Girls get Essex off to stunning Inter-Counties start

by Lee Horton | Oct 12, 2014

ESSEX Under-15 girls kicked off their 2014/15 Inter-Counties campaign in scintillating fashion at Reigate on Saturday totally dominating the four-county Stage One shoot-out.

Led by captain Alice Green, the squad of Elise Lazarus, Alice, Ellie Hewes, Eleanor White, Piper Tatum and Paige McCoy were in such dominant form against home team Surrey 2, Buckinghamshire and Suffolk that they won 14 of their 15 matches dropping just four games in the process.

Team manager Chris Chitty was thrilled with the performance citing team spirit as a major factor in the Essex rout. “I couldn’t be more happy or proud of the girls,” said Chris. “The entire squad gelled as a team, supporting and encouraging one another from start to finish. Their comaraderie was terrific.”

Essex opened their account with a convincing 5-0 win over Bucks. Piper Tatum, making her county debut, got the ball rolling in impressive style downing Chloe Foster 3-0. If Piper was nervous, she didn’t show it as she pinned her opponent into the corners with good weight of shot and finishing numerous rallies with accurate drop shots and volleys.

Ellie Hewes took little time getting into her stride against third string opponent Lorna Judge taking just six minutes to win her opening game 11-4. Ellie’s accuracy of shot, matched by her speed around the court, proved too potent for Lorna and Essex were in the driving seat with the opening matches safely banked.

Eleanor White, who lifted the Essex Closed U-13’s title at The Garrison last month, continued that fine vein of form in her fourth string encounter with Molly Payne. The Marconi player was too strong and accurate for Molly who had few answers and was quickly dispatched 11-3, 11-2, 11-3.

Number one seed Elise Lazarus took time to get going against Sydney Wallace, a little heavy legged after spending almost two hours in a traffic jam attempting to reach the Surrey venue. Although not moving as well as usual, Elise still had the credentials and touch to bank the opening game 11-6. That proved enough to release the stiffness in her legs and she quickly rattled off the next two games five and five.

It was left to skipper Alice Green to complete the fixture and she duly obliged with an untroubled 3-0 win over Cassie Jones. The Billericay girl was too strong and too experienced for her opponent and Essex were on their way with an opening 5-0 victory.

That win became the blueprint for the rest of the competition as Essex first dismantled Norfolk 5-0, then took out Surrey 4-1. Coach Chitty shuffled the pack against Norfolk and Paige McCoy came in for Piper. She was quickly into her stride against Kirsty Johnson moving her opponent around the court with accurate length and solid volleying. A 3-0 victory was the perfect start for the team and Elise, Alice, Ellie and Eleanor all followed suit to secure the team’s second win of the day.

The final match-up against host club Surrey saw Essex cement their place in the Inter-Counties Stage Two with a 4-1 win. Their dominance on the day and sparkling team spirit will give the team a huge shot of confidence as they bid to emulate or better last year’s Inter-Counties challenge when they finished overall third.

RESULTS

Overall: 1st Essex 58, 2nd Bucks 28, 3rd Norfolk 23, 4th Surrey 19.

Essex 5 Bucks 0

Elise Lazarus bt Sydney Wallace 3-0: 11-6,11-5, 11-5

Alice Green bt Cassie Jones 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-3

Ellie Hewes bt Lorna Judge 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-1

Eleanor White bt Molly Payne 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3

Piper Tatum bt Chloe Foster 3-0: 11-2, 11-7, 11-7

Essex 5 Norfolk 0

Elise Lazarus bt Katie Cox 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-6

Alice Green bt Amberley McKenzie 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-5

Ellie Hewes bt Bronwyn Moxey 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 11-3