2017 Under 13 & 15 Five Nations

Under 13

England

Ben Barron v Finnlay Whitington

Ben started off strongly matching his opponent with controlled lengths holding his own up to 3-3 but Finnlay moved up the gears to take a 2/0 lead. Ben put absolutely everything in to the third game scrambling and chasing after every ball. Finnlay made things incredibly difficult from the start by pushing forward and pouncing on any loose drive with precision drops that proved too much, taking the game and match for England.

Anna Halliday v Emma Bartley

Emma’s serving accuracy that put Anna immediately under pressure in the match which she then followed up with a quick fired drop and raced to win the first game 11-1. Once Anna managed to get in to the rally she competed well in the match making her opponent have to work harder but the win England still came away with the victory.

Rory Richmond v Jonah Bryant

Jonah came out the starting blocks at 100 mph, allowing no time for Rory to settle in by driving the ball crisply to the back and working him out of position which resulted in a comfortable 3/0 win for England.

Jemma Young v Torrie Malik

Torrie certainly doesn’t play like a 12 year old cracking the ball low and hard that stretched and pulled Jemma out of position, taking the opening game 11-1. A change of tactic in the second saw Jemma slowing the game down and lifting the ball in an attempt to take the sting out of her opponents lethal driving. Jemma started hitting her targets which enabled her to push forward putting her opponent under pressure, and as a result, managed to squeeze five hard earned points, but eventually going down in the third.

Findlay MacDougall v Ben Beachill

Both players started strongly as each worked each other around the court. As the game progressed the pressure became a bit too much for Findlay as Ben stepped up forcing Findlay out of position taking the game 11/5. Ben continued to keep Findlay under constant pressure taking the second and third games.

 

Wales

Erin Jones v Emma Jameson

Scotland were off to a flying start as Erin took control driving the ball deep and exposing her opponent’s weaker backhand, Erin taking the first 11-5. Emma started the second game much more positively looking for any opportunity to put in her forehand volley drop, levelling the match at 1-1.  The third started off very tight with each player unable to pull away. Erin made a few errors that saw her opponent take a 10-5 lead. Erin fought back hard putting a really gutsy performance to pull the game back to level pegging. Erin was unable to keep the momentum going as Emma took the game 12-10. A tight fourth game saw Emma just managing to stay in front winning the game 11-8.

Jemma Young v Alyx Kelleher

A titanic opening game saw our tiny terror battling in a first game marathon eventually losing 23-21!!  The efforts from the first game seemed to a bit too much for Alyx as Jemma took control taking the next two games 11/6, 11/2. In the fourth Alyx found a new lease of life as both players worked each other with punishing rallies. Alyx just had enough to pull away to claim the fourth levelling the match. By the start of the fifth the fuel in the Jemma tank had ran dry as her legs just wouldn’t go any further, Alyx took the game 11-1. A great effort with so many positives points that made us all proud to have her as part of our Scotland team.

Ben Barron v Lewys Audsley

A very tight opening game as both players fought hard to control the ‘T’. Ben kept a very good level of consistency taking the first game 11-9. The second and third games were also very tight but Ben was unable to maintain the same level clipping the side wall with a few drives that opened up the court for his opponent to attack. Lewys kept his momentum going taking the match 3/1.

Rory Richmond v Dan Lewis

Rory started extremely well moving his opponent out of position and finishing the rally off with tight backhand drops that had his opponent straining to reach. At 5-1 up Rory was really starting to take control of the game. A lapse in concentration and few unforced errors in a row and Dan was back in the game at 5-5. Dan kept the pressure on taking the game 11/8. The second game was over fairly quickly as Dan found another gear finishing 11-3. Rory started the third game showing good composure as he caught his opponent out several times with his lethal counter drop. A tight game developed but Dan just had the edge taking the game 11-8.

Findlay MacDougall v Josh Davies

Despite going down in three (11/8, 11/9, 11/4), Findlay showed tremendous composure for such a young athlete. The first two games were very tight with Findlay taking the ball short with the volley drop to great effect. As the games progressed, Josh just managed to keep his nose in front, driving deep and picking off anything loose taking the ball quickly and accurately to the front. Findlay demonstrated an excellent attitude by keeping a cool head and never once getting flustered or showing any emotion.

 

Ireland

Rory Richmond v Denis Gilevskiy

Rory’s main focus in this match was to reduce the number of unforced errors that had cost him in the previous matches. The first rally started, Denis floated the ball crosscourt as Rory stretched to the limit of his control and volley dropped with the softest of touches.  The Scotland contingent cheered with delight, Rory looked up and smiled from ear to ear. He was playing a formidable opponent and had just taken the lead with a superb shot!! That unfortunately was the only time Rory lead as Denis stamped his authority on the match, demonstrating why he is the world’s best U13 player as he moved the ball effortlessly around the court.

Anna Halliday v Sophie Thomas

Anna won the spin and from that moment kept her foot firmly on the gas, serving hard and forcing her opponent to hit in to the mid court. Anna punished everything loose taking the game comfortably 11/1. A smiling Anna came off court delighted that she had won her first game for Scotland! The second game was very much the same pattern with Anna winning a number of points rapidly as her opponent struggled to deal with the pace. Sophie pushed forward in the third game forcing Anna to work much harder to maintain control. At 6-6 Anna raised her game by increasing her volley rate which as a result, gave her opponent little time to gain control. Anna pulled away winning the game 11/7 and a well-deserved win for Scotland.

Ben Barron v Sean White

Ben struggled to get going from the start and found it difficult to get in to any sort of a rhythm, Sean taking the first game 11/2. The second started much the same as the first but there were signs that Ben was starting to find his form as he went down 11-6. Ben started the third really positively finding his length and control hitting back to take the game 11/6. Unfortunately, Ben was unable to maintain the same level of consistency in the fourth as his opponent pulled away winning the game 11-4.

Jemma Young v Aimee McConnell

Jemma took control right from the start, moving her opponent with fading lengths that clung to the wall. Aimee attempted to lift the ball but was unable to get the ball deeper enough to gain any ground. Jemma pounced on anything loose and dragged her opponent from front to back. A comfortable 3-0 and a fine win for Scotland

Jack O’Flynn v Findlay MacDougall

The first game saw both players battling hard to break each other down. At 10-8 up the first game seemed to be going in Findlay’s favour. Jack had other ideas and fought back hard to level the game at 10-10. The constant pressure applied by Jack gradually created openings that worked Findlay out of position, taking the first game 12/10. Jack attacked early in the second and soon pulled away winning the game 11-1. At the start of the third Jack continued dominate the game leaving a tired looking Findlay chasing every ball to stay in the match. Despite going down 3-0 Findlay had performed well and kept to his game plan throughout the match.

 

France

Rory Richmond v Ambronin Romieu

Rory competed well in each of the three games but just didn’t quite manage to sustain the same level of consistency in the later stages. His opponent was very quick little player and used the trickle boast to great effect. As always, a very determined Rory fought hard but found his opponent to be a real handful as he twisted and turned him around the front court and then pushed the ball to the back. Rory hung on well in a number of rallies but the constant pressure gradually forced him either out of position or to make a couple of errors.

Findlay MacDougall v Axel Diet

Findlay started off very positively looking to volley at every opportunity pulling ahead to a 4-1 lead. Axel hit back to level the score by pushing Findlay back with attacking drives that took away the time that Findlay had at the start of the match. At 10-10 Findlay tinned a volley drop to give his opponent the opening. Axel attacked strongly and didn’t let go, taking the game 13/11. The second game was very much the same pattern. At the start of the third game Findlay moved a bit slower as the effort put in to stay with his opponent had taken its toll. To Findlay’s credit, he didn’t give in and somehow managed to claw back a few points, finally going down 11-6.

Ben Barron v Melvil Scianimanico

The first game started at blistering pace as both players worked each other in a number of punishing rallies. At 10-10 Ben showed good composure as he patiently waited for the right opportunity to take the ball in short taking the game 12-10. Melvil hit back in the second taking the game 11-6 to level the score. The third was a real nail biter as both players slogged it out neither prepared to give in. Melvil just managed to take the game 15-13 that left both players looking tired. The fourth game followed a similar pattern with neither player able to get any sort of a lead. Melvil just seemed to manage to push that little bit harder taking the game 11-9 in a really tough fought match.

Jemma Young v Lela Douillard

Jemma played very consistency throughout each game and really didn’t do too much wrong. Her opponent being much bigger and stronger powered the ball giving Jemma little time. Jemma demonstrated once again that she is mentally tough making her opponent work for each point without giving anything away a great attribute for the future.

Erin Jones v Rose Marcuzzo

A match that really could have gone either way as Erin matched her opponent in all three games with the first two going to a tie break.  Erin just couldn’t finish it off when it mattered, losing a little bit of her composure at the critical points by trying to finish the rallies too quickly.

 

Despite not winning any matches, the 3-2 loss to Ireland showed that they were not too far away from a team win. As the tournament progressed there were noticeable improvements within their matches. Collectively the main area to focus on is how to convert so many games that were narrowly lost. A number of times this was due to trying to finish off too quickly and forgetting about the structure that got them there in the first place. There were also other occasions that their opponents were simply just that little bit better.  The whole team thoroughly enjoyed the occasion gaining valuable experience that will certainly help to prepare them for future events.

Under 15

Wales

Scotland played the host nation Wales in their first match. Overall we lost 3-2 in a close match that was tightly contested.

Our number two girl Lucy Murchie was up first playing Lucy Jones from Wales. After moving the welsh girl about the court, Scotland managed to win the first match 3-0.

Ben Orr lost the first and won the second in two tight games. He lost 3-1 overall as his opponent had the home crowd behind him.

Andrew Glen lost 3-0 to an experienced Welsh number 1 who had a lot of variety in his game.

Orla Young played Bronte White and through hitting good length she managed to pull out a tight 3-0 win for Scotland.

At this point the scores were 2-2 in matches.

Marcus Henderson got off to a slow start but managed to get into his stride in the last two games. Despite having two game balls in the third Marcus lost 3-0.

France

Scotland u15s played against a very strong French team.

Lucy was up first for the girls against Minon Lemarchard. She had a close first game losing 11-8 then managed to bring the second game back. However the French girl managed to build up momentum and take the next 2 games to win the match.

Hugo was put up against a strong French number 3 who was very good at the front who had great touch and power, Hugo struggled to hit line and length against him but managed to keep improving again and again, but unfortunately lost 3-0.

Orla was next on and was looking confident after taking the second game 11-1 to lead the match 2-0. Orla proved too strong for Cleo and managed to close out the match comfortably and get a win for Scotland winning 3-0.

Andrew played against a fast French number 1, Paul Gonzales. The scores in the first two games did not reflect how tight the match was. In the third game Andrew managed to gain a lead in the third by varying the pace however the French boy managed to get his momentum back and ended up winning 3-0.

Marcus was put up against a strong number 2 with lots of experience. He was strongest at the front with good disguise. Marcus struggled with rallies being played at the front but played well with rallies at the back of the court. Marcus lost this match 3-0 but had tough games with game balls.

England

Scotland came against England which was always going to be a difficult task.

Up first was Lucy Murchie against a very experienced player, Lydia Robinson. Lucy’s good length and tight shots were no match for Lydia’s outstanding performance.

Ben was on the other court against Sam Osbourne-Wild. His good length and accurate shots was too good for Ben. In the third Ben went 10-2 and despite his best efforts Ben went down fighting and lost the third 11-8. This was another 3-0 win for England.

Orla young came up against a very experienced English girl, Orla managed to take the first game 11-9 hitting her targets very well. However Katie got into her game and looked very strong and proceeded to win the match 3-1

Andrew came up against a very strong English player with lots of experience. He had very good disguise at the front. Andrew lost the match 3-0.

Marcus came up against a very strong English player at 2. Marcus hit good length but in the end the English player was much more dominant. It was a good fight to the very end.

Ireland

Hugo played a very big Irish boy who managed to out power Hugo. However Hugo’s good hold and soft drops made it a much closer game. The Irish managed to take advantage of Hugo’s cross courts as they weren’t hitting the side wall and took the match 3-1.

Lucy played Hannah Mcgugan and took the first game 11-6. Hannah got back into her game and managed to take the second game 11-9. After a tight 16-14 in the third Lucy lead the match 2-1. She proceeded to take the match 3-1

Orla was up next against Brenda Li. Orla was the attacking player throughout the match with strong drops quickly won 3-0.

Andrew was up against an experienced Irish no.1. He lost the first game as his opponent held the ball well at the front and was hitting his targets at the back. Andrew changed his game plan in the second and started to vary his pace and shot selection. His opponent struggled with his unpredictability and Andrew won his next 3 games convincingly.

Marcus was up last. He played well with good deception and width. He went up 2-0 quite easily but the Irish player got his momentum and took the 3rd. The fourth game was close but in the end Marcus won 3-1.