The tennis was scorching (which unfortunately is more than can be said about the weather!) as 7 clubs battled it out to be our 2024 Cheshire Shield champions.
A couple of late drop outs left a lopsided draw with a box of 4 and a box of 3 clubs. The event at the group stage was initially run on a round robin fast 4 format, before progressing to a knockout cross over semi final.
Box A saw Bramhall Lane victorious, with 2-0 wins against their three opponents of Lymm, Nantwich and Wallasey Manor. Wallasey Manor shared the matches at 1 all against both Lymm and Nantwich with Nantwich sneaking the draw with a 11-9 match tiebreak. Lymm lost 1, drew 1 and won 1 match and came 2nd in Box A
Box B was closely contested with Hale winning the box winning 3 out of their 4 matches on match tiebreaks. Stockton Heath came 2nd and Widnes 3rd
The Semis involved Bramhall Lane V Stockton Heath and just to make everything exciting for the spectators, resulted in 1 win each and therefore involved a match tie break between a player from each pair .
Kim and Alison took on Abi and Elena with the older pair (apologies Kim!) demonstrating the benefits of experience over youth.
The other semi was slightly more straightforward with Hale beating Lymm 2-0
This set us up for a rematch from Box B between Hale and Stockton Heath, which was always going to be a delicious display of exhilarating tennis. It didn't fail to deliver! With a 12-10 3rd set match tiebreak win for Jemma and Phoebe and a 11-9 3rd set match tiebreak win for Sarah and Alison, all that separated the champions and runners up was one deciding set.
This time Kim paired up with Sarah and Jemma partnered Alice with the final completed just before sunset! Hale found a way around Kim's phenomenal volleying and were crowned our 2024 Cheshire Shield champions.
Thank you to all the players from all 7 clubs for producing top quality tennis.
Thank you Hale for hosting the event, providing lovely refreshments and your generous hospitality. They also had the pleasure of cheering on their own club in such a nail biting finish.
Thank you to Tony Dillon who refereed the event (who probably has never refereed a tournament where he didn't need to intervene in one single incident!)
Debbie McKeever (Cheshire Shield organiser)
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