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I
t was a promising start to the season
against Wellington, with some
particularly dominant tennis being
played by first pair Grace Murray and
Theresa Bierling, who conceded just two
games all afternoon. There was some
good play by the other pairings, but
Wellington just pipped us, winning 5-4.
It was a well-fought battle against
Blundell's, certainly closer than the
scoreline of 3-6 might indicate.
Intelligent play by first pair Grace Murray
and Theresa Bierling led to them winning
all three of their matches, and they were
still yet to drop a set this year! The other
pairs showed continual improvement,
working hard to be more dominant on
court.
Against Millfield we won lots of points
and lots of games, just not enough sets!
There was considerable progress made
though in individual technical play and
tactical nous - Grace Murray and Theresa
Bierling were dominant throughout.
Three days later against Canford, we
played well, albeit against strong
opposition. As spoken about in training,
we were trying to implement a less static
game with more communication between
the pairs. And it worked, as we turned in
a terrific team performance to beat
Taunton School 5-4. Grace Murray and
Pearllan Cipriano dropped only two
games across their three sets!
And to end the season, another great effort
to beat Queen's 6-3 - first pair Grace
Murray and Theresa Bierling won all three
of their sets, and dropped only two games.
It could easily have been 9-0, but Victoria
Greenland and Alex Taylor just lost out 7-5
in all three of their sets. All in all there
was plenty to feel positive about!
B
y a strange quirk of fate, the Bs
began their season with exactly
the same scoreline as the As.
First pair Felicity Hamilton and Rebecca
Sherred won two of their three games and
just lost out to the Wellington first pair.
All players worked very hard though, and
signs were good for the rest of the season.
Although losing overall against Blundell's,
collectively we won many games, and all
the matches were well contested. The
stand-out performance came from third
pair Mollie Merchant and Samantha
Loomie, winning their match against the
Blundell's third pair, who had previously
beaten both our first and second pairs.
At home to Millfield we won lots of
points, with many games going to deuce,
but were pipped at the post in the vital
points. Maria Arteaga Cerezo and Anya
Dooley played particularly well though.
After half-term, we enjoyed a terrific 6-3
win over Taunton School, with all pairs
fighting hard to keep pressure on their
opponents - Chloe Smith particularly
caught the eye. And to end the season,
an exciting affair at Queen's, with a
fantastic performance from new pair
Maria Arteaga Cerezo and Mollie
Merchant who won all three of their sets,
the last one on a nailbiting tiebreak!
Chloe Smith and Sam Loomie worked
tirelessly in their defeat of the Queen's
third pair, while Katie Samuels and
Lauren John were simply irrepressible all
afternoon!
Felicity Hamilton and Victoria Greenland
celebrate success against Canford Girls' Tennis
Under 15s