Captains are impressed with the efforts of both Shropshire tennis teams in 18U County Cup

Both Shropshire sides finished third in their Lawn Tennis Association’s 18U County Cup groups – with the team captains impressed with the efforts of the players.

The boys travelled to Cambridge to compete in Group 5A while the girls were in Group 6A at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Priory.

A final day victory banished any relegation fears for Shropshire’s boys as they saved the best to last by getting the better of Bedfordshire 6-3.

They were beaten on the opening two days of the annual competition, losing 8-1 to eventual group winners East of Scotland, before being edged out 5-4 by Nottinghamshire.

The team featured Thomas Loxley, Roan Jones, Jacob Rogers, Tomas Cores Birch, William Abbatt and Zac Carradine.

Joint captains Ryan Bedwell and Henry Broadhurst, grateful to Budgen Motors for providing transport to take the team to Cambridge, said: “We were delighted that a young Shropshire team managed to escape relegation on day three of the competition.

“Day one was tough, facing a strong team from East of Scotland, led by a player ranked 12th in the UK. The boys battled well and competed but eventually came up short.

“Then came a very competitive game against Nottinghamshire. The boys did remarkably well to battle back from 4-0 down, eventually losing the deciding rubber.

“The boys were disappointed but focused on getting the result against Bedfordshire, which would keep them in division five next year. The Shropshire team, led by Thomas Loxley, all have at least two years left in the competition, so this success bodes well for future years.”

The Shropshire girls enjoyed a bright start, beating South of Scotland 7-2 on the opening day, but were then beaten 7-2 by Cumbria and 8-1 by a strong Oxfordshire side.

Captain Adam Wharf said: “With a team of seven girls travelling to Edgbaston Priory each day, the group was going to be a great challenge.

“With a great performance on day one beating the Scottish side, days two and three proved to be tougher, coming out on the wrong side against Cumbria and a strong Oxfordshire team, the eventual winners of the group.

“All of the girls did themselves proud over the weekend with great attitudes and fighting spirit.

“I look forward to helping them all develop over the coming year to become a greater force next year as we look to gain promotion.”

The team was Myfanwy Jones, Tamzin Pountney, Amy Dannatt, Amy Humphries, Emilie Gradwell, Imogen Dudson and Aimee Cooper.

Thanks were extended to Advance Spares Ltd for kindly sponsoring the team kits for the County Cup.