YOUNGSTERS from the West Hants Club celebrated writing their names into the history books as they became the first team to successfully defend national team tennis titles.

The under-16s and under-18s girls again lifted their crowns at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

The under-18 team of Anna Battersby, Sophia Haine, Amelia Stuart and Natalie Sayer grabbed their place in the final by beating second seeds Graves (Sheffield) in a semi-final which was settled by a tie-break shoot out.

Anna and Natalie opened with victories but Amelia and Sophia lost leaving the match tied at 2-2 after the singles. At the end of the doubles it was still level pegging as Anna and Amelia lost before Natalie and Sophia claimed a tight victory in a third-set tie-break, resulting in a 10-point tie-break to settle the match.

And in a tense fight to the finish, selected pair Amelia and Sophia won 10-6 to qualify for the final against top seeds Gosling Sports Park who proved to be less stubborn opponents.

Anna’s comfortable singles vic-tory got the team off to a flying start before Amelia won a gripping three set marathon, 10-8.

Natalie ground out a hard- fought victory to put the team in a commanding position before Sophia won a 10-point tie-break to claim a famous whitewash after the singles matches, claiming the championship in the process.

Meanwhile, the under-16 girls’ team, which featured Elle Baker, Jodie Burrage, Lauryn John-Baptiste and Eliz Maloney, fought back from a rocky start to their semi-final against Heaton LTC (Yorkshire).

Elle lost her opener before Eliz missed her singles match due to competing in the final of a Tennis Europe event in Edgbaston, but convincing wins for Lauryn and Jodie restored parity going into the doubles event.

Thankfully, Eliz arrived in time to pair up with Elle and won in straight sets, a feat repeated by Jodie and Lauryn to secure a final against top seeds Bromley TC.

In the decider, Elle kicked off with a defeat but Eliz won on a tie-break after three sets to level matters. Lauryn and Jodie then proved far too strong for their opponents to put West Hants 3-1 up after the singles matches.

However, Elle and Eliz were nar-rowly beaten on a tie-break in their doubles match before Jodie’s withdrawal, enforced by prior travel commitments, meant the second doubles event was conceded. The match went to a tie-break, but Lauryn and Eliz teamed up to win 10-3 and secured the national crown.