It was an early start to the day on Wednesday 27th June, with the U18 tennis team leaving Cardiff at 6am to get to Queenswood School (Hertfordshire) for the annual GDST Tennis Tournament. After nearly four hours on the road, the team were straight on court to take on Nottingham High School upon arrival. Doubles pair #1, Alicia L and Erin O were quick to win their first match, closely followed by pair #2, Becky D and Meg C and pair #3 Robyn D and Anya dA. This was a start that set the tone for the day, as the girls followed up their 3-0 win with another 3-0 win against perennial champions Putney High School. After a 2-1 victory against Bromley High School and another 3-0 win against Sheffield High School, the girls progressed to the knockout stage.
The girls continued their good play in the afternoon, defeating Northampton High School in the quarter final. The closest match of the day was the semi-final against Croydon High School. After dropping the first rubber 4-2, Howell’s won the second rubber 4-1, meaning the final game would determine the outcome of the match. Robyn and Anya were cool and calm as they won their tiebreak 5-0 to win the rubber 4-3. As a result, Howell’s set themselves up for a final encounter against last year’s finalists Newcastle High School.
In the final, Becky and Meg were quick to pick up yet another impressive win, followed closely by Robyn and Anya, ensuring that Howell’s would be the GDST champions for 2018. It’s the first ever GDST U18 Tennis triumph for Howell’s, who add the trophy to their U15 Hockey triumph earlier in the year!