Doubles pair help county avoid drop
THE longstanding Coventry pairing of Soumeya Anane from Earlsdon and Natasha Hillyer (Binley) clinched the crucial rubber against Surrey that ensured Warwickshire women avoided relegation from the elite Group 1 of the Aegon Inter-County Tennis Championships at Eastbourne.
With Surrey virtually assured of the title and already leading 4-1, Warwickshire needed just one more rubber to send Kent down along with Norfolk.
Doubles specialist Anane exacerbated a knee strain and looked down and out when she and Hillyer were pegged back to set-all by the Surrey third pair. They reasserted themselves in the deciding set, however and went for their shots brilliantly to clinch it 6-4.
Injury-hit Warwickshire had struggled in blistering sun as they lost to hot favourites Surrey 5-2 on the final day of the Championships. Ultimately though, their victories earlier in the week over Kent and Norfolk paid dividends and Hertfordshire’s win over Kent provided extra insurance that the Midlanders would stay up. Top Warwickshire pairing Emily Smith and Manisha Foster again battled valiantly, with a gritty straight sets win over the Surrey second pair but could make little impression on the powerful firsts.
Leyla Ogan produced some fine touch-play, partnering big-hitting British Junior champion Lilly Mould, 16, but the experience and consistency of the second and third Surrey pairs proved too much for them. With Surrey leading 4-2, Alannah Griffin replaced Ogan for their match with the Surrey firsts who won to take the Championship and the remaining rubbers were abandoned.
At Cambridge, Warwickshire Men failed to clinch the win over Nottinghamshire needed for the long-awaited promotion to Group 4. Top pairing Mason Recci and Oliver Nolan won their opening match against the Notts thirds but the next five rubbers all went Notts’ way, most of them agonisingly close three-setters. After Notts took a winning 5-1 lead to clinch promotion along with Dorset, the final rubbers were abandoned, so the young side must wait until next year to try to climb back up the divisions.