Sophie Rinnhofer competed in the Cadet singles events on Saturday 17th February. Sophie proceeded to the knockout stages as runner up in her group; having beaten Staffordshire’s Millie Baker 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2; and lost in a close 4 set match to Yorkshire’s Ruby Chan (9-11, 8-11, 15-13, 9-11). In the knockout stages, Sophie lost to Welsh Cadet Grace Clement 8-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11.
In the Cadet Girls Grade 1 event, Sophie again finished runner up in her group, losing to Grace Clements 1-3; however, beat Megan Jones 3-2, and Aakanksha Tripathi 3-0. In the quarter finals, Sophie once again beat Millie Baker in another 5 set match, 11-7 in the 5th set. The semi-final was against Lauren Loosemore, with the Colebridge youngster edged out in 4 sets (8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11). Well done Sophie!
Older sister Lisa waited patiently to then play the Junior Girls Events on Sunday 18th February, and was equally very successful! In the Junior Girls Singles group stage, Lisa overcame Katie Peacock 3-1 and Aakanksha Tripathi 3-0, before losing out to Sophie Barlow 2-3 (9-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-2, 5-11). In the knockout stages, Lisa then had a fantastic win against Tiana Dennison from Middlesex 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8. This was followed by a 3-1 win against Charlotte Wetherby in the quarter finals. Lisa then faced Ruby Chan in the semi-finals, and despite battling hard, she could not get the better of the Yorkshire player.
In the Junior Girls Grade 1; Lisa won her group with ease; this was followed by a quarter final 3-2 win against Millie Baker. In the semi-finals Lisa faced Welsh player Grace Clement; and again was on the winning side of another close match, winning 13-11 in the 5th set. The final against another Welsh player Lara Whitton proved to be far more comfortable, with the Warwickshire and Colebridge Junior winning 11-9, 11-8, 11-6. Congratulations Lisa! A well deserved champion.
Lisa and Sophie are both very dedicated players; training at least three times per week at Colebridge and Wood Green as part of the Regional training sessions. They are due to complete in the Under 19 English Schools Team Finals on Saturday 10th March; and we wish them the best of luck in retaining their National title from last year.