they didn’t quite capture a win; however, they all had some great matches, and were extremely close to getting a win. Yesterday highlighted some great moments, and also some areas we will continue to work on, ready for our next Event later this year. Good job girls!
Imogen Allen, Girls Captain
