The Leamington Cadet Trials were held on Wednesday 14th September, with a view to selecting the Leamington sides which will take part in the 2011/12 Heart of England Cadet League.
Eight of the nine players involved on the night were from our club, with all present putting in good performances.
Using the Leamington ranking list to seed, the nine players were split in to two groups, playing in a round robin.
Timmy Cooper topped group 1 with an impressive three wins from three, all in straight sets. Sam Weaving came in second with two from three. The third and fourth positions were effectively decided in the match between Adam Pulman (Eathorpe) and Kit Turner . In a tremendous match which went the distance, it was Adam's control which triumphed over Kit's destructive forehand to give Adam the win 11-9 in the fifth and with it third place.Group two was won by another maximum man. Lee Dorning won all his games to return figures of played four won four, dropping only three sets on the way. Tom Meldrum won three, only succumbing to Lee, as he took second place. The battle for third to fifth had to be settled on countback as James Robertson, Chris Soe and Joe Hunt each finished the group with one win a piece. The result of the countback of the matches involving the three players left Joe in third, Chris in 4th and James the unlucky fifth.
The second round of matches pitted the first placed players, second placed players, third, fourth and fifth placed players against each other. In the fight for top spot, Timmy Cooper took on Lee Dorning. Timmy won a comfortable first leg, before Lee raised his game. Timmy, however, held his nerve to win the next two legs and win the trials 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.
Tom Meldrum beat Sam Weaving in the third/fourth playoff. Joe Hunt beat Adam Pulman in the fifth/sixth playoff, and Kit Turner beat Chris Soe for seventh/eight.
With the second round played, there was only one additional playoff required to determine the final rankings, with Joe Hunt in fifth having a crack at Sam Weaving in fourth. Joe started well, taking the first set 11-9, before Sam hit back in style 11-5. In both the next two legs Joe found himself behind, but to his great credit dug deep and fought back in a match where both players looked to attack at the earliest opportunity and hit some excellent winners. Ultimately, Joe's efforts were in vain though - Sam just found the extra gear and used his backhand block to great effect, allowing him to stay in the rally when under pressure before ripping winners of his own. Sam won the match and defended his fourth place 9-11, 11-5, 11-9. 11-8.
The final rankings were as follows:
- Timmy Cooper (Free Church)
- Lee Dorning (Free Church)
- Tom Meldrum (Free Church)
- Sam Weaving (Free Church)
- Joe Hunt (Free Church)
- Adam Pulman (Eathorpe)
- Kit Turner (Free Church)
- Chris Soe (Free Church)
- James Robertson (Free Church)
Full details of the results can be downloaded on the Leamington & District TTA website here.
Leamington are likely to be entering two sides in the Heart of England Cadet League - the exact makeup of which will be determined by the format of the HoE Cadet League. Phil Paine, Chair of the Selection Committee, will contact players individually to confirm further details.
