Words by Julie Clode 15.3.2011
On Sunday 13th March, I accompanied the Girls U15 squad to the Inter County Trophy final that was held at Edgbaston Priory in Birmingham.
After a good trip down, we all met up at the centre and the girls got warmed up before the match start time of 11:00am. Our team consisted of:
1. Sophie Alderman
2. Lauren Williams
3. Georgia Jones
4. Ciara Richards
5. Hannah Swain
Our team opposition for the day included, Cheshire, Lancashire and Kent.
Our first match was against Cheshire. First on court were Georgia Jones vs Hannah McColgan and Hannah Swain vs Beth Fogaity. Both girls got off to a great start with Georgia winning 3:0, 11/2, 11/0, 11/5 and Hannah also 3:0, 11/4, 11/0, 11/3.
Next on court were Ciara Richards vs Lola Abbas and Sophie Alderman vs Hayley Openshaw-Blower. Again both girls had 3:0 wins, Ciara winning 14/12, 11/4, 11/1 and Sophie 11/3, 11/7, 11/9. So with no games dropped so far it was up to Lauren to complete the trend. She didn’t disappoint winning convincingly 3:0, 11/2, 11/1, 11/3 against Cheshire’s Kate Fairfield.
With Cheshire’s matches complete, time for a quick break before our next opposition Lancashire, who unfortunately only had four players, so Hannah received a walkover.
Georgia played Amie Comer and had another 3:0 win, 11/3, 11/1, 11/4 and Ciara played Lottie Wood and proved far too strong winning 3/0, 11/1, 11/2, 11/0.
Now already 3:0 up it was Lauren and Sophie’s turn. Lauren played Ruby Wood winning comfortably 11/5, 11/2, 11/4. Sophie played Chloe Harrison and this proved to be the closest game of the tournament and was a very exciting game, with Sophie narrowly missing out on the first two games, 9/11, 10/12. We realized it was going to be a tough ask to pull it back, but with some fantastic drop shots and volleys, Sophie eventually levelled the match at 2:2. The final game was a real nail biter going back and for with Chloe finally winning 8/11. Despite losing 2/3, all credit must be given to Sophie for digging deep and battling until the end.
Our final match was against Kent, and after a quick lunch the girls were soon back on court. Hannah and Georgia were first on, Hannah to play Rosie Cooper and Georgia, Darcie Beddoes. Georgia finished her matches with another 3/0 win, winning comfortably 11/3, 11/3, 11/3. Hannah’s match proved a little more difficult with Hannah losing the first game 9/11. However she soon turned the game around, playing some lovely squash and finally triumphed 3/1, 9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/9.
Next on court were Ciara to play Anna Davies and Sophie to play the very talented Georgia Kennedy. Sophie again put up a good fight playing some excellent Squash, but eventually lost 0/3, 4/11, 7/11, 7/11. Ciara, despite playing someone with a lot more strength than her own, placed the ball beautifully again playing some exciting squash and finally won the match 3/1, 11/8, 11/9, 7/11, 11/4. The final match of the day was between Lauren and Amelia Henley another talented player. Lauren fought hard with some excellent rallies, but finally lost 0/3, 4/11, 6/11, 7/11.
With all matches completed and a 3/2 win over Kent, this meant S.E Wales were the overall winners.
Congratulations to all the girls on some outstanding performances and for their excellent team spirit and attitude. Well-done girls!!
Thanks again to all the parents for their continued support.
Words by Julie Clode, Squash Wales
No comments:
Post a Comment