Played in Sunderland, the men’s team faced their toughest opponents first and went down 7-2 to Lincolnshire. James Connelly fought back from a set down to beat William Mason 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Scott Clayton beat James Shacklock 6-3, 6-3.
Up next against Northumberland, with the chance of promotion gone, the focus turned to maintaining their place in this four-strong group.
They had a 4-1 lead after the singles with good wins for Connelly and Clayton, who came from a set down to beat Ben Lott in three, plus Guernsey’s Rob West and Pat Ogier.
Although they needed just one win from the doubles the CI team failed to find it with the Sarnian duo plus Clayton with Connelly both losing out on a Championship tiebreak in their match.
Full story in Friday’s JEP
