Shropshire’s men’s and ladies tennis teams both narrowly missed out on promotion after encouraging performances in the Aegon Summer County Cup.

The two Shropshire teams could be pleased with their week’s efforts after competing in the popular annual doubles only event – held for the 122nd time at 13 different grass court venues across the country – with three doubles pairings playing three matches each day during a busy schedule.

The men’s team, captained by Alex Parry, lined up in Group 7 at Nottingham Tennis Centre, where their promotion dream was cruelly dashed after a count back on rubbers won throughout the week.

It was a similar story for the ladies, captained by Holly Mowling, as they were involved in an equally tight Group 5 at Cambridge, before ultimately finishing in fourth place after a count back on the number of rubbers won throughout the week.

Shropshire men won four and lost just one of their five matches at Nottingham but it was not quite enough to see them go up a level.

Parry said: “It ended up with results tied at four wins each between Bedfordshire, Wiltshire and ourselves, but unfortunately we came up just short when promotion was decided on a count back on rubbers won throughout the whole week. To only lose on one day and not gain promotion is extremely unlucky.

“But it was a fantastic effort by all the team and it shows that Shropshire men’s tennis is gaining in strength.

“We now look forward to possibly gaining another promotion when we compete in the Aegon Winter County Cup at Grantham in November.”

Parry was joined in the team at Nottingham by Ed Gibbs, Matt Lee, Luke Henley, Matt Jones, Ian Gillespie, Richard Tennant and Sam Chapman.

The first day saw Shropshire face Bedfordshire, one of the strongest sides at the competition, with matches having to be played on hard courts rather than grass owing to heavy rain. It was 3-3 after the first two rounds before an exciting finish saw Lee and Henley team up to play some excellent doubles to edge the county in front. Then Parry and Gibbs held their nerve to clinch an exciting 5-4 win.

The second day was the only one Shropshire would get to play on grass and, despite battling hard, they were beaten 7-2 by an extremely strong Wiltshire side.

Parry and Gibbs won all three of their matches while Jones and Chapman sealed an epic final set tie break 10-8 against a much more experienced pair as Shropshire pipped Avon 5-4 in their next match.

Day four saw Shropshire up against Northumberland. Matches started outdoors with both teams evenly matched, but sporadic rain showers meant play moved indoors with the score locked at 3-3. It was again Parry and Gibbs who tipped the match Shropshire’s way with three wins from as many games while Henley and Lee proved that persistence pays off as they clawed their way back from a set down to win in a third set tie break as Shropshire completed a hat-trick of hard-earned 5-4 victories.

Shropshire then ended with a flourish, overwhelming South of Scotland 8-1, with Gibbs and Parry again reeling off three wins, their success replicated by Henley and Lee. Parry and Gibbs both won 11 of their 14 matches during the week.

Shropshire’s ladies side travelled east to Cambridge looking to build on impressively gaining promotion in each of their last two Summer County Cup campaigns.

Mowling teamed up with Chloe Hughes, Imogen Cowper, Cheryl Evans, Mia Loney, Jo Bowen, Jo Fowler and County Cup week debutant Sue Dunn, with Shropshire winning three and losing two of their Group 5 matches as they finished fourth, just missing out on runners-up spot.

Day one saw Shropshire take on South Wales in persistent rain with the action having to be switched to hard courts. Loney unfortunately fell on the slippy courts in the opening match but played through the pain barrier to help captain Mowling to a win. It was quickly discovered that Loney had suffered a chipped bone in her elbow which prevented her from playing any further part throughout the week. Shropshire eventually lost 6-3.

Shropshire bounced back in style the next day to get the better of West of Scotland 6-3. Evans marked her return from a year out of the game by helping long-time doubles partner Mowling to victory, while Bowen and Fowler also picked up some important wins.

Day three saw Shropshire edge past North Wales 5-4 in the rain on the slippy grass courts. Mowling and Evans enjoyed wins in all three of their games, digging deep to beat the strongest Welsh pair in two tight tie break sets, with Cowper and Hughes gaining the other two victories.

Devon proved too strong on day four, with Shropshire beaten 7-2, so that left everything to play for on the final day against Staffordshire, as Shropshire ended well to record an exciting 5-4 win.

Mowling said: “There was all to play for on the last day as both promotion and relegation was still on the cards, so it was about getting the pairings right. It was a very tense day with extremely tight matches.

“It all went down to the wire with all six teams fighting for places. We needed to beat Staffordshire to avoid relegation and doing that meant we eventually finished fourth which means we will be at the same level next year.

“It was such a close group as three teams all finished on the same amount of wins. We were only a few rubbers off promotion as we finished on the same points as South Wales and West of Scotland, so a count back on rubbers won throughout the week was required to determine who finished second, third and fourth.

“But equally, if we hadn’t have beaten Staffordshire, the champions of our group, we would have been relegated, so that’s how close it all was.”
Mowlng added: “It was a long, tough week, especially with all the rain and losing Mia to injury in the very first match on day one, and Cheryl Evans only being available for two days.

“But it was a gritty team performance overall and we were happy to remain in Group 5 for next year. After being promoted for two consecutive years, it was a big ask to gain promotion again. It was our aim at the start of the week to stay where we were so we came away happy. We now look forward to the Winter County Cup in November and will hope to do well then.”

Captain Mowling emerged with nine wins from her 15 games while both Hughes and Cowper gained eight victories.