14&U Girls County Cup 2026
2nd-3rd May Group 2e at North Oxford
Team: Isabella Buhrkohl, Scarlet Gogol, Emmeline Maisey, Mia Taank, Gracie Tickler
Captains: Jemima King and Alexa Wilson
The girls started the weekend full of energy, nerves aplenty but these feelings were embraced and we switched it to feeling excited to compete and enjoying the challenge of the weekend while being supported by teammates. The team mantras throughout the weekend were ‘Feeling comfortable being uncomfortable’, ‘Back yourself by having a plan and working hard in every point’ ‘Energy, Energy, Energy’ as well as the looking for the ‘channel of opportunity’ in doubles.
Here are a few highlights from each day:
Day 1
The girls had to compete in Fast 4 format, this means sets to 4 with sudden death deuce and a 3rd set tie-break. We were up against Oxfordshire in the first match. Bella and Emmeline took to the slow hard courts first. Emmeline played smart and gritty tennis at the right time and won 4-2 4-2 with 5 out of the 6 games in the first set going to sudden death deuce. The highlight was Emmeline running down a dropshot and hitting a lob to win the set. Bella took some time to find her rhythm and get use to the higher bouncing courts but played a mature match, played to win and was exceptional in the tie-breaks, winning in two tie break sets. Gracie came out of the blocks quickly and won the first set 4-0. Respect to her opponent who changed her tactics and we found ourselves in a 3rd set tie-break. Inspired by Emmeline and Bella, Gracie backed herself to commit to her strengths and won 10-6. Scarlet was also in a tight contest and had to battle from a set down against an inspired Oxfordshire player. We were so proud of how Scarlet kept her composure, trusted her game and was able to fight for every point with a clear plan. From a set down Scarlet then won the second set 4-2 and 3rd set 10-6. 4-0 meant we had won the tie, but two doubles were to be played which gave us an opportunity to practice some doubles pairings and practice what we had done in training. Mia and Gracie played 2nd pair and won 4-2 2-4 11-9…this was a topsy turvy match with Mia named as the ‘lobbing queen’. The duo enjoyed breaking their opponents rhythm and trying to steal some balls at the net. Scarlet and Emmeline played 1st pair against a tough pairing. The Oxfordshire pair were stronger at the net and took their opportunities, lessons learned for the Bucks pair which we knew would make them stronger for the next match.
Second match of the day was against Norfolk. We went for the same singles line up as the Oxfordshire match and the girls made it a little more straight forward with four wins and only one set going to a tie-break. That meant we had made it to the final on Sunday with doubles yet to be played. New doubles pairings were tried in preparation for the final with Emmeline teaming up with Bella and Gracie/Scarlet as pair 1. Victories for both teams with Emmeline and Bella having a real tussle. We had the pressure of the rain coming in, but the girls fought back from being down in the 3rd set to winning 11-9!! The team celebrated by running to their cars to avoid the downpour!!
Day 2
A later start for the girls because we had to wait for Suffolk to play Bedfordshire to see who we would play in the final. Suffolk won so it was a Suffolk vs Bucks final. The girls were excited and raring to go after some fun team building games and a good match warm up on the practice courts. Bella and Emmeline up first, and WOW they were focused from the first ball. The girls played with intention and clear minds and were clutch in key moments. Their scores were mirroring each other, and both went to a first set tie-break. No mercy from the girls winning both tie-breaks 7-3 and 7-1. Gameplans were secured and the girls kept their foot on the pedal and won convincing 2nd sets 4-0 and 4-1. Fantastic start to the final and we were so proud of the girls for backing themselves, staying present in the match and being brave to go after the ball and want to win the point rather than waiting for an error from their opponent. They were rock solid from the back and hitting superb rally balls rising over the baseline to set themselves up to be in an attacking phase of play. Gracie and Scarlet up next against two very strong opponents who they have met countless times in National competitions. Gracie started off the match so well and really took it to her opponent and managed to get herself into a winning position in the match with several match points on her racket. However, we know the brutality of the sport and how even being match point up doesn’t guarantee the win. We couldn’t fault Gracie’s effort and will to win but unfortunately her opponent was able to rise to the occasion as well and won 12-10 in the 3rd, despite Gracie playing some inspired tennis to save several match points with drop shots!! Not the win we wanted, but so much learnt from the match. 2-1 up with Scarlet throwing everything at her opponent, but Suffolk had an answer to each question asked and got the win 2-2.
So, the tie went to doubles, we kept the same pairings as the Norfolk match - the girls were confident and ready to win the final two matches of the tie. The 2nd pairing of Emmeline and Bella were a little taken aback by the quality of doubles played by their opposition. The team have been practicing being braver at the net and getting closer to intercept and the Suffolk play were giving the Bucks team a lesson on how this was done. The first set went by in a flash, but Bucks players are resilient and bounced back from 3-1 down to take the second set to a tie-break. The girls showed so much passion and desire to compete and find a way and almost took it to a 3rd, but Suffolk played one too many volleys and sealed victory. We therefore had to win at the number 1 pair, and we had gone a set down. There was a slight change of tactics in set two to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses and the Bucks team knew they had to feel ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ and take the volleys on!! They did it. They were BRAVE and won the 2nd set and 3rd set tie-break 10-4.
So, 3 matches each. What happens next? To decide who wins the group a shoot-out is played with one player from pair 1 and one player from pair 2 to play a 10-point tie-break. Suffolk had split their 1&2 singles players, so they teamed up and we put Scarlet and Emmeline together. After a motivational chat from the team, positive mantras being said, tactics in place, deep breaths and the lightness of knowing the team would be proud regardless of the result because of how we have played up to this point….
10-4 to Bucks! What a tie-break. Only one first serve missed. 100% returns made. Closing the net volleys! Positive self-talk to each other and showing the Bucks ‘3 second rule’ after each point. BUCKS were victorious and won Group 2E.
The Coaches were extremely proud of the girls for their commitment to be great team players, their passion and determination, and ‘no regrets attitude’ on the court. Here’s to becoming Division 2 Champions!! We will come back even stronger next time with lots of positives to take away and lots of good feedback to help the players develop their games further.
Go Swans! J