May 8, 2024

Lionel Cox Report

9U Team Report

Captain: Josh Crossley

Team:

Lottie, Ellie, Ayana, Johanna
James, Alexander, James T, Maksim

It was an amazing and sunny day for tennis for the Under 9s in Cambridge. We had a lot of tennis to be played and it was a very similar structure to the Under 10s at Queenswood. The boys were first and there would be some matches being played indoors and outdoors. In the boys group they had; Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and they would go onto to play against Suffolk in their play off match. Cambs were a tough opponent to play first, the boys had a good start but could’t quite get into as much as they would have liked. They ended up losing 0-2. They were then warmed up for Norfolk and came out fighting, they were battling hard with James and Alexander coming close in their match but just lost out. James T and Maksim were playing some much more aggressive tennis and took it to a 3rd set but lost 5-7. We lost 0-2 to Norfolk. Hertfordshire were our 3rd opponents and both pairs played some of their best tennis, taking the match to their opponents and going toe to toe with them. Both matches went to 3 sets but we couldn’t quite get over the line. We lost 0-2 to Herts. Lastly, in our group we had Bucks who were having a strong day but James T and Maksim came flying out of the blocks taking the first set 7-3. James E and Alex played some very smart tactical tennis, looking to use the middle of the court more especially when defending. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough with both pairs losing. This meant we finished the group in 5th and would play in a playoff against Suffolk. We battled well, with boys pairs coming extremely close to taking both matches they narrowly lost out, fighting right until the last point!

Girls were up next in a similar group; Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and then a play off with Norfolk. The girls came to a fantastic atmosphere of team tennis, the girls supported the boys in their final match before kick starting their campaign. It took them a bit of time to get going but it was a good warm up practice. Johanna and Ellie coming very close to taking the 2nd set. We lost 0-2 overall. Buckinghamshire were next and Lottie/Ayana started extremely well. They took the 1st set 7-6 but couldn’t quite get it over the line. Johanna and Ellie fought well but lost 2-7 2-7. Hertfordshire were very strong and didn’t give our girls a chance. We tried a few different things to try and out play them but they were too good. Our girls lost 0-2. Lastly, Suffolk were our final group match and we carried on with lots of effort and high energy but it wasn’t quite enough. We were therefore battling for 9th/10th position against Norfolk. Johanna and Ellie played extremely well, great communication and stayed very solid taking both sets. Lottie and Ayana also did a superb job winning the first set but narrowly losing the final two sets. We therefore finished 9th overall and the girls enjoyed finishing on a bit of a high.

Well done to all boys and girls, it was a brilliant days tennis especially showcasing their doubles skills!

Josh Crossley

10U Team Report

Captains: Josh Crossley, Jack Barron and Billy Groves

Team:

Freddie, Ruban, Allen, Joey
Mollie, Rui, Julia, Siyu

Day 1
It was an early start at Queenswood with the sun beating right from the start. We had a super warm up and the girls were getting used to a very different wet, fast, slippy service.

Mollie and Rui kicked off against Norfolk with a super win as pair 1 winning 4-0 4-1 with Julia and Siyu battling so well in the first set of their match from 0-3 down to win 4-3 4-2 in the end.

Boys were next playing against Cambridgeshire who had some very strong players. Joey and Freddie stayed very calm and played some lovely tactical tennis coming out with a 4-0 4-2 win. Ruben and Allen also played some smart tennis, bringing some positive energy in the 2nd set tie break but just losing out in the 3rd set tie break 2-10. Boys drew against Cambridgeshire.

Bucks were next for the girls who looked to get more involved at the net, dominating the middle of the court and took both matches keeping their strong position in the league standings.

The last match for the boys on day 1 was Norfolk and some very consistent opponents. Both pairs worked and supported one another very well, raising the intensity throughout the match and both pairs taking the win. The boys would therefore be tied 2nd going into Day 2.

The last match for the girls was against Hertfordshire who had two very strong pairs. Our girls raised their level with Mollie producing some great volleys through the middle of the court and Julia using her defensive skills from the back but it wasn’t quite enough and we lost both rubbers. Girls would go into Day 2 in 2nd place.

Day 2
The boys were on first and after a brilliant first day they were raring to go. It was another beautiful day with Joey and Freddie playing a super doubles match taking the first match of the day. Allen and Ruben battled hard but just lost out. We tied 1-1 and unfortunately lost by 3 games.

The girls were battling it out in a semi final/final type of format. Both pairs played some great tennis against Essex who were very strong. Julia and Siyu coming close in the 2nd set losing out in a tie break with Rui/Mollie coming close in both sets. They lost 0-2 and therefore would be playing for 3rd/4th place.

The last group in the boys box was against Northamptonshire and both pairs came flying out of the blocks. Taking both sets and only dropping 2 games overall. We would therefore be playing for 3rd/4th playoff against Berkshire. Our last 2 matches for girls and boys were against Berkshire. We knew they were going to be strong but all of our players kept fighting until the end. We were very impressed by everyones volleys and players looking to get more involved at the net. Each game was very close and Siyu/Julia came close in the 1st set tie break but couldn’t get it over the line and they came 4th overall.

Ruben and Allen worked well together bringing lots of good energy to the court. They fought valiantly until the end but lost 2-4 1-4. Joey and Freddie had a tough battle as well but managed to win 4-2 4-2. This meant the match would came down to games won and therefore Berkshire won by 1 game. It was an extremely close match but the boys came 4th and this was a super effort from all.

Well done to all boys and girls for their efforts!

Josh Crossley

12U Boys Team Report

Captain: Allan Cooper

Team:

Timothy, Oliver, Arthur, Austen

This year’s 12U Lionel Cox team was assembled from those players who hadn’t had the opportunity to compete in the recently concluded 14U County Cup event. The format had to be adjusted (due to this year’s adverse weather rendering the venue’s clay courts unplayable) causing a breakaway from tradition featuring a “doubles only” format. This presented us Captains with the challenge of finding & combining players who had little-to-no prior experience of playing together. As it happened; the four players who represented Oxfordshire in the 12U event this year ended up being a fantastic group of players who came together quickly to form a strong bond and rally around each other.

Our first match began early morning on Saturday 4th May against Hertfordshire on high bouncing hard courts (contrary to the belief that we would be playing on low-bouncing artificial grass courts!). Our players needed to settle their nerves quickly and exploit the conditions and opponents’ weaknesses to try and get wins: Timothy & Oliver started fantastically against Hertfordshire’s first pair, winning 4-2, 3-4(6), 10-3 - a tough match, in which they kept their heads very well to quell a fighting comeback from a spirited pair! The pair combined very well with consistent & effective communication and played solidly from the baseline. They did however struggle to put away some vital volleys and capitalise on opportunities at the net generally, but, they did well to adjust their strategy and exploit their opponents’ weaknesses in the end playing a solid champs tie-break. Our second pair: Arthur & Austen made a great start against a nervous pair playing with consistency and took early advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses in the first set. The second set saw them lose successive sudden death (deuce) points and tactically struggled to win / control from the net. The Berkshire second pair had their tails up in the second set and carried that momentum through to the champs tie-break where they were able to control points better than us. It was a good fight from Arthur and Austen but unlucky not to have won going down 4-0, 1-4, 6-10.

Our second match against Berkshire proved to be our toughest contest. We went into the fixture with a positive mindset and started very well in both matches wining the first in tie-break set in each. However, as was the same in the first match; we lost the following (second) set quite easily in both matches! The championship tie-breaks proved to be too much for us despite our best efforts succumbing to very good displays of consistency and aggression from the Berkshire pairs as reflected in the scores: Timothy & Oli lost vs. Berkshire #1: 4-3(7), 0-4, 7-10. Arthur & Austen lost vs Berkshire #2: 4-3(5), 1-4, 5-10

The third match of the day saw us up against Suffolk. This was a much more manageable affair where we decided to change the pairings up to see how a new partner would affect the dynamic. The scores reflected a positive mood going in to the match and great communication / combination from both pairs. Timothy & Arthur won at first pair 4-0, 4-1 whilst Oliver & Austen won as well 4-2, 4-1 at second pair.

The second day (Sunday) saw us up against Norfolk in our last fixture of the group – the team wasn’t able to practice before the match so had to hit the ground running from the first game. Our fate had already been decided earlier in the day when Hertfordshire drew against Berkshire, resulting in us being locked in to third place in the group (as opposed to second as hoped!). We decided to continue with the pairings from the previous match to continue the “success momentum” and although Norfolk put up a strong fight, we ultimately were too strong for them closing them out 2-0. Timothy & Arthur won at first pair 4-2, 3-4(0), 10-3 (once again dropping the second set due to a loss in intensity but wining in a strong champs tie-break) and Oli & Austen won at second pair 4-3(4), 4-0 overcoming their opponents who showed great fighting spirit and attitude in a match that needed our players to step up… which they did!

The play-off for 5th/6th saw Oxfordshire up against Essex. Our final match was understandably full of tension but of a high standard. Timothy and Arthur featured at No.1 pair once again, started really well, securing the first set 4-2. Unfortunately they lost the following set (2-4) before needing a championship tie-break to decide it where they tried their best but went down to a formidable team 2-10. Oliver and Austen on the other hand came back from a set down to level things and take the match to a decider. Unfortunately, they were unable to raise their levels high enough either and lost in a respectable champs tie-break 5-10 resulting in a loss to Essex.

Our overall standing of 6th place didn’t do us justice in my opinion – our players were never technically overwhelmed against any team. If anything, we lacked a little physicality and doubles experience against those sides that finished above us. We should be proud of how our boys performed.

The team played five matches consisting of ten rubbers where we won exactly 50% of those. There was a total of twenty-seven sets played across the two days, and of those sets; five went to set tie-breaks and seven went to a deciding third set championship tie-break.

Overall, we won the highest amount of games in our group (90) but also lost the most amount of games which effectively led to our 3rd positioning in it. The narrow defeat(s) against Berkshire proved to be our undoing ultimately. Special mentions go out to Timothy who won the most amount of games across all counties in the group (53) partnering two different players, and Oliver whose leadership skills shone through as he maintained positive communication with each of his partners and fought hard to the end.

We would like to congratulate all the players who behaved impeccably over the weekend and thank their parents for ferrying them back & forth as well as supporting the team throughout two eventful & exciting days! Each player brought valuable contributions to their teams and there were no incidents to report in terms of on-court or off-court behavioural issues.

Finally, I would like to thank Tennis Oxfordshire for giving me and the players the opportunity to work with the 12U County Team at Lionel Cox and look forward to helping the County progress onwards & upwards through the ranks in future!

Allan Cooper

12U Girls Team Report

Captain: Hannah Russell-Crossley and Lucy Brown

Team:

Sofia, Victoria, Emily, Rosie

The 12U girls were looking forward to a good day of tennis in the sunshine at Queenswood. The team consisted of Sofia, Victoria, Emily & Rosie.

First up on Saturday was Cambridgeshire and it was a tough start for the team. Sofia & Victoria put up a good fight at first pair but unfortunately their opponents proved too strong this time. After losing the first set in their match, Emily & Rosie at second pair managed to push their opponents to a tie-break in the second set but sadly couldn't quite get it to a match tie-break. This resulted in a 2-0 win for Cambridgeshire.

The girls then had quite a break in between matches so we made the most of the time and took advantage of a spare court to get a team practice in.

Feeling more confident after the practice session, the girls were ready to take on Bedfordshire. All four of the girls played some brilliant tennis during their second matches, dispelling any nerves from round 1. Showing great teamwork and fighting spirit, the girls competed really well to win both matches, defeating Bedfordshire 2-0.

A great end to the day, the girls were extremely happy to finish on a win and were very much looking forward to getting back on court the following day.

Sundays first match was against Norfolk, Rosie and Emily securing the first win of the day followed by another win from Sofia and Victoria. The girls managed to get a fast 2-0 win and were looking forward to the next match which was against Essex.

The girls put up a big fight against Essex but their opponents were too strong. Both Oxfordshire pairs fighting all the way through their matches. The girls would face Northamptonshire next in the play offs. Sofia and Victoria put up a great fight but in a close match they just missed out. Northamptonshire took a 2-0 win against Oxfordshire. All girls showcased some great doubles and seemed to really enjoy themselves.

A big thank you to all of the referees and Queenswood School for hosting.

Hannah Russell-Crossley

Overall, Oxfordshire finished in 6th place.