Three trophies for Charlotte
A squad of nine girls from Wales traveled to Middleborough for the Northfield Tournament on Saturday May 10. Charlotte Carey, Lauren Cundy, Sasha Denby, Chloe Edwards, Laura Edwards, Beth Roberts, Carys Roberts, Gabby Wan and Carys Webster, all aged between nine and twelve, made the trip to the North of England with NPCs Alan Griffiths, Joanna Clarke and Kath Banks, and between them lifted all four girls’ event trophies.
The Under-11 event was an entirely Welsh affair from the semi-final stage, where Lauren Cundy beat Laura Edwards and Beth Roberts beat Sasha Denby. Beth then beat Lauren in the final to take the trophy.
SF Lauren Cundy beat Laura Edwards -6, -10, 7, 5, 5
SF Beth Roberts beat Sasha Denby 4, 8, 7
Final Beth Roberts beat Lauren Cundy 8, 4, 6
In the Under-13 event, two of the squad made it through to semi-final stage, where Charlotte Carey defeated Renee Ho of Scotland, but Carys Webster was unable to hold her own against another Scottish player, Alice Williams. Charlotte, however, went on to beat Alice in the final.
SF Charlotte Carey beat Renee Ho -6, -8, 8, 8, 8
SF Alice Williams beat Carys Webster 5, 7, 2
Final Charlotte Carey beat Alice Williams 6, 8, 3
In the Cadet (Under-15) event, only Charlotte reached the semi finals, where she defeated Nadine Wright of Scotland, then took on Rhian Williams, also of Scotland, and beat her in the final to claim her second trophy of the day.
SF Charlotte Carey beat Nadine Wright 10, -5, 8, 8
Final Charlotte Carey beat Rhian Williams 9, 4, 9
The Junior (Under-18) event started fairly late in the day, by which time most of the very young Welsh squad had been playing for six hours. Charlotte Carey again reached the semi finals, where she defeated Renee Ho of Scotland for the third time in the tournament. In the final, she once again faced Rhian Williams of Scotland, in the last match of the day. She lost a closely-fought first set, took the next two, then lost an even closer fourth set, before going 0-5 down in the fifth. However, after coach Joanna Clark called time out, Charlotte returned to the table to take the next five points, and then the final set, winning the match, the Junior Girls title, and her third trophy of the day. Well done, Charlotte!
SF Charlotte Carey beat Renee Ho 7, 6, 1
Final Charlotte Carey beat Rhian Williams -11, 5, 9, -16, 9
Mention should also be made of nine-year-old Laura Edwards, the youngest player in the squad, who played very well indeed, taking on opponents nearly twice her age and height in the Junior Girls competition. She was rewarded for her efforts with the Runner-up trophy in the Junior Consolation event.