Maxine Cumming serves at the Rohais Hall. (Picture by Brian Green, 0544223)
GUERNSEY juniors once again took centre stage at the weekend with a convincing win over Jersey in the Leadbeater Shield.
The victory meant that outgoing development officer Paul Le Tocq maintained a 100% record over the old enemy.
‘This is another excellent performance by our juniors,’ he said. ‘I have been fortunate not to lose an inter-insular at junior level while I have been in charge, which is down to the effort and commitment of my players.’
The Leadbeater Shield is a combined match at under-13 and under-15 level, with the first team to reach 25 rubbers taking the silverware.
On paper the match looked in the balance as due to injuries Jersey fielded two over-age players in the under-15s, both of whom are their top under-17 girls, and Guernsey’s worries were further compounded with the withdrawal of Erin McCann from the under-13 match after the warm-up.
It was Guernsey, though, who started the brighter in the under-13s, dominating the singles match.
Led by captain Tom Ogier, the boys made short work of their opponents, winning 4-0.
The Guernsey girls won 3-1, helped out by an outstanding performance by nine-year-old Chloe Le Tissier, who came from football training as a last-minute replacement for the ill McCann and won a nail-biting match against Blampied 21-14, 19-21, 24-22.
In the doubles, Guernsey’s boys again dominated with a 4-0 win, the combinations of Ogier/Luke Le Tissier and Jordan Trebert/Dan de Garis proving far too strong for the Caesareans.
The girls’ doubles was shared 2-2, with the pairings of Maxine Cumming/Ellie Mason and Chloe Le Tissier/Sara Martin both winning one rubber apiece.
The mixed doubles was played in two sections.
Cumming partnered Luke Le Tissier and both players looked comfortable in claiming their two rubbers.
Ogier partnered Mason and narrowly lost their first in three tight sets, but came back strongly to take their second for the loss of just 16 points.
The impressive Trebert partnered Chloe Le Tissier for the first time and they gave an indication of what might be to come in future with a display of classic and effective mixed doubles in winning both their rubbers.
De Garis and Martin gained another two victories for Guernsey to seal the under-13 win with ease and style for the greens, 20-4.
The player of the match was won by Luke Le Tissier, who was one of three Sarnians, along with Ogier and Trebert, to remain unbeaten.
Guernsey’s top under-15 boys, Glenn Le Tissier and Tom Dawson, put the greens in control by winning their two singles, but debutants Jack Batiste and Michael Tostevin both fell to Jersey opposition despite fighting hard.
As expected, the Jersey girls dominated their singles, although Hannah Spittal, Hannah Greenfield and Candice Crowson all showed promise and flashes of what they are capable of with some intensive training.
The sweetest of victories came for Guernsey captain Emily Trebert, who for the first time defeated Jade Goodfellow in three sets 21-18 17-21 21-19.
That left Guernsey 7-5 down.
Glenn Le Tissier partnered Dawson to win both their doubles, albeit in less than convincing style.
Tostevin and Batiste again showed their grit and determination and although results went against them in both rubbers, they can be proud of their efforts and improvements over the season.
Both Trebert/Spittal and Greenfield/Crowson took one of their rubbers to leave the girls’ section also tied at 2-2.
The mixed section A was dominated by Guernsey, the long-standing partnership of Le Tissier/Trebert winning both rubbers comfortably. Dawson/Spittal were also impressive but succumbed to the top Jersey pair in three sets, which meant a 3-1 section win for the greens.
In mixed B, only the pairing of Batiste and Crowson were able to pick up a tight three-set rubber and Jersey went on to win the section 3-1.
Although that meant a 13-11 win for Jersey in the age group, the combined result was a resounding 31-17 Guernsey victory.
The under-15 player of the match was Glenn Le Tissier, who was the only person to win all his encounters.
‘It is unfortunate for us that Jersey chose to field over-aged players in the under-15 section, as I have little doubt we would have won that part of the match too, but it was important to get the match on and let the players compete,’ said Le Tocq.
‘Many of our players were young for the age groups and if the association can continue to capture their imagination and further their development, we have some excellent prospects here.’
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