Adcock says learn from opening NBL defeat

“Although the result wasn’t what we were looking for on our first NBL home match, the evening was a great experience for both the the players and the crowd,” said skipper Adcock.

“I was proud of the team performance, especially the two singles players that managed to get us our first two points on the board.

“We learnt a lot from our first match at this new format and will be looking to make sure we use that experience going forward into our next match.”

University of Nottingham started strong when Kieran Merrilees beat Milton Keynes’ Alex Lane 3-1 in the men’s singles.

In the women’s doubles, Serena Midha and Carissa Turner lost on a tie-break to Jess Fletcher and Sophie Sankey, who used their PowerPlay well.

Adcock and partner Chloe Magee found themselves two games down to young MK duo Toby Penty and Jess Pugh in the mixed doubles. Finding their rhythm, the Nottingham pair pulled back the third game, but Penty and Pugh kept their nerve to win a tense fourth game 9-8, again by utilising their PowerPlay at a crucial time.

University of Nottingham’s women’s singles player and 2008 Olympian Olga Konon kept home hopes alive by seeing off MK’s Liz Cann 3-0 in straight games.

All eyes then turned to Konon’s team mates Robert Blair and Kristian Roebuck in the final match of the evening, the men’s doubles.

A win against MK’s so far unbeaten NBL pair, Peter Mills and Paul Van Rietvelde, was needed for the home side, and they looked like they had all the momentum when took the first game 9-8. However, it was once again the MK pair, familiar to the scoring system, who edged it to take the match in four sets and seal a 3-2 victory overall for the visitors.