Essex fielded probably its strongest squad of players that has represented Essex for many years featuring a mix of Senior & Junior Players and with confidence & hopes high, in a nail biting final Surrey were beaten 8 – 1.
Essex Ladies lost an incredibly tense match 4-5 to Middlesex meaning they are relegated from Group 1 – We would all like to give a huge thanks to Captain Mel who has done an amazing job over the last few years & will be sorely missed – she will be a hard act to follow and we wish her well.
For a full report on the Essex Men’s win see below:
Winter County Cup 2019
As reigning champions Essex men felt like they had something to prove – and they did!!
Essex fielded probably its strongest squad of players that has represented Essex for many years. Featuring a mix of Senior & Junior Players consisting of Ryan Peniston, Henry Patten, Robert Carter, Marshall Tutu, Richard Wire, David Wright, Tom Higgins, Joel Cannell, , Alex Groves & Ed Pudney.
There were some very heroic performances from the entire team. Richard Wire and Henry Patten showed great character in winning some close 3 set matches. Essex as a team were on fantastic form, showing no weakness to the opposition and keeping the momentum firmly with Essex.
There were many inspiring individual performances and I should mention Marshall Tutu playing at number 2 singles and winning all 3 days. Also it was Joel’s first winter cup and proved to be a great success winning all his matches.
Well done to the juniors of the team Ed and Alex both winning valuable singles matches.
Day to day results
Friday – saw us up against Lincolnshire. After a nervy start we stormed through to win 8-1.
Saturday – meant that we were playing against another strong county, Yorkshire. Great start in the singles, which baffled their captain. The momentum continued into the doubles, Essex won 7-2.
Sunday- with our confidence & hopes high, we were up against Surrey. We didn’t want to let anything go wrong and convincingly won 8-1, which crowned us NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
All 10 players played a big part in becoming national champions 2 years running and with the structure that is currently in place within Essex Men’s Tennis we are well placed to achieve success in the forthcoming LTA 2020 Summer Grass Championships being held at Eastbourne.
This win is dedicated to Jamie Willson & his legacy, which will never be forgotten.
Tom Higgins
Men’s Team Captain