Isle of Man women’s over-35 tennis team recently travelled to Eastbourne to take part in the annual Over-35 County Cup at Devonshire Park, reports Jackie Russell.

The opening match was against West of Scotland.

First on court was Michaela Duchonova, who was making her debut for the island as well as it being her first match on grass. After losing the first set 1-6 she fought back well in the second before narrowly losing it 4-6.

Karen Faragher comfortably beat the Scottish number one player 6-1 6-1.

Kirree Ronan and Tania Thomas, also making her island and grass court debut, then paired up for back-to-back doubles matches.

Unfortunately, despite some good tennis, the new pairing were unable to win either match, giving the Scots an unassailable lead.

In the final match of the day Faragher and Duchonova combined to win 6-4 6-3 to make the final score 3-2 to West of Scotland. 

The second day saw a change in the team to play Northumberland, with Ronan stepping in to play singles.

Despite starting strongly she lost 2-6 2-6 in a match that was much closer than the score suggests.

Faragher then won 6-3 6-2 before Thomas and Duchonova lost out in the first doubles. Faragher and Ronan combined to beat the same pair to level the match at 2-2.

In the deciding doubles rubber Thomas and Duchonova fought hard before narrowly losing a tight first set, then going on to lose the match.

The final score was 3-2 to Northumberland. 

Hopes were high for the final day against Cumbria, who had also lost their first two matches.

Extremely strong winds made playing conditions difficult and in the first match it was the Cumbrian player who adapted to the conditions better to beat Ronan. Faragher then won her singles 6-4 6-0.

Thomas and Duchonova played two very close doubles narrowly, losing 3-6 3-6 and 5-7 2-6. The final doubles saw Faragher and Ronan team up to win 6-2 6-2 to confirm a third 2-3 defeat, with Faragher remaining unbeaten over the weekend.