Nail Biting Finish for First Team

It is easy to blame the lack of success this season on the host of injuries and unavailabilities that have plagued the first team this year, however with only one of the eight nominated first team players available to play Warwickshire III it was always going to be tough to avenge the defeat from earlier in the season.

Captain Rob Pace, the only Cambs player not to have missed a match for the county this season continued his impressive singles run- opening the match with a strong win over Warwicks' top player. Unfortunately Richard Fryer, suffering from a slight lack of recent practice was not able to convert his game, going down in straight sets. Natalie Taylor continued her drive back to fitness with a confidence boosting win in a close fought two set match, and the singles honours were shared evenly as Liz Salmon was solidly beaten at second singles.

The mens doubles saw the singles players team up together, however Pace/Fryer found their touch completely deserted them as they suffered two extremely disappointing defeats. Thankfully new pairing of James Wilson/Neil Place came to the rescue by beating both Warwicks' pairings in close games, playing extremely well together to ensure the spoils were also split in the mens doubles.

Taylor teamed up with her club partner Amanda Godfrey for the ladies doubles and had mixed success, with a close win over one Warwicks pair, but just losing out to the other. It was up to the second team pairing of Salmon/Sandra Ashcroft to tie the match going into the mixed and things looked to be on track as they won the first set against the second pair before just going down in three sets, then losing in two sets to the top pairing.

This left Cambs 7-5 down with 3 mixed to play, needing one for a consolation point or all three for an unlikely win. Salmon/Place first took on Warwicks third pair and played a fantastic game, coming back from a distinctly fishy first set to take the game 22-20 in the third and ensuring Cambs would not go home empty handed. Next Taylor/Fryer had a monumental battle against the very strong first pair, again recovering from a first set defeat to take the remaining two sets 29-27, 23-21. This tied the scores, meaning the match would be decided on the very last game of the day. A victory looked on as Godfrey/Wilson ran away with the first set but a Warwicks revival saw the second set lost and meant the entire tie rested on the final set of the final game. A 9 point gap opened up as Cambs lead 18-9, however incredibly Warwicks fought back to take the match score came to 7 games all, 1 set all, 20 all. The closest possible finish to a match saw Cambs win 22-20 in the final set and take the match 8-7.

A fantastic victory which gives Cambs a glimmer of hope of avoiding relegation- a 10-5 victory over Notts is now required to stay up.

Seconds Well Beaten by League Favourites

After a rather convoluted central London journey courtesy of a quirky German satellite navigator, Cambs II arrived at the splendid Park Langley Club to face league leaders Kent III. While the men were a relatively familiar team of James Watkins, Rob Couch, Daniel Bates and Will Hodgkinson, the ladies enjoyed a blend of some new faces, and an opportunity for junior talent to get more experience under their belt.  Tracey Hayward played with Lisa Hawes, Hannah Sharman and Rachael Farrington.

Knowing that Kent were promotion candidates, and facing them on their (superb) home territory, Cambs knew that they were facing a tough battle. With four courts available, all the singles went on together, and with umpires as well it became a battle for the remaining spectators to support any particular game with our usual gusto, and keep track of the scores.  It became apparent early on that the men were going to be outgunned in their singles, with Rob suffering at the hands of a very promising performance by Kent’s Ryan Staden.  James fared slightly better, but was still beaten in two.  The girls on the other hand got off to a flying start, with both Tracey and Rachael taking their first ends.  Sadly though, the Kent ladies regained their composure and applied more pressure to win through. 

The doubles saw a collection of nail-biting games for the men.  Against the first pair, Rob and Daniel took the lead, and believed they were taking the game in the second before a late and blatant line call error stripped them of their advantage and their concentration.  In the second game, Rob and Daniel regained their composure, and asserted themselves well to take it in two – with Rob gaining his revenge from the singles.  James and Will fought hard and long, but were taken in three in both their doubles games, but only to sets in the third against the Kent 2nd pair.

The ladies suffered more, going down to straight sets in all their games. This didn’t mean that they didn’t fight though, and real effort was made to push Kent all the way. Coming to the mixed the consolation point had already slipped away, and it was clear that Cambs had a mountain to climb.  Indeed all three pairs were taken in two games, although again scores were in the high teens or sets for nearly all. 

So Cambs came home with a 14-1 loss under their belts, but again the overall score in no way reflected the quality of the games.  The players all had good hard games, and many of the scores went into the high teens.  Cambs did not feel overwhelmed, and Kent will have left knowing they’d been given a good testing.  It’s a cliché, but this will still have been a valuable experience for some of our junior players, who form the County’s future – not least with Rachael tasting first blood in the singles.

Cambridgeshre Under 15 Restricted Tournament

There are double triumphs for Molly Carter and Thomas Li at the Cambridgeshire Under 15 Restricted Tournament held at the Burwell Sports Centre.

In the Girls Singles Molly defeated Jessica Sharman in a closely contested match.  It went to three ends before Molly ran out winner by 22-20, 14-21, 21-14.

For the Girls Doubles Molly and Jessica teamed up to take the title by overcoming Rachel Hoath and Gemma McGuire 21-18, 21-12. 

Thomas Li had a convincing win in the Boys Singles when he beat Joshua Males 21-15, 21-16.  They then joined to take the doubles title in a comprehensive way be defeating the holders Shudong Li and Tom Zang 21-5, 21-9.

Results

Girls Singles

Molly Carter beat Jessica Sharman

22-20, 14-21, 21-14

Girls Doubles

Molly Carter and Jessica Sharman beat Rachel Hoath and Gemma McGuire

21-18, 21-12

Boys Singles

Thomas Li beat Joshua Males

21-15, 21-16

Boys Doubles

Thomas Li and Joshua Males beat Shudong Li and Tom Zhang

21-5, 21-9

Another Defeat for First Team

Without a single win all season Cambridgeshire 1 desperately needed a victory over Worcestershire 2 to claw back ground on the rest of the division. However both Cambs ladies singles players fell to injury playing a tournament the day before the match, so many thanks to Liz Salmon and Tracey Heyward for stepping up at very short notice.

Rob Pace lead the team out with a confident victory at first singles, gaining revenge for a defeat earlier in the season. Unfortunately county champion James Watkins was not able to avenge his earlier defeat, again beaten in 2 ends.

With the regular ladies singles players unavailable Natalie Taylor and Liz Salmon bravely stepped up and put in two great performances, Taylor’s fitness just holding out to give victory in straight sets, and Salmon losing out but deserves credit for a very strong battling performance.

It was the level doubles that cost Cambs the away fixture and the same proved true in the return leg. All four Cambs pairings were scratch partnerships and perhaps it was no surprise that all eight games went to Worcs. Perhaps even more disappointing was the fact that only one of the eight games was decided in three sets, the rest not going the full distance.

With all the points already decided there was nothing left to play for in the mixed. Pace/Kate Balls fought hard but were beaten at first, Watkins/Salmon played a tight three end game and did very well to come away with a result, then James Wilson/Taylor after using the first end as a warm up came though to win the next two comfortably.

Result 11-4 and a poor performance against a beatable team. 11th hour injuries cannot be anticipated but with six out of seven pairings being scratch partnerships, and having not fielded the same team for any two matches this season it really is no surprise Cambs are in trouble. 

Second Team Unlucky Not to Take a Point

After their strong win against Bedfordshire in the previous match, Cambs 2 were after more points to secure their place in division 4B against Suffolk 2. However, two eleventh hour injuries thanks to the Cambs Open and the unavailability of a couple of other key players lead to yet anothed reshuffled team in this difficult season.

Will Hodgkinson and Rob Couch opened proceedings with the mens singles, but although Rob battled away in his usual tenacious style and took his younger opponent to 3 ends, both rubbers went to Suffolk. Amanda Godfrey and Sandra Ashcroft stepped up for the ladies and both put in strong perfomances and again took their opponents to 3 ends, although both rubbers again went to Suffolk.

With the score at 0-4 in Suffolk's favour, Rob Couch and Dan Bates battled away and eventually overpowered their opponents in 3 ends to take the first mens doubles. Scratch pair Sam Scharf and Will Hodgkinson combined well and clinched the second doubles in another tight 3 ender. Unfortunately both paris were unable to sustain this form and both lost the reversed games to 3.

The ladies got off to a bad start, as one of the few regular pairings on show Amanda Godfrey and Tracey Bichener lost in straight sets against Suffolk's first ladies pair and although Sandra Ashcroft and Sharon Chandler fought hard, they also lost, this time in 3. The reversed games were more in Cambs favour as Amanda and Tracey returned to form and won yet another close 3 ender, although Sharon and Sandra failed to trouble to scorers, losing yet again in 3.

This left the score 9-3 to Suffolk and Cambs needed to win all three mixed to salvage a point. Third pairing of Rob and Sandra started things off well with a straight forward 2 set win, but although Amanda and Sam at first and Sharon and Dan at second put in great efforts, both pairs ended up on the wrong end of close 3 enders leaving the final score 11-4 to Suffolk.

The score line perhaps flatters Suffolk slightly as twelve out the fifteen rubbers went to 3 sets and Cambs will move on to the next match scratching their heads wondering what might have been.

Cambridgeshire Senior Open Tournament Results 2009

Men's Singles

Nathan D'Cruz (Middlesex) beat Daryl Jacobs (Middlesex) 12-21, 21-18, 21-17

Woman's Singles

Gemma Whiting (Kent) beat Miriam Beales (Hertfordshire) 21-8, 21-19

Men's Doubles

Simon Archer (Worcestershire) & Victor Liew (Hertfordshire) beat Chris Roe (Warwickshire) & Chris Tonks (Warwickshire) 21-19, 21-18

Woman's Doubles

Julie Pike (Norfolk) & Katherine Cooper (Norfolk) beat Laura Cousins (Hertfordshire) & Natalie Gilders (Gloucestershire) 21-15, 21-10

Mixed Doubles

Daniel Plant (Essex) & Katherine Cooper (Norfolk) beat Jack Molyneux (Surrey) & Gemma Whiting (Kent) 21-14, 22-20

Ist Team Well Beaten

The first match after Christmas is always difficult, especially when you are playing a team far too strong for the division they are in and three key players are unavailable. However the team was delighted to welcome back Natalie Taylor and Richard Fryer, both making their first appearances of the season. 

While Cambs are fighting to avoid relegation, Norfolk have not dropped a single point all season and that record never looked in danger during the match.

Singles saw straight sets defeats for Rob Pace and Jaclyn Lai against exceptionally strong opponents. The second singles saw Richard Fryer extremely unlucky to lose out in a tight three set game, before Alison Bennett produced a fantastic singles display against strong opposition, winning in three sets and must surely now be considered for a permanent singles place.

Doubles saw a similar story with the Norfolk top mens and ladies pairs being too strong for Cambs. Pace/Fryer picked up a point with a good victory over the second pair, unfortunately Jon Carson/Peter Galloway were not able to match their victory. Taylor/Bennett were not able to trouble the Norfolk pairs, while Lai/Kate Balls were involved in a close game before being forced to concede through illness. 

The match was decided before the mixed and the illnesses/injuries meant not a single established pair was available to play. However the three scratch pairings produced some of their best performances but unfortunately were not quite able to secure any results. Bennett/Pace gave the Norfolk first pair a huge scare, just losing out by the tightest of margins. Lai/Galloway similarly pushed their opponents close, before fading slightly towards the end. It took Taylor/Fryer the first set to work out how to play together but then produced a fine display and were beaten in the closest game of the day. 

Another disappointing result that doesn’t quite reflect the closeness of some of the games. However it is the matches against other opponents that will decide whether Cambs can maintain their place in the division rather than this game.