Lionel Cox Reports
9U Boys Report
The U9 Lionel Cox County Cup took place on Saturday, May 4th, at a well-organised and welcoming venue. The day began in bright sunshine, setting the perfect tone as the boys kicked off their matches at 9:15 a.m. Spirits were high, and the boys brought great energy and focus into their warm-up.
They faced strong opposition from Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire throughout the group stage. Several matches were tight, with the boys showing excellent teamwork and determination even in defeat. Despite narrow losses, they stayed upbeat, communicated well, and supported each other from start to finish. David and Charlie played together first and Konstantin paired up Seb. We have made some changes after the group stages and they were fired up for their last match.
In their final match of the day, the boys turned it around with a well-earned victory over Bedfordshire—finishing the tournament positively. Their resilience and attitude were impressive, and they represented the county with pride and great sportsmanship throughout the day.
Well done Boys!!
Istvan
9U Girls Report
As the afternoon approached, the weather shifted, bringing windier conditions just as the girls began their tournament at 1:15 p.m. Despite the tougher playing environment, the girls started with a lively warm-up and carried great energy into their matches.
They opened with a very close match against Oxfordshire, followed by a strong effort against Hertfordshire in another tight contest. The girls kept their spirits high, and their persistence paid off as they recorded excellent wins against Bedfordshire and Cambridge, finishing third in their group. Sophia and Isla and Olivia / and Bella turned their matches into victories by coming back from losing the first set. Their commitment was exceptional.
In the playoff for 5th place overall, the girls battled through the wind and demonstrated fantastic teamwork and determination to defeat Suffolk. Olivia and Bella paired well together, supporting each other on every point, while Sophia and Isla also contributed greatly. After each match, the girls stayed to cheer for one another, which was wonderful to see in a team representing Northants. Their communication, composure, and effort throughout the day were outstanding. They should be proud of how they competed, supported each other, and represented their team with great character.
Great job, girls! Keep up the training!
Istvan
10U Girls Report - Day 2
With Olivia competing for the 9U Girls in Cambridge, Ellie stepped up and joined Khamila, Matilda & Esme for Day 2 at Lionel Cox!
The Girls faced some tough competition on Day 1, which continued on Day 2 with the girls tackling Suffolk in their last Group Stage Match.
Khamila & Ellie at Pair #1, encountered a difficult first match, facing a very consistent doubles pair. The girls fought well, playing some great high-quality cross-court shots, forcing their opponents to deuce in every game! Kamilah & Ellie kept the pressure on their opponent right the way through the match and even made a comeback from 3-0 to 3-2 in the second set! Matilda & Esme at Pair #2, were also greeted with some strong competition. Matilda & Esme showed great perseverance! Both girls chased every ball and continually kept pressing their opponent to play another ball. All 4 Girls remained in high spirits despite the loss to Suffolk.
The Girls secured 4th Place in their Group, so in the afternoon they had to battle it out against Buckinghamshire in the 7th & 8th Playoff.
Khamila & Ellie tackled some difficult points against Buckinghamshire! Kamilah remained solid throughout the match, and Ellie got an ace! Both girls were creative with their play and remained competitive throughout the match. After a change of tactic, Matilda & Esme really stepped up their game, and won the 2nd set 4 – 3, taking Buckinghamshire to a 3 Set Tiebreak! The girls held their nerves, coming back from 8 – 6 down to 9 – 9! It was a very close seesaw match, with Buckinghamshire taking the final set 11 – 9.
Kamilah, Ellie, Esme & Matilda were as always, a pleasure to Captain! All 4 girls had a great positive approach to the Tournament, and despite not getting a win on Day 2, I saw some encouraging moments! I look forward to our next Training Session, where we can get back to work & keep improving our doubles play. Good work Girls!
Imogen
10U Boys Report
The venue of Wycombe Abbey school was a fantastic setting in glorious sunshine day 1. We seemed to have a very tough draw somehow with Essex, Cambs, Bucks and Suffolk in our group (Herts, Norfolk, Oxon, Beds and Berks on the other side). We had Freddie and Momo playing first pair and William and Leo at second pair.
It was a real baptism of fire for William on debut for the county as we came up against Essex, Cambs and Suffolk on the first day. Both pairs got some games on the board and some really good experience in preparation for doubles at county cup next weekend. Freddie and Momo have a strong bond and showed good energy throughout in the face of adversity, whilst Leo and William were bedding in some of the key principles of the Northants tennis doubles system.
Day 2 saw us with an early kick off at 9am against Bucks. William and Leo played up at first pair, which was always going to be a tough assignment but they undoubtedly played their best tennis of the weekend. Their confidence in what they were doing had been raised, and the quality ball striking of the opposition really helped them lift their game. Lucas came in for Momo on day 2, so played second pair with Freddie. They were probably nearest to getting a win on the board for the team with numerous sudden death deuce points. Again some great experience for Lucas in his first doubles outing ever for the county.
Despite some chastening defeats, heads were very far from bowed and some really good experience playing against top level opposition will hopefully stand us in good stead with a full strength team for next weekend’s county cup in Leicester.
Justin
12U Girls Report
First up the girls they had a tough first round against Essex. Traditionally one of the strongest counties. Mia and Rosalie played a strong pair and lost at pair
1. Sophia and Emma fought really hard to take the 2nd pair to a tight finish in the second set. Unfortunately they fell just short min the tie break.
Our second round was against Suffolk, I swapped the pairs around this time. Putting Emma and Sophia at No1. Both matches started very slowly and we went quickly down by a set in each. Both pairs then responded extremely well, fighting for every point through a hard 2nd set, eventually coming out on top in tie breaks. Each match then moved into a third set tie break, our girls carried the momentum gained through the 2nd set into the 3rd and finished the matches off with real style. Our best win of the weekend.
On Sunday morning we played Berkshire, again a strong county. Sophia and Emma at pair 1, started very well overwhelming the opponents in the first set. They then faced a strong response from the opposition and they eventually lost in the 3rd set. Mia and Rosalie never really got started and lost out in two sets.
Cambridge in the 4th match one the group, again a strong county. Emma and Sophia dug in and fought hard, but the opponents were strong and eventually came out on top. Mia and Rosalie had a very close game, it was nip and tuck throughout the first set, it went to a tie break and just a few too many errors from us cost. The opposition played better in the second set and turned them over in two sets.
We were drawn against Norfolk in the play off. We were clearly the stronger team in this match, and although both pairs started a bit slowly, we soon got on top of them and finished both matches convincingly.
The girls were a pleasure to take away, they behaved very well all weekend. I felt we had chances to win more matches, and need to start a bit faster. I was very pleased with the performances in the tie breaks. A big improvement over last year.
Steve
