(07/04/2001)
Riga ladies second team embarked on their first season in the national league, somewhat unsure as to how the campaign would unfold. The core of the team were the players who had won all 20 games in the B&D league the previous year and we were joined for this new season by Ruth and Tina from Northampton Steph and Sylvie from La France and Nora from the Czech republic.
The start of the season was tough and after 4 games , the team found themselves at the bottom of the league with just 1 win and 3 losses. However, the turning point came after Xmas with a much more determined attitude setting in and the wins soon followed. We were also helped by a defeat against TH Lynx being overturned due to the Londoners fielding an ineligible player. The first games of 2001 saw a cracking win against Camden then a very spirited defeat to eventual champions Chelmsford. Coach Sarah Halling identified that Sunday as being our turning point - " the spirit and buzz after those matches was great and we knew that we could play even better " - and a match against 2nd place Oxford would be a real test of the newly found team confidence.
We won the Oxford game 3-2 , our best performance of the season and then followed this up with a 3 -1 win against second place Norwich - these back to back victories showed that we could beat the teams who were in contention for promotion to NVL 2. It was just 2 defeats against lowly Hedley which cost the team dear , the dropped points meaning that we weren't going to finish in the promotion running.However, having now reached the end of our first season, the team have finished a very creditable 5th with 7 victories and 7 defeats . The team spirit has been tremendous , coupled with a good blend of experienced and new players ; 5 of our wins have come in the 5th set which shows the determination of the squad and hopefully, next season will be just as rewarding.
The squad :
Virginia Rennie (captain), Sally Facey, Nora Grymova, Sylvie Darrieumerlou, Stephanie
Geoffroy, Ruth Gillett, Ruth Hosking, Jane Kinnis, Tina Perkins, Sarah Halling (coach).