This winter the Essex ladies were in Division 2 competing in Nottingham. The team consisted of Thais Castiglioni, Imogen Brooker, Evie Smart, Rebecca Raymond, Ellison Fisk, Emily Watts, Mandy Wainwright and Olivia King. The team was captained for the first time by Sophie Cockell. The team this year was a new, younger team than usual based on availability and the ethos of building a team that will stay together for future years to come both at summer and winter county events. They faced tough opposition from Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire. They had some very difficult singles matches but showed incredible determination and effort levels even when the score lines were not in their favour. They lost to the two strongest teams, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire on the first two days and faced Nottinghamshire on the last day to try to stay in Division 2. After some incredible battles they lost out from the singles and were demoted. However, the team all showed excellent team spirit, were receptive to advice and very supportive of each other both on and off the court. They had a great county experience and I hope to build on that for future events.
Essex ladies team faced tough opposition in the Summer County Cup
