Rogove’s smashing debut
TABLE TENNIS Millie Rogove struck gold on her England debut at the Home Countries International in Guernsey.
A pupil at JCoSS, Rogove, 13, together with her England Cadet girls (U15) team-mate Gemma Kerr, from Plymouth, won the team event, held over two days.
Teams of two players from England, Jersey, Wales, Guernsey, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man went head to head, the format being two singles matches for each girl plus a doubles match, totalling five matches against each country.
Rogove, from Totteridge, and Kerr formed a strong partnership in their matches against Jersey, Wales, Guernsey, Scotland and Isle of Man. They won all 25 of their games but needed to beat Ireland to finish in first place.
The gold medal was not a certainty for Rogove and England as a strong Ireland team had also enjoyed a clean sweep of their rivals.
In the final showdown with Ireland, Rogove and Kerr lost their first two respective singles matches but came back to win the doubles 3-2, with Kerr then winning her second singles game.
Neck and neck at two games each, the final match of the competition saw Rogove play the Irish no. 4 ranked player, Silke Heinen.
Their nail-biting tussle was a five-set classic and with the score deadlocked at 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, Rogove trailed 8-9 in the final set but she pulled it back to deuce. Rogove showed great character to hold her nerve and win 12-10.
Based on results going into the singles competition, Rogove finished as the top seeded Cadet Girls player across all home countries. England won the overall competition, beating Ireland into second place, with the Rogove and Kerr playing a critical role in that group achievement.
To cap a great tournament for Rogove, currently ranked nine in Cadet Girls in England, she was chosen to collect the trophy shield on behalf of the 13-strong England team, featuring U15 and U18 girls and boys and U21 women and men.
Rogove went on to reach the final of the Cadet Girls singles competition on the last day after defeating the Irish no. 2 in the semi-finals. She added a silver to her gold after she was beaten 3-1 by Kerr.
Reflecting on her medal haul of gold in the Cadet Girls team event, a silver medal in the singles competition and overall gold with the England team, Rogove said: “This was my first time playing for England. It was fantastic. We were a great team.”