County’s over-35 tennis ladies’ team crowned national champions
LEICESTERSHIRE over-35s ladies’ tennis team have been crowned national champions.
They won the Division 1 title for the first time since 2009 at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne.
The team – captain Lucy Croucher, Anne Meredith, Kerry Pollard, Claire Wynne and Sarah Page – competed in both singles and doubles matches each day.
On the first day, competing against 2021 champions Middlesex, Kerry and Anne got the team off to a flying start by winning both singles matches.
Lucy and Claire played doubles together throughout the weekend, winning four out of five matches and delivered a confidence-boosting win over Middlesex’s experienced no.1 doubles pair, ending the day with an impressive 5-0 win.
Day two against Durham and Cleveland proved extremely challenging in the windy conditions, with Anne narrowly missing out on a singles win after losing an exciting 10-6 third set tie-break.
After round four, it was level 2-2 in rubbers.
Claire and Lucy battled hard but were beaten in the final doubles match of the day, losing 3-2 overall. Going into the final day of competition, it was all to play for on centre court.
A win against Lancashire would secure the title, but a defeat could mean relegation to Division 2, depending on the result between Durham and Middlesex.
Kerry played an outstanding singles match, winning on a third set tie-break, to put the Leicestershire foxes into the lead.
Anne continued the winning momentum with a fantastic performance, securing a 7-6, 7-5 singles win.
Finally, Claire and Lucy won the doubles match in an exciting 10-6 third set tie-break to secure the 3-0 win and take the Leicestershire team to glory by becoming national champions.
Captain Lucy Croucher said: “The performances and team spirit was absolutely remarkable and a real credit to our county.
“We never expected to end up as champions but every player made a massive contribution to the end result.
“We cannot wait to return to defend our title next year.”