OXFORD GIRLS’ SWEET 15
National Junior League Report, March 3rd, 2012
Fourteen Kidlington Forum players took part in the final series of National Junior League (South) matches, played at Cippenham on Saturday. The girls’ division proved in the end to be a cakewalk for Teisi Tamming, Kristelle Brook and Chloe Yau, who, along with team-mate Evie Foster (Kent), overwhelmed Bournemouth, Horsham, Ellenborough, Chiltern A and Cippenham to take the title with 15 wins from 15 matches: in fact Evie was the only player to lose on this occasion! Best win was Teisi’s 3-0 over England squad Under13 player, Amy Blagborough (Bournemouth). The girls have shown much maturity in their whole approach to both training and match play throughout the season and have benefited a lot from the ever-present assistance of Tak Wa Yau.
The Boys’ A and B teams had to face up to some tough opposition in Division 1. Lewis Sumner applied himself more consistently than last time out, winning 7/10 at no 1, a fine effort, particularly in defeating Jamie Trevillion (cadet ranked 52). Both Jack Shardlow (4/10) and Jonah Stott (3/10) suffered some frustration in losing very close matches, but nevertheless the team held on the finish behind Chiltern A and Reading A, but ahead of Southampton West A, in third position. For the B team, Simon Price (4/8) and Niall Harris (3/8) began in day in scintillating form, inflicting upon Ben Woodbridge (Junior 141), his only reverses of the whole season. The team was quickly brought down to earth by Reading A (6-0), but in the crunch match against newly promoted Cippenham A, they responded to the challenge with a big 6-0 victory, which guaranteed them being among the medals in fifth place overall. There were two fine wins here for Cameron Patterson (2/8), while Ethan Ball (0/6) had a day to forget.
The Boys’ C team, ably marshalled by Toby Neumeier, had an amazing day, given that earlier in the season they had been relegated from Division 2 and had had to fight their way back. They finished as runners-up to Reading B, with one win, three draws and one defeat. James Rowan at last found his feet in this competition with 6/8, a transformation from his earlier efforts in this division. Ben Neumeier (3/6) and Luke Jobling (2/6) competed very well throughout the day, but the revelation at this level was 10 year-old Josh Selby with 4/8. This talented boy impresses every time out with his fighting spirit and could go a long way.
