National School Girls U15

SINGLES COMPETITION

One of the lovely things about this age group is that the girls nearly always have a smile on their faces and the often run to change ends!

Nine different schools were represented in the U15 Singles Championships with the usual format of playing in groups, with the group winner moving up to the next group. Our first match Clemmie Wilmott vs Bonnie Tindall set a very high standard from the start with Bonnie winning 5-3 due to more consistent return of serves. Bonnie stayed on court to play Olivia. Olivia raced to a 3-0 lead hitting some very attacking groundstrokes off both wings and good length serves, eventually winning 5-1.  Ida then went on court to play Olivia; both girls retrieved well with Olivia winning 5-2 having slightly better control with her groundstrokes. With two wins each the match to decide group winner was between Clemmie and Olivia. On this occasion 10-year-old Olivia was the victor 5-2 producing some very good length serves. In the final game Ida v Bonnie, Ida rallied and volleyed well to win 5-0 which was not a true reflection of the match as nearly every game went to deuce.

The first match of the next group was Erin vs Tabs; Erin’s varied and tight serve gave her the edge, winning 5-2. In the next match Tabs played consistently to win 5-3 against Florrie. Florrie then stayed on court to play Olivia and whilst Olivia won 5-0, Florrie ran every ball down and it went to deuce in several games, but Olivia won the vital game points. Olivia took on Erin next. Erin served sharply to begin with going to a 3-0 lead, but Olivia rallied well to get back to 3-3, then made a couple of unforced errors to go 3-4 down and then a deuce game saw Erin finish by hitting the game ball into the dedans and become group winner. Two pairs were allowed to go through from this group so our next match Tabs vs Olivia would decide 2nd place. Whilst Olivia played tactically so well, Tabs weight of shot won her points time and again.

On to our final group where the standard of play went up by several notches. Our first match saw Zoe vs Riya. Both players can hit railroad serves which added great variety to their games. It went game for game until 2-2 with some lovely shots by both players into the corners of the court. Then Riya went up a gear and hit some excellent angled shots to take the next 3 games and win 5-2. Riya stayed on court to play Erin; this was a very close encounter and could have been any ones match but in the end Riya came through 5-3 with some super good length cross court forehands. Tabs then came on court to play Erin. At this point the accuracy of Erin’s formidable strong serve deserted her and whilst there were some excellent rests with Tabs retrieving brilliantly, Erin was for much of the time at the receiving end, Tabs winning by a well-deserved 5-1. Tabs then took on Zoe and what a tight match this was. Although Zoe won 5-2, Tabs had game balls in every game but unfortunately over hit onto the penthouse.  Zoe stayed on court to play Erin and with renewed confidence attacked every ball and won 5-1. Our final group game was Riya vs Tabs. Tabs whizzed around the court making some spectacular retrievals which was off putting for Riya who, as a result, made some unforced errors. At 2-all Riya then re-asserted herself with some softer railroad serves which Tabs didn’t know how to respond. This meant that Riya came out top of the group with 3 wins and Zoe was group runner- up. So, to the final, Riya vs Zoe, one set to 8 games. There were some beautiful rests and after losing the first game through some sloppy unforced errors, Riya settled down to hit some excellent volleys and in particular sharp shots cutting down into Zoe’s forehand corner to win 8-1. Zoe fought hard, serving well throughout the match but Riya’s attacking shots were relentless.

DOUBLES COMPETITION

Just one group of 5 pairs competed in this year’s competition which included 5 newcomers from Wellington, Lucie Kitchen, Paloma Kelton, Alice Meldrum, Arabella Reed and Ashleen Gill – this event marked their first ever competition, having only picked up a racquet 2-3 weeks beforehand!  However, as the matches went on, you could see how quickly they were learning to serve and began hitting the ball more confidently – all very promising.

Two pairs stood out as possible finalists, Erin Hartman/Zoe Neville and Olivia Jacobs/Clemmie Willmott. These two pairs played each other first in the group. Olivia began serving to Zoe and immediately produced an impressive railroad, followed by a strong forehand into the base of the tambour. Zoe began to read Olivia’s serve and also produced some strong forehands of her own, however, Olivia and Clemmie managed to not concede any chases.  At deuce, Zoe hit a return into the dedans making it their advantage, however, it was Olivia and Clemmie who kept their composure to win the first game with a volley by Olivia under the grille which Erin could not return. The next game went to Erin and Zoe to make it 1-1. It was not until the third game that a chase was laid. Erin and Zoe then took control of this match with Erin and Zoe’s strong and varied serving and impressive groundstrokes. They went onto win the match 5-2. Olivia and Clemmie stayed on to play Lucie and Paloma and won 5-0. Next on were Alice and Arabella (Bells) vs Lucie and Paloma and this time it was Lucie and Paloma’s turn to win 5-0. Alice and Bells then played Bonnie Tindall and Ashleen Gill and lost 5-1. Bonnie and Ashleen stayed on to play Erin and Zoe with the latter pair proving too strong and winning 5-0. It was the same score in Erin and Zoe’s next match against Lucie and Paloma. Lucie and Paloma stayed on to play Bonnie and Ashleen. This was a much closer match with the latter pair showing more confidence and hitting the ball better but nonetheless losing 5-3.  The remaining group matches saw Olivia and Clemmie proving too strong for Bonnie and Ashleen 5-1, and then again against Alice and Bells 5-0, with the remaining group match being won by Erin and Zoe 5-0 against Alice and Bells.

The final between Erin/Zoe and Olivia/Clemmie was an 8-game set. Both pairs played well demonstrating some excellent volleys, serves and producing strong forehands. Gradually Erin and Zoe’s confidence grew, and their placement of shots became more accurate which Olivia and Clemmie found difficult to return.  The result was a win for Erin and Zoe 8-1, however, the score does not reflect the closeness of the games.

Our thanks to our co-sponsors, The Dedanists’ Society, and to Wellington College for hosting the competition.  Additional thanks to Dan Jones and Adam Player for their marking and general support and finally, a thank you to Alex Garside and Jill Newby for their support in running the competition.