Herts Ladies are Summer County Cup champions for an unbelievable 6th time!
What a week it was for the Herts ladies in Eastbourne last week. They only went and won the Summer County Cup title for a record 6th time, the first team to achieve this incredible record since the Surrey ladies team of 1985 – 1990!
With an already astounding 5 consecutive wins behind them, our ladies arrived at Devonshire Park raring to go in their defence of the title for a record 6th time.
Day 1 saw a fantastic start to the tournament with a comprehensive 8-1 win over Surrey. On day 2 spectators were treated to some thrilling tennis culminating in a 5-4 victory over Yorkshire.
Inclement weather gave the ladies a tough start to day 3. The team had to wait around until a replacement venue was secured meaning that play carried on well into the evening. However, despite the delayed start and intermittent rain they pulled off an awesome 9-0 victory over Somerset.
The weather improved on day 4 and our ladies had more amazing results with a 7-2 win over Cheshire. All focus was then directed to the last day with the final rounds against Middlesex. The last day saw some tough play against the Middlesex ladies but Amanda and her dream team came through with a superb 7-2 victory and an unbelievable 6th title.
Our pride and gratitude go to captain Amanda Elliott, vice captain Kat Whiteaway and the whole team of players: Emily Arbuthnott, Georgie Axon, Erin Pearce, Marelie Raath, Hannah Read, Indi Spink and Georgiana for their outstanding performance and incredible teamwork. You always show everyone what true sportsmanship looks like and display our Herts values throughout.
Herts Men
Our men were playing in group 2, a little closer to home in Roehampton. Sadly, the week was not so kind to the team with some tight matches that didn’t go their way.
On days 1 and 2, things were looking up as they pulled off excellent wins of 5-4 over Essex and Buckinghamshire respectively.
On day 3 our men faced a tough battle with a very strong Middlesex and despite some outstanding play and close matches, they eventually lost 5-4. Day 4 unfortunately brought rain which stopped play at Roehampton this time. The men finished the day 3-3 against Cambridge finishing off the next day with an excellent 6-3 win.
With all to play for on the last day the men were looking for a chance to win promotion back to group 1. They faced a very strong Kent side and unfortunately it was not to be with the team taking a 3-6 loss and Cambridgeshire and Middlesex gaining the promotion spots. However, our boys will be back even bigger and stronger next year and aiming to follow them up!
We would like to express our immense gratitude to our brilliant men’s captain Hamid Hejazi and all our wonderful players: Neil Bamford, Finn Bass, Charlie Broom, Ed Corrie, Oliver Foran, Enrico Franchi, Joel Pierleoni, Neil Roskilly, Ryan Storrie and James Wilkinson. You did Herts proud, played amazingly and were so close to achieving your goal. Thank you all and to our fabulous supporters along the way
