Cambs III Secure Revenge Against Beds II

Cambridgeshire IIIrds hosted Bedfordshire IInds at the weekend (27th November) for their third ICC Division 5C match, and gained revenge for the 11-4 loss earlier in the season, with a 9-6 win. Geoff Green and Josh Males opened proceedings in the first and second men's singles respectively and got the team off to a perfect start, both winning comfortably in straight sets. The ladies weren’t quite so dominant and didn't have things all their own way. Laurel Bennett at first singles fought bravely but went down to a strong junior in the third set. Jess James (J) had a topsy-turvy match, winning the first set to 10 and losing the second 21-23, before getting her game face back on to win the third to 12. 3-1 to Cambs.

First pair Will Hodgkinson and Owen Mugeridge got the mens doubles off to a bad start, losing in straight sets to a strong pair. It proved to be a bad day at the office for the pair as they also went down in straight sets to the Beds second pair. Luckily scratch second pair Graham Barr and Josh M were able to turn the tables with two fantastic performances beating both the Beds pairs in straight sets. A combination to keep an eye on. 5-3 Cambs.

The ladies started in a similar way to the men as Emma Best and Laurel B at first pair lost a close fought three-ender to the Beds first pair, before second pair Sharon Chandler and Jess J squared things up, beating the Beds second pair in straight sets. Sharon managed to tweak a calf muscle during the game but fought bravely on, sporting even more colourful strapping than usual. This must have inspired her and Jess as they turned over the Beds first pair in three sets. Laurel and Emma followed suit, beating the Beds second pair in straight sets to take the match score to 8-4 and clinch the victory for Cambs.

Needing two out of three mixed for the bonus point, Sharon and Graham opened the mixed against the Beds first pair. Despite Sharon's injury they fought back well after losing a quick first set to take the second 21-17. The third set see-sawed back and forth, until the Beds pair managed to inch away in the last few points to win 21-16. 8-5 Cambs.

The bonus point was still on as Geoff and Laurel took to the court at second pair and despite losing the first set to 15, things looked good as they fought back to 19-15 up in the second. The Beds pair then staged a remarkable recovery and came back to 20-20, before edging away to finally win 25-23. 8-6 Cambs.

With the bonus point gone, Will and Emma wrapped up the match in a comfortable straight sets win over the Beds third pair. 9-6 Cambs.

Despite missing out the bonus point, Cambs III must come away with confidence after this win over the top team in the division. They now lie only a point behind Beds II after 3 matches and a win over Lincs II in a couple of weeks would make for a nice early Christmas present.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs II Triumph vs Northants II

Cambridgeshire IInd team further cemented their top-table position in Division 5D with a second win, this time against last years' bogey team and Division Champions Northants II.

With a sense of anticipation going into the match, and sharing the hall with the IIIrd team who were also playing close rivals Bedforshire, the atmosphere at the venue was febrile. The match started hopefully, with both James Wilson and Rob Couch leading in their singles after the first end. However, while Rob managed to put his immense reach and irresistible will into winning the second end 21-17, James was reeled in by an experienced and consistent first singles player, and lost in a knife-edge last game 20-22.

In the girls' singles, both Molly Carter and Kate Marshall proved too strong and able for the Northants players, and won comfortably in two ends.

The match took a less positive turn with Captain Daniel Bates and James combining in a particularly nervy first doubles game, in which they never truly settled into a rhythm and lost in straight sets. Rob teamed up with Paul Martell to more success winning their draw. In the return game, James and Daniel settled more and won comfortably, while Rob and Paul having won the first end against the Northants first pair could not maintain the effort and lost in three.

The Cambridgeshire girls however maintained their standards from the singles with a clean sweep of the doubles draws. Molly partnered Liz Salmon while Kate paired up with Jessica Sharman. Both pairs secured their game against the second pair in straight sets, while the first pair offered stiffer resistance. They pushed Jessica and Kate to a nailbiting 24-22 finale, with Jessica applying the final Coup de Grace with a disguised sliced drop shot which drew cheers and a standing ovation from the watching crowds.

Going into the mixed, which is traditionally a Cambridgeshire strength, with a 9-3 scoreline gave reason for optimism. However, the bonus point awarded for achieving 10 sets proved much tighter than hoped. While Jessica and Daniel put in a commanding performance to win 21-17, 21-14, James and Kate and Paul and Liz found their opposition tougher. Even though James and Kate also came out of the blocks blazingly fast, they were eventually tracked down and lost in three 21-10, 16-21, 16-21. Paul and Liz also lost their last game in the third end having taken the first comfortably, with another set game 21-13, 17-21, 22-24.

In the outcome then, Cambridgeshire were delighted to secure full points and remain firmly at the top of their division. Their next stop is a pre-Christmas trip to Lincolnshire.

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs III in Winning Ways

Cambridgeshire IIIrd team hosted Northamptonshire IIIrds at the weekend for their second ICC Division 5C match, and got their season back on track with a 12-3 win.

Geoff Green and Owen Mugeridge opened proceedings in the first and second men’s singles respectively, with Geoff winning comfortably in straight sets. Owen found the going slightly tougher and lost in two. The ladies were more dominant as both Kate Marshall at first singles and Jess James (J) at second won comfortably in two sets, leaving the score 3-1 to Cambs.

The mens doubles continued in a similar vein, with first pair Will Hodgkinson and Josh Males (J) beating both the Nhants pairs in straight sets. Jet-setting second pair Owen and Damien Dugmore (recently back from the Balkans and China respectively) found the going tougher, losing a very tight game to the Nhants second pair in three sets. They finally found their form against the first pair, winning comfortably in two. 6-2 to Cambs.

The ladies dominated again in the doubles, with both Kate and Jess at first pair and Laurel Bennett and Lisa Lim at second beating both the Nhants pairs. Kate and Jess had a slight stumble against the first pair when they loss the second set, but they came back very strongly in the third to win 21-9. Laurel and Lisa won both their games comfortably. 10-2 to Cambs and all three points staying in Cambridge.

With the match won and all the points decided, the team could have relaxed, but instead maintained their level and took two out of the three mixed games. Scratch first pair Geoff and Kate battled back from a 10-21 loss in the first set to take the second 21-16, but lost out to the experienced Nhants pair 21-18 in the third. Second pair Will and Lisa and third pair Josh and Jess cruised through both of their games in two comfortable sets.

The 12-3 win is a good confidence booster for the team after the Bedfordshire defeat and means they are still in the running in the division.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

Bedfordshire II vs Cambridgeshire III

Cambridgeshire IIIrd team travelled to Bedford last Sunday for their first ICC Division 5C match of the season, but came away empty handed after a 4-11 loss. Graham Barr and Will Hodgkinson opened proceedings in the 1st and 2nd men’s singles respectively and despite very competitive games, both lost in straight sets. The ladies fared slightly better when Kate Marshall won convincingly at 2nd singles, but Jess James (J) at 1st singles followed the men by losing in 2.

Things didn’t improve in the men’s doubles as first pair Will H and Josh Males (J) and second pair Will Cheng and Graham lost all of their games in straight sets. Mention must go to Will H and Josh however, as they lost their games by frustratingly narrow margins, 22-20, 22-20 and 21-18, 21-19.

The ladies doubles got off to a better start as 2nd pair Laurel Bennett and Lisa Lim beat their opposite pair in straight sets. Emma Best and Jess had a see-saw game against the Beds 1st pair, winning the first set 21-8, losing the second set 8-21 and then narrowly losing 20-22 in the third. The remaining doubles games all went to Beds, although Laurel and Lisa gave the Beds 1st pair a good run for their money, finally losing the third set 19-21.

With the score now at 10-2 the chance of a bonus point for Cambs III had gone, so playing only for pride Will H and Laurel opened the mixed against the Beds 1st pair. Things didn’t go quite according to plan though, and they suffered a heavy defeat in straight sets. Kate and Graham at 2nd mixed produced a fine performance, coming back from a set down to win in three. Josh and Jess followed suit with a spirit breaking comeback from 20-12 down in the second set, to finally win 21-13 in the third.

The 11-4 score line flatters Beds somewhat, and doesn’t quite reflect how close some of the games were. With the return leg in only a few weeks time a home win for Cambs III is not completely out of the question.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

Essex II vs Cambs I

So the second match for the first team in division 1 and with a rearranged team due to a couple of injuries we went trying to get a point against a Essex team that will be fighting Middlesex for promotion so we knew it was going to be tough.

The men’s singles was always going to be tough and so it proved with Sam Scharf losing the first singles, 10 and 10. Stephen Pickering found his opposition much tougher than last time losing 6 and 9.

The Ladies singles however was much closer with Olga Bryant losing in three ends 11-21, 21-12 and 7-21 and Nat Taylor at second singles winning 21-16, 21-11.

The men’s doubles showed a rearranged line up with Simon Woodhouse playing with Stephen at one and Sam playing with James Wilson at two, the first games showed that it was new pairings with Simon and Stephen losing 21-16 and 21-13, and the Sam and James losing 21-17 and 21-13 the reverse doubles however were much closer with Sam and James narrowly losing to the first pair, 21-17 and 21-19. Simon and Stephen going to three games but still losing 12-21, 21-18, 7-21.

The Ladies also had a tough first set of games with Sara Mason and Nat losing 15-21, 19-21 and second pair of Olga and Hannah Sharman also losing in 2 17-21 and 17-21. However in the reverse doubles there was a great effort by both pairs with Nat and Sara winning 21-14 and 21-18. Then with some phenomenal play by Hannah, she and Olga won 25-23 and 21-19.

This put us in the same position as the previous match needing all three mixed for a point. Olga and Stephen playing a 1st mixed faced tough opposition and unfortunately lost in straight games 21-19 and 21-16. Sara and James playing at 2nd also had some really tough opposition for a second pair and didn’t look out played but lost in two, 21-18 and 21-17. Finally in 3rd Nat and Si managed to regain some honour for the team winning 21-15 and 22-20.

Player of the Day as selected by the team was Hannah Sharman, but mention also ought to go to Nat who once again won 3 out of 4 games.

More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs II Kick Off With 15-0 Win

In an emphatic and encouraging start to the 2011-12 season, the Cambridgeshire IInd team romped to a 15-0 victory against a newly-relegated Warwickshire IV side. After a disrupted start due to a late arrival, things were immediately positive with Tom Li pressing home his singles victory after a hard-fought first end. Debutant Graham Barr also put in a comprehensive singles game, defeating his opponent in straight games to 18 and 14. Laurel Bennett showed grit and determination to turn around a first-end loss, and finished the next two games with thumping wins to 7 and 10. Once Molly Carter could get started, she also played a strong game and won in two ends.

The mens doubles partnerships of James Wilson/Daniel Bates and Paul Martell/Tom Li won their games comfortably – all finishing in two ends. The ladies found the Warks first pair harder going, with both Molly and Jessica Sharman, and Laurel and debutant Katie Morton, fighting through to win that game in three after losing their first ends. The second pair was dispatched in two ends in both games.

With the game and the bonus point secure, Cambs went into the mixed in high spirits. All three pairs – James and Katie, Daniel and Jess, and Paul and Laurel all secured their games in two straight ends.

In all then, an extremely satisfying and welcome start to a season in which this team is focused on hunting promotion. This was a good consistent performance, and we can hope that the taste of success is one we can repeat over the course of the season.

More information on the progress of the team can be found in the appropriate Team Page.

Cambs I Fight Hard in Season Opener

Following promotion last year, Cambs first team began what will inevitably be a hard-fought season with a 5-10 loss to Middlesex. Natalie Taylor was the standout performer, winning her singles, mixed with Simon Woodhouse, and one ladies with recent County addition Sara Mason. Simon also teamed up with Neil to win one of their mens, and Sara joined Neil to win their mixed as well.

Cambs were in contention throughout, and a lot of the games were very close. Middlesex are a strong team in this league, so if the team push ahead with this level of effort and committment, then the goal of survival in the division should be more than achievable.

Captains Report

The first match against Middlesex bought a family rivalry to Cambridgeshire with Simon Woodhouse’s older brother playing for the opposition. Because we had all 4 courts we sent all four singles on at once, Sam Scharf playing 1st singles was up against a class singles player who comfortably beat him in two games, meanwhile Stephen Pickering was in a longer 2 set battle and eventually went down 19 and 19.

The Ladies singles was closer with Olga Bryant wining the first end 24 – 22 unfortunately then lost the next 2 games to lose the rubber, Nat Taylor at second singles however offer a ray of hope winning easily in two games 21-15 and 21-10.

On to the doubles in the men’s Simon and Neil Place went on for the family crunch game against Daniel and Jinesh who had won the Middlesex restricted for the last 2 years and although playing well lost 21-18 and 21-16 meanwhile Sam and Jon Carson had, had an equally close game against the second pair and lost 21-17 and 21-19.

In the reverse double Neil and Simon lost the first end 23-25 and then went onto win the next two games 21-13 and 21-10 giving Cambs men their first winning rubber however Sam and Jon struggled against the Middlesex 1st pair losing 21-16 and 21-8.

In the ladies there was a better start with new-to-the-county Sara Mason and Nat justifying their number one status by beating the Middlesex first pair 21-19, 14-21 and 21-18, however second pair Olga and Hannah Sharman did not fare so well losing 12-21 and 20-22.

In the reverse of the ladies Sara and Nat battled against the second pair and unfortunately lost in three ends, 22-20, 20-22 and 17-21, Olga and Hannah did not fare much better losing 20-22 and 14-21.

This meant we needed all 3 mixed to try and salvage a point from the day, first to win was Neil and Sara playing at 3rd winning 21-16, and 22-20, second off was Simon and Nat playing at 2nd who won 21-18 and 22-20, unfortunately Olga and Stephen playing at 1st mixed failed to win going down 15-21 20-22.

A tough first foray in the division but some highlights, the team decided to nominate Nat Taylor as player of the Day winning 3 out of 4 games, also deserving a mention are Sara Mason, Simon Woodhouse and Neil Place who won 2 out of their 3 games.  This was not enough to get us a point but Middlesex are fighting for promotion so will be one of tougher teams in the division.

More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.