In a pulsating encounter, the Hallam contingent had arrived ready for a dogfight, and a dogfight is exactly what they got, with Newcastle winning 8-4.
The first doubles was played by Newcastle number one pair Eleanor Bradshaw and Hayley Macpherson who won 7-6 (7-5) 6-2. The first set was a war of attrition, shown even by the tiebreak score that was won 7-5 by the Newcastle girls.
The second set was won much quicker as the mounting pressure by Bradshaw and Macpherson caused the Hallam girls to fold.
Izzy Reid and Eva Lennox were paired together in a feisty doubles match. There was a good chemistry between the two who have played together in the second team in the early parts of this season.
The first set went to the Newcastle girls 6-3 as the “tactics” of the Hallam second pair started to be questioned. With two bathroom breaks from the same Hallam girl, one had to question if it was possible that anyone could possess a bladder that small.
The Newcastle pair immediately came under pressure at the start of the second set losing two breaks of serve but holding their nerve to come back to 4-4. Tennis is a hard activity, like any other BUCS sport, but the added complication of having to call your own lines and be 100% accurate can be difficult.
“With rallies as unpredictable as Nick Kyrgios, it for an enthralling two sets”
A close call, but ultimately the correct one, did not go down well the Hallam player who disputed it. As is common knowledge “an eye for an eye” does not achieve anything productive, in this case it didn’t for the Hallam girls.
A dubious call on the Hallam side of the net caused outrage amongst the Newcastle pairing and the home support. The following points allowed the home support to get behind the home pair and create a loud and hostile atmosphere. The NU second pair then broke and put their opponents to the sword winning 6-4.
The controversy continued into Macpherson’s singles tie. The match was even and well fought, with Macpherson doing most of the attacking, and her opponent doing the hard running. However Macpherson could not break through, losing the first set 1-6.
The second set was a complete 180 as the Hallam number 1 tired and conceded the set 6-1. Standard procedure after 1 set all split is to play a full third set, yet the Hallam player sensed that if she was to beat Macpherson, her chances would be best in a match tiebreak.
Not believing the rule as it was not written down on paper, Newcastle Women’s Coach Tracy Smith was required to call a representative at the AU office to clarify this situation.
“With two bathroom break for the same Hallam girl, one had to question whether anyone could possess a bladder that small”
After 20 minutes, time was running out to finish the match, so the girls were forced to play a match tiebreak. Struggling to find her rhythm again, Macpherson unfortunately lost 7-10.
Bradshaw was involved in a very well balanced match as the two girls played similar styles of tennis. With rallies as unpredictable as Nick Kyrgios, it made for an enthralling two sets. Bradshaw came out narrowly defeated 6-7 3-6.
This season, fresher Izzy Reid has made a habit of winning her singles in three sets. This time, with no arguments, there was enough time to play a full third set as Reid defeated her opponent 6-3 4-6 6-2.
Eva Lenox was extremely convincing in her win of 6-3 6-3, hardly breaking a sweat. However, what Lenox did break out immediately after packing up her bag, was a bag of jelly tots that she was more than happy to share with the rest of the home support.
This was a strong display from our heroines on their last game of this term.
POTM: Izzy Reid