Chris Howard took the under 14s down to Sheffield recently. There were some good performances all round and his report follows:
A young and inexperienced team comprised Emily Harrison, Lexie Howard, Hannah Lee and Anna Railton, Andrew Howard, George Moran, Ben Mathewson and Gabriel Rodda. Indeed five of these players had represented the county Under 12s at Largs only last May (seems a long time ago!).
Nine teams entered, representing: Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The draw, out of a hat- (plastic bag) left us an up-hill task in our first group, playing Yorkshire 1 and Cheshire.
Getting off to a good start against Yorkshire, with both Andrew and Lexie winning their singles games, we eventually lost 8-2. The team produced some very tight games, especially from the pairing of George /Gabriel and Hannah/Anna. The Yorkshire coach praised the effort of the whole team for holding on and competing, being involved in some long rallies. Next up was Cheshire. There were some very exciting and close games, with Hannah/Anna losing to 20. Emily and Lexie provided us with two excellent singles wins but were unable to pull off the doubles, narrowly losing.
We were now placed in a group of 3rd placed teams. Improving all the time and gaining confidence, they magnificently beat Lancs 2 and the games we lost were very close. Last up Yorkshire 2: the team support, motivation and effort really paid off. Andrew/Gabriel lost their doubles 20/21 with the shuttle appearing to be out but just clipped the outer line. George/Ben fought well for their 21/18 and Gabriel/Anna finished the day with a brilliant 21/20.
Match 1 vs Yorkshire 1 N’land Opposition
Singles Andrew Elisah 21 20
Ben Harry 7 21
Emily Abby 12 21
Lexie Louise 21 15
Doubles Andrew/Ben Will/Harry 8 21
George/Gabriel Elisah/Oliver 16 21
Emily/Lexie Abby/Beth 12 21
Hannah/Anna Anna/Ananya 17 21
Mixed George/Hannah Anna CS/ Bradley 10 21
Gabriel/Anna Ananya/Oliver 13 21
YorKshire won 8-2
Match 2 vs Cheshire N’land Opposition
Singles Andrew Owen Edward 12 21
George Nicolai 11 21
Emily Alisha 21 13
Lexie Daisy 21 13
Doubles Andrew/Ben Owen/Alex 10 21
George/Gabriel Nicolai/Max 12 21
Emily/Lexie Alisha/Daisy 17 21
Hannah/Anna Helena/Katie 20 21
Mixed Ben/Hannah Alex/Helena 12 21
Gabriel/Anna Max/Katie 15 21
Cheshire won 8-2
Group 3 play off
Match 3 vs Lancashire 2 N’land Opposition
Singles Andrew Tolver 16 21
George Daniel 21 17
Emily Emma 21 5
Lexie Eva 21 9
Doubles Andrew/Gabriel Tolver/Daniel 18 21
George/Ben Matthew/Jack 21 16
Emily/Lexie Emma/Eva 16 21
Hannah/Anna Chloe/Nicole 21 11
Mixed Ben/Hannah Matthew/ Chloe 18 21
Gabriel/Anna Jack/Nicole 21 14
Northumberland won 6-4
Match 4 vs Yorkshire 2 N’land Opposition
Singles Andrew Thomas 21 9
George Sarn 21 18
Emily Izzy 21 7
Lexie Megan 21 5
Doubles Andrew/Gabriel Sarn/Joe 20 21
George/Ben Michael/Thomas 21 18
Emily/Lexie Natalie/Adele 21 5
Hannah/Anna Megan/Izzy 21 9
Mixed Ben/Hannah Michael/Adele 7 21
Gabriel/Anna Joe/Natalie 21 20
Northumberland won 8-2
Well done and thanks to all the parents who travelled and provided brilliant support.
Chris Howard