Results – European Club Championships, Nottingham

The 2014 European Club Championships for Women & Men take place in Nottingham, England from Wed 3rd Sept to Saturday 6th.

Ireland is represented by a women’s and men’s team from the same club – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. In the women’s draw there are 8 teams in 2 groups from 7 countries. In the men’s draw there are 4 groups of 3 teams in each from 10 countries.

After a good final day Fitzwilliam men’s finished 9th overall and the women’s team finished 7th.

For photos and results got to:  www.eccsquash.com

For Draw & results go here

The Fitzwilliam LTC teams were:

DAY 4 – Saturday 6th September

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – Simple Kahuna Team: 3-1

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – MeerSquash: 2-1

he final day at the ECC 2014 brought  a much awaited win for the Fitzwilliam ladies team. We played a Dutch team, MeerSquash, and although Griffin put up a good fight in the first match of the day she lost 3-1. I went on next and brought the tie level by winning my match 3-0. So it was down to Vicky in the decider. She won in a convincing three games thus securing Fitzwilliam a seventh place finish.

DAY 3 – Friday 5th September

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – Hafrsfjord: 4-0

Nottingham – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club: 2-1

We were down to the play-off positions today and we were drawn against the host club, Nottingham SRC, as they had finished 3rd in their pool.

Griffin was back in the team at no.  2 after sitting out yesterday due to a slight muscle strain.
I started the tie with a 3-0 win against the local club champion. Vicky was on next and led for the majority of the first game but unfortunately it ended 11-9 in Nottingham’s favour. The local girl had the momentum then and stayed ahead in the next two games despite some great retrieving by Vicky.
In the deciding match Griffin started very well against a similar style of player. They traded points for most of the first two games. Griffin narrowly lost the first 12-10 and when she won the second 11-9 we knew  we were in for a close match. However, Laura Helm of NSRC started to play tighter length  to take control of the next two games and win the match 3-1.

Tomorrow we face Dutch side Meersquash in our final match and we hope we end with a win!

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – Helsinki Senators: 0-1

DAY 2 – Thursday 4th September

Nottingham – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club: 4-0

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – Espoo Squash Rackets Club: 1-2

Today we had our last pool match against the Finnish side Espoo. They are, like Fitzwilliam, a regular at the European Club Championships and always field a strong team.

Deidre was on first and in a similar fashion to yesterday’s match played better and better as the games continued. Towards the end of the match she was finding her range more on the court but ultimately went down in three games. I played a Finnish junior who hit a lovely ball but perhaps the pace was higher than she was used to as I was able to win in a steady three games.
Vicky stepped up for the decider as the tie stood at 1-1. Her opponent,  Riiaka Piekainen, played a fast paced game.  Vicky was able to stay with her in the rallies and had some lovely winning boasts but due to the constant pressure by the Finn, she lost in 3 games.

We were up against strong teams with good depth in the pool which made our job a little harder. Tomorrow we start our 5-8 play off against the home side, Nottingham, so we’ll be looking to finish with a few wins!

DAY 1 – Wednesday 3rd September

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club – Malaka Squash Team: 1-2

Newlands – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club: 2-1

A tough first day for Team Fitz. Our first match was against a young Polish team. While the no. 1 had some experience at professional level she is still quite young so I was able to impose my game on her. Griffin got better in each of the games she played, finding ways to get the ball past her opponent who liked to play at a fast pace but lost out 3-0. Deirdre went on for the decider – her first international match in seven years! Up against a young up and coming player (who trains with Hadrian Stiff), she put together some strong rallies in the second and third games which created some errors from the young Pole before losing in three.

Next up was Newlands, from Scotland. Again I was on first and had a good competitve match against a player that loved shooting winners from the centre of the court. So I tried to keep it away from there! Griffin built on her earlier performance today and tried to use her opponent’s height against her with some great low kills to twist and turn her but unfortunately Sam had good length forcing several boasts to open up the court at the front.
Finally, Vicky made her debut at the ECC 2014 against a player who is on the professional tour.  While the scoreline may suggest different, Vicky went from strength to strength in each game. Putting together sine great rallies as she really pushed her opponent to play a tighter game. A really good performance by Vicky, she fought for every point.

More to come tomorrow, we have our last group match against Espoo, Finland.

BW Worms – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club: 4-0